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The CHIRP Blog
E. Malcolm Martinez writesJoin CHIRP for Juana Molina at The Old Town School of Folk Music This Thursday!
Argentinian musician Juana Molina will perform her melodic soundscapes at The Old Town School Of Folk Music (4544 N Lincoln Ave) on April 10th at 8pm. Leaving behind a successful comedic acting career in 1996 to concentrate on her original love, Molina has become a highly acclaimed and respected performer on an international level. Her music has been described as a cross of folk and electronica, though attempting to place it in any genre would be a disservice to Molina’s gifts.
On stage Molina builds an aural front of acoustic guitar, synthesizer and vocal patterns that she loops and layers to create often beautiful, sometimes haunting maelstroms that can mesmerize. Molina is touring in support of her sixth album, Wed 21 (Crammed Discs), which came out in late 2013. Visit her website at www.juanamolina.com to learn more about this uniquely talented artist.
Amanda Roszkowski writesCHIRP Radio Presents LOMA: Music & Art Project @ Subterranean This Thursday!
Music is art, and often times the art can be the music. That’s why CHIRP is excited to be presenting a new startup music and arts festival idea this Thursday at Subterranean. The LOMA: Music + Art Project startup was created through Homeroom Chicago’s Emerging & Established Artists Exchange Program.
The event will host an array of artists ranging from a funk/hip-hop group, to an electronic/trap/hip-hop one man show, to a violinist turned guitarist. These artists are whysowhite, Nick Astro, Deer Emerson, Hanna Ashbrook, Bobby Magic and Elias Abid, and they all hail from Chicago or the Chicagoland area.
Whysowhite is a funk/hip-hop group that released their self-titled debut album in February 2013 and it was well received by listeners it shot to the front page of the popular social news site Reddit, was #1 on Bandcamp with featured coverage on Jay-Z’s Life + Times. You can learn even more about them here.
Nick Astro’s obsession with Stevie Wonder tunes inspired him to begin rapping at age 11 but his talents don’t stop there. He also is active in theatre arts and will be graduating Columbia College Chicago May of 2014. Read more about Nick.
Deer Emerson is a new age indie pop artist. If you want to learn more about her, you can do so here. Hanna Ashbrook first began her life with music learning to play the violin at the age of 9. She played until her junior year of High School and then shifted her focus to the guitar, singing and songwriting. She cites her influences as Thom Yorke, Feist, Sigur Ros, Jeff Buckley, Priscilla Ahn, Brandi Carlile and many others. Listen to some of Hanna’s music here.
Bobby Magic is actually producer/DJ Tyler Irvin, who has developed a unique genre of music that resides as a fusion of electronic, trap and hip hop. Listen to some of Bobby’s music here.
Elias Abid is an 18-year-old electronic artist, who released a 16 track hip-hop LP entitled "L.I.F.E. (Living Isn't Fair or Easy)," with Kansas City rapper, Le$ Paul. To read more about Elias, click here.
You wont' want to miss this opportunity to join in recognizing up and coming Chicago artists at the edge of their careers who have artfully translated their unique tastes into their music. The show begins Thursday, April 10 at 9pm. Doors open at 8:30pm. Get your advance tickets here for $8 or pay at the door for $10.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Muddy Waters Edition
Today is the birthday of a man who made Chicago his home (and later, Westmont) and became one of the giants of the blues. McKinley Morganfield was 30 years old (or so) when he finally made his way from Mississippi to Chicago. He had been to the city before and had done some recordings for Alan Lomax. Muddy was looking to make it here. It took a few years before Muddy (who got the nickname from his grandmother and added the surname later on) finally hooked up with a label, run by the Chess brothers. In 1948, he broke through with the songs “I Can’t Be Satisfied” and “I Feel Like Going Home”. He also became a big live attraction, with an ace band which included bass player Willie Dixon. This led to the creation of blues standards like “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “I’m Ready”. With these songs, Muddy established an electrified version of the Delta blues sound that fit the urban, working class lifestyle of Chicago. These songs were popular at home and influenced future blues rockers on both sides of the Atlantic. Of course, as you probably know, The Rolling Stones took their name from a Muddy Waters song. After a brief dry patch, Muddy revived his career in the ‘70s and kept performing until he passed away in 1983. His legacy lives on both at home and abroad. Let’s celebrate his birthday by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Amanda Roszkowski writesCHIRP Radio and CUFF presents “East of Hell” and “Dreams Less Sweet” @ Logan Theater!
This Friday, get the story behind the music at CHIRP Radio’s video event at Logan Theatre, part of the Chicago Underground Film Festival! We’ll be presenting the films A L'est De L'enfer (East of Hell) and Psychic TV: Dreams Less Sweet.
A L'est De L'enfer (East of Hell) is a French documentary that centers around the underground Black Metal music scene of Surabaya, Indonesia. Directed by Mathieu Canagulier, the film illustrates how the community takes a movement that started in Europe and is reinvented with Western codes and Indonesian beliefs.
Founded in 1981 by Genesis P-Orridge, Psychic TV was a group focused highly on videos. Genesis even said, "Psychic TV is a video group who does music, unlike a music group which makes music videos." When Genesis invited 47 artists to create a collective film set to the group's acclaimed second album, Dreams Less Sweet, in a process drawing from the cut-up technique originated by Genesis' friends and mentors Brion Gysin and William Burroughs, as well as the VHS networking practiced by the Temple of Psychic Youth in the 1980s. The resulting work was the video, Psychic TV: Dreams Less Sweet.
The double feature begins at 6:30pm this Friday, April 4 at The Logan Theatre. Tickets are $8. Get yours here now!
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday April 4 to Thursday April 10
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday April 4
Mr. Blotto, Thinner Teed
Abbey Pub 9pm, 21+
David Guetta
Aragon Ballroom 8pm, 18+
The Dirty Generals, American Musk Ox, Andrew Francis
Beat Kitchen 9pm 21+
RüFüS Du Sol
Bottom Lounge 9:30pm
Midwest Hype, Spare Parts, The Palmer Squares, cLOUD9, ILL Ambition, DJ Steezy
Double Door 8pm, 21+
Crazy Talk, Green Book, Ask Your Folks, Wick
Elbo Room 8:30pm 21+
The Hoyle Brothers
Empty Bottle 5:30pm 21+