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.

If your music was a kind of beer, ice cream, or coffee (take your pick), what would it taste like?

I hope this doesn't come across as cliche but I think there is nothing more satisfying than creating a piece of music so captivating and beautiful that all other senses cease to exist.

Do you have any particular or unexpected influences? Are any other artists or bands catching your attention at the moment?

To be honest I work in a nightclub on the weekends and I have trap music running through my head constantly because of it. I don't know how much it really impacts my musical output or if I even like half of it but I'm constantly thinking about it.

If you couldn’t make music or be involved with music, what would you be doing right now?

If I had to pivot right now I think I'd like to be an investigative journalist. I feel like I romanticize that profession the same way most people romanticize music.

To be totally transparent, anyone who knows me knows that I have a future in city government and fully plan on running for alderman within the next decade.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

Honestly I typically hung out on the mezzanine.

If you were someone’s life coach, what are the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them?

The most important thing you can learn when you are young is that Capitalism is the problem. Every generation is presented with the problem of Capitalism and so far every generation has lost. Will you be the generation that wins or will you spend the rest of your life in debt so that you can be a server at a restaurant?

Are there any stories or anecdotes you want to share but haven’t been asked the right question to do so? Or do you have anything you’d like to declare to the world? Feel free to share…

I'm honestly a pretty quiet and reserved person and I typically prefer to keep my opinions to myself. I thank you for the opportunity to tell the world about Bath Rooms.