Brian Costello is a musician, live talk show host and writer living in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Born in Florida, he moved to Chicago in 1997 to pursue his interest in music.[1] He studied at Columbia College Chicago, and is now an adjunct professor of Fiction Writing at the college as part of the author-teacher program.[2]
Costello's comedy talk show, "The Brian Costello Show with Brian Costello" is performed live from The Empty Bottle in Chicago to an audience of between 30 and 50 regulars. Performing with Ken Kagawa, the show features interviews with an assortment of guests ("People who are interesting" as Costello described them in the Chicago Tribune) and live music.[3] Costello was also the drummer in local band Functional Blackouts, who have gained a reputation for "controlled chaos" which has resulted in the band being banned from a number of clubs in the region.[4]
As an author, Costello's writing has appeared in Bridge, THE2NDHAND, Sleepwalk, F Magazine, and Hair Trigger. His first novel, The Enchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs, was released in 2006 by Featherproof books. The novel follows Shaquille Callahan, a drummer for the band The Enchanters in the fictional community of community of Sprawlburg Springs.[5] It took ten years to complete,[2] and was offered as his thesis at Columbia College.[1] The novel draws on his own experiences, both as a drummer and as a native of Florida, and, like Costello, the protagonist of the novel winds up in Chicago.[6] In spite of this, Costello has stated that the novel is not autobiographical.[1] His novel has generally been well received,[7][8] although it has been criticized for the use of "heavy-handed" satire.[6] Costello's second novel, Losing in Gainesville, is due for release in 2008.