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The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Arthur Lee Edition
Today, let’s celebrate the birthday of the frontman of a band that produced one of the best albums of the ‘60s. Arthur Lee was born in Memphis, but moved to Los Angeles when he was five and by high school, he met Johnny Echols and they played in bands together. He was soon writing songs, and one of his songs was recorded by a local R & B singer, with Jimi Hendrix playing guitar on the session. Love came together in 1965, with Echols and Bryan McLean, among others. The band soon became a top live attraction and garnered a local hit with their radical rearrangement of Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book”. This led to a deal with Elektra Records. Love was a perfect band for the psychedelic age, mixing all sorts of genres together, but this didn’t yield any hits. Nevertheless, their first three albums are great, with Forever Changes one of the most essential albums of the era. Lee later went solo and then dealt with various substance abuse and legal (i.e. jail time) issues. In the early ‘90s, he got himself back together and began touring as Love with mega-fans Baby Lemonade backing him up. I saw this edition of Love twice, and Lee was fascinating and the music sounded great. Let’s honor Lee by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday Mar. 7 to Thursday Mar. 13
(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 March 7
The Holy Hour House Band
Abbey Pub 9pm 21+
The Summer Set
Beat Kitchen 7:30pm
Bigjoy, Future Monarchs, Roxy Swain
Beat Kitchen 10pm, 21+
Kodaline
Bottom Lounge 7:30pm
Classixx
Double Door 8pm
J.J. & DRE, New Born, Captain Coopersmith
Elbo Room 8pm 21+
Will Phalen, Adam Burke, Female Basic, DJ Warp
Hideout 9:30pm, 21+
Amanda Roszkowski writesReact Presents & CHIRP Radio Welcome Classixx to Double Door This Friday!
Do you have plans this Friday yet? If not, you won’t want to miss out on seeing one of the worlds most universally respected DJ duos perform. Childhood friends hailing from L.A. Tyler Blake and Michael David, make up the duo of Classixx – a name that came from their affinity for compilations of different music. The duo began touring in 2009 with their first single, “I’ll Get You,” featuring Lady Gaga’s songwriter Jeppe. Following this single, they made acclaimed remixes for the likes of Phoenix, Holy Ghost, Mayer Hawthorne, Groove Armada, Yacht, Major Lazer, Gossip and more.
After successfully collaborating with several artists, Classixx began working intently on their 12-song debut album, Hanging Gardens that came out last May. The album is warm, breezy and carefree, like memories of a wistful summertime romance. The album has been compared to early Daft Punk albums and its anthem, “All You’re Waiting For,” features vocals from ex-LCD Soundsystem member Nancy Whang.
Opening for Classixx is the duo Washington D.C. duo pop band, Gems. They were named The Best Band You’ve Never Heard by Buzzfeed earlier this year and is comprised of Clifford John Usher and Lindsay Pitts. Tickets are $15 and the doors open at 8PM at the Double Door, show starts at 8:30PM. Get them here!
Azure writesCome to the CHIRP Radio Benefit Showcase at Elbo Room on March 6th!
This Thursday, come show your love for all things local at Elbo Room for the CHIRP Radio Benefit Showcase. Local Independent music is what CHIRP is all about. (C'mon it’s in the name!) But in order for bands and organizations like CHIRP to continue, they need the support of the local community. Lovers of all things independent are what help keep CHIRP alive and thriving. So that’s why we’ve put together a night of awesome local bands that are sure to rock your socks, mittens, and parkas off.
Come hear tunes from Chicago’s finest. We’ve got the dreamy sounds of indie pop group Careful Q. If you’re looking to get your doo wop on, take a listen to their song “Bad Like Me”. Try not to groove, I dare you.
We've also got The Symposium to play you jams off their Brain Jail EP featuring songs “The Fifties,” “Talk Is Cheap,” and more. We’ve also got female power group One Wing Low to play you awesome rock jams. These girls know how to rock, don’t believe me? Check their tunes from their latest release, Little Tigers In Your House. And rounding out the lineup is Me Jane, which includes CHIRP’s very own Marites Velasquez on bass. The group, whose creation came from a house party in Logan Square, have come together to create an amazing sound.
You love CHIRP, we love CHIRP, so let’s dance about it! Make sure to come out early to hear all of these amazing acts. Show starts at 8:00 PM. Tickets are only $10 and all proceeds go to CHIRP Radio. Get your tickets here and be sure to stop by our booth to grab some CHIRP goodies! The Elbo Room is located at 2871 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60657.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Brian Jones Edition
Today is the birthday of the founding member of one the biggest bands in rock history, The Rolling Stones. Brian Jones had a serious jones for the blues. After learning to play saxophone at a young age, he got his first guitar at 17, all the better for taking with him when he dropped out of school to busk through Europe. He eventually moved to London, where he was on the ground floor of a burgeoning blues scene, and he performed under the name Elmo Lewis. It was in 1962 when the pieces of The Rolling Stones came together, with Jones coming up with the name. Indeed, Jones was the original leader of the band, getting gigs, promoting shows and negotiating rates (for which he paid himself an extra five bob a week). While Mick Jagger and Keith Richards eventually supplanted Jones as the driving force of the band, Jones' multi-instrumental talents can be found all over the Stones' catalog. But he became further estranged from the band, began seriously abusing drugs and was out by 1969. Not long after, he was found drowned in a swimming pool. Jones' life took a terrible turn, but his contributions to music cannot be denied. In his honor, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.