Now Playing
Current DJ: Mike Nikolich
Ride Monaco from Interplay (Wichita/PIAS) Add to Collection
The CHIRP Blog
Entries categorized as “Interviews” 93 results
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Levi Stress (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 10/3)
Chicago artist Levi Stress [bandcamp] is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, October 3rd with Sons of Ra. We caught up with Levi recently to ask him a few questions about himself and his music…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
My current release is Center of the Apex. My group Sands of the Hour is working on our Debut release called Specks in the Sands and next year where dropping a EP called KC Masterpeace, and new solo album for next year also
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
I contemplate every idea I have and manifest it into the universe and breathe it into existence
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With CHNNLL (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 10/3)
Chicago artist Chris Davidson, a.k.a CHNNLL, is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, October 3rd. We caught up with Chris recently to ask him a few questions about himself and his music…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
We just completed a short mid-west run of shows and are excited to play CHIRP night at The Whistler on 10/3!
I have two EP’s worth of music that I will be releasing through the course of the next year and the first song "Kick It" is coming out on Thursday, September 28th. Our performance at The Whistler will be special because, aside from "Kick It," we will be playing only unreleased music. Some of it won’t be out for close to a year, so this is a great opportunity for you to check it out!
I’m also very excited about this new music because I recorded it at Steve Albini’s studio with engineer Drew Brown [Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, Beck] and creative input from The Joey Waronker on drums [Atoms For Peace, Beck, R.E.M.], Zac Rae [Death Cab For Cutie, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks] on guitar, piano, and synthesizers and Gabe Noel [Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Father John Misty] on bass and strings.
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
There’s an interesting thing Johnny Cash said in an interview that was… “I have to get filled up in order to pour out.” And I think it’s such a great way to explain songwriting. You have to live life and fill up on experiences and emotions before things start coming out. I call this phase my “discovery mode” where I live my life, but also practice my instruments, check out new music and analyze some of my favorite songs for inspiration.
Throughout this process I take notes and record little bits of lyrics, melodies, drum beats, etc… and then during the writing process I Frankenstein them all together where I think they make sense.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Jeffrey Kmieciak (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 9/5)
Chicago artist Jeffrey Kmieciak is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, September 5th. We caught up with him recently to ask him a few questions about himself and his music…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
My latest album Within Shadows is a real breakthrough for me personally. I really went for a deep dive on that one. I embraced the darkness of the past few years and coerced something from it. I'm looking forward to playing some of these songs and other songs from previous albums live solo for the first time at CHIRP Night at The Whistler Tuesday night 9/5!
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
I usually start out with some type of mood or genre and just let it grow from there. The finished product is rarely something that I expect. I do really surprise myself at times.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Bath Rooms (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 9/5)
Chicago artist Magic Ian of Bath Rooms is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, September 5th. We caught up with him to find out a little more about him…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
Well of course Bath Rooms will be performing at Chirp Night at the Whistler this coming Tuesday September 5th. Bath Rooms is a relatively new project and the CHIRP show is our only scheduled performance before we head to the studio to cut our first e.p. later in the month. We'll be recording with Glow in the Dark Flowers at Rose Raft studios.
Aside from Bath Rooms, I'm preparing a presentation of classic American folk songs that will include historical context and lyrical analysis. Folk music was once our main way of preserving history, and I think there is still so much to learn from these songs. Look for that October 25th at Cafe Mustache.
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
Bath Rooms is a largely meditative affair. It's a conversation between me and my instruments. Once I set a loop, or an arpeggiation or a sequence, I'm no longer the only voice in the room. My brain becomes both proactive and reactive.
As the drone grows, words or ideas will start to form in my head. Bath Rooms isn't very lyrical. The words are sparse and deliberate and should be interpreted as a mantra. It's a reflection on the human condition. We are all just droning along in blissful repetition. buzz buzz.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Bret Koontz (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 6/6)
Bret Koontz & Truancy Club is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, June 6th. We caught up with singer/songwriter/guitarist Bret Koontz to find out more about him and the band…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
Our current release is a full length record called a Sparkle Road Cult. We released it as an art book album-- a large format book that contains sheet music and a page of original full-color art for each song on the album. It also includes a CD of the recordings.
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
Our songs usually start as a catchy melody and chord progression written on guitar with a few phrases of lyrics that come from the ether. Then we take a closer look at the idea, see what it's trying to communicate, and refine it to focus it towards that statement.
If your music was a kind of beer, ice cream, or coffee (take your pick), what would it taste like?
If BK&TC's music was a beer, it would be a Mezcal on ice. That sums up our sound--unexpected, not really on topic, a little more heady than expected, but refreshing.