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Entries categorized as “Interviews” 93 results
Ninja writesCHIRP Radio Interview: Dianogah
This article was written based on a conversation for our CHIRP Artist Interviews podcast. You can also listen to that episode here.
Chicago’s Dianogah, named after the garbage-loving monster from the original Star Wars film, never left. They just morph into other bands.
Jay Ryan plays bass, Jason Harvey plays another bass, and Kip McCabe plays drums. Dianogah most recently released remasters of all four of their full-length albums and a collection of singles and soundtrack tracks, reissuing them on vinyl pressed at local pressing plant, Smashed Plastic. Preorder is open for this reissue.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Flowtone (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 12/5)
Chicago band Flowtone will perform at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, December 5th. We caught up with guitarist/vocalist Nissim recently to ask a few questions…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
Well, we just released a new music video for our new single called 'Eats Me Alive'. That was a really fun time to film and we're really happy with how the song came out. Of course, we'll be playing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on December 5th. Super excited for that!
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
The music usually leads the process. By that I mean, a lot of times I'll sing gibberish just to map out a melody, then that informs phonetically which lyrics could fall into place. The song doesn't feel "complete" though until there's a full concept in place. That takes a while, a lot of long walks and pondering different ideas and how I should express them. There is a moment where it starts to make sense and the momentum of that helps me finish the song.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Mikhael Hell (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 12/5)
Chicago artist Mikhael Hell will perform at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, December 5th. We caught up with Mikhael recently to ask a few questions…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
I’ve played in indie and punk bands in Chicago and beyond for forever (bass in Mystery Actions and Jen & the Dots, drums in The Cloud Corporation, I was even the singer in an all-girl Misfits cover band!!!), but I just started playing out solo as Mikhael Hell this year.
My curse is that I love getting wild and rocking out on stage, but every time I sit down to write music, only super sad, darkly gut-wrenching pretty songs come out! 
So the stuff I was writing was never a good match for the bands I was playing in.
When Mystery Actions wound down last year and I wasn’t in any bands for the first time in a long time, I was like, you know what? F*ck it. I’m finally gonna do my sad, weird-ass pop songs about lesbian drug dealers, vengeful Greek gods, suicides, and serial killers. It’s not at all what people are going to be expecting from me, but it’s what I got.
As far as shows, as you know my next show will be CHIRP Night at the Whistler, Tuesday December 5 
After that, I really want to focus on recording and getting the songs I’m playing in a barebones fashion right now really arranged and produced just the way I want them.
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
Chord progressions and song ideas just come to me while messing around on the guitar. Lyrics are harder. They usually come to me in dribs and drabs, which I have to capture on my Notes app and then weave together. I’ll get a flash of, like, one line, and have to frantically type it into my phone while in traffic (don’t suggest Siri, that witch does not understand a word I say!).
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With BassKase (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 11/7)
Chicago artist BassKase (Bandcamp | YouTube) will perform at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, November 7th. We caught up with BassKase 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!).
The next BassKase EP called Rabbit Holes dropped on Bandcamp on October 27 and will drop on all streaming platforms on November 3. Hopefully, it’ll be in rotation before CHIRP Night at The Whistler, as I’ll bust out one or two tracks on that night.
Other than CHIRP Night, my next show is in Toronto on October 26 at Decoy Bar. Starting to set up dates in Chicago for 2024 soon!
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
Generally, if a kernel of an idea pops, I’ve lay it down on whatever element is driving the idea (typically bass and drums, but not always). Then, I create more elements that I think either add more to the vibe/texture or work as a counterpoint to it.
After that, it’s an iterative process stripping bits down and slathering on sonic confectionary.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Q&A With Sons of Ra (Performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on 10/3)
[photos by Andrew Rothmund]
Chicago group Sons of Ra is performing at CHIRP Night at the Whistler on Tuesday, October 3rd with Levi Stress. We caught up with the band (Erik Oldman on Guitar, Keith Wakefield on Bass and Tenor Saxophone, Michael Rataj on Drums) to ask them a few questions about themselves and their music…
So...What’s going on? Tell us about your current releases and/or upcoming shows (such as CHIRP Night at the Whistler!).
Erik: we’ve just wrapped up tracking and are mixing our full-length album Standard Deviation which will be out in March 2024.
We’ve collaborated with Levi Stress live in the past for a number of our shows. He invited us on the bill to back him for this show and we’re pretty enthused to work on translating some of his tracks into a live band hip-hop set him at the Whistler on Tuesday.
Later in October we are heading out on the road for a few dates around the upper Midwest. We will also be back in Chicago on Sunday October 22 at Livewire Lounge.
Mike: We’ve also started a side band with the 3 of us called KW3 and you can expect to find a more chilled, soul jazz trio mixed with funk and R&B influences. It allows us to explore a different side of influences and sounds than what we typically write and perform as Sons of Ra at those shows.
How do you go about turning your thoughts, ideas, and feelings into sounds?
Erik: For me there’s always music going on in my head, but if it’s associated with an experience that creates an emotional reaction it tends to stick around and eventually makes it to voice memo or some sort of notation. Sometimes it’s an idea… melody or a motif I bring to the guys and we jam on it and start working on developing and arranging. Sometimes it’s a fully-formed piece and we work through fitting it into the group setting and giving it some life.
Mike: Same, being a drummer it’s now impossible not to try to find rhythm and cycles in almost every repetitive sound I hear, so then it’s hearing how the rain drops and picking a smooth rhythm out of it. Although I’m also a big fan of nature and unplugging and I think that’s a great way to let the most important things percolate to the top of your mind.
Keith: What I love about this band is we are all pretty open to just about anything. We bring a bunch of influences and weirdness, yet we are able to experiment and adjust in a mostly judgment-free zone until we have something that is ready for Prime Time.