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The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Nicky Hopkins Edition
Today, we’re going to pay tribute to an unsung rock great, Nicky Hopkins, session musician extraordinaire. At a young age, Hopkins contracted Crohn’s disease. So the talented pianist was pretty much prohibited from joining a band and touring. Instead, he played on thousands of songs, hitting may of the major bands of the British Invasion era and beyond. Here’s some of his c.v.: The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Easybeats, The Kinks, The Jeff Beck Group, The Beatles, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller Band, and many more. My favorite Hopkins track is The Who’s “The Ox”, on the band’s debut album, The Who Sing My Generation. It’s an instrumental, named after bassist John Entwhistle, and the song is in full gallop from the word go, with Hopkins fast fingers banging away at the keys, keeping up with frenetic Keith Moon drumming. Hopkins passed away at the age 50 back in 1994, and left a legacy of great support for some of the all-time greats. Let’s pay tribute to Mr. Hopkins by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesThis Week with CHIRP Radio (Week of Feb. 20 2012)
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Friday, February 24
The Occupy Chicago Rebel Arts Collective launch event, featuring music by Captain Captain, Snake Oil Salesmen & The Kuhls, theatrical performances from Twenty Percent Theater Company and Theatre of the Oppressed, cutting edge art and poetry, interactive art installations, and a silk screening station with Revolution Imagery!Wicker Park Arts Center / 2215 West North Ave / 6:30pm / All Ages
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Last week on chicagoindieradio.org:
A CHIRP and Coach House Sounds interview with Redgrave
Weekly Voyages (your weekly roundup of Chicago concerts)
Bear in Heaven stream their new album
Happy Birthday, Gene Pitney!
Chicago Theatre Off Book, featuring interviews with the Artistic Directors of The Hypocrites’ and Signal Ensemble
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Gene Pitney Edition
Gene Pitney is an overlooked figure in rock history, even though he had a slew of hits, primarily in the days before the British invaded and took rock ‘n’ roll to a new level. Pitney was an ace songwriter and fine singer, best known for his classic weeper, “Town Without Pity” (which, oddly enough, was only a number 13 hit, he had a number of records that charted higher). He also penned classics like “He’s A Rebel” for The Crystal and Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou”. And he was even bigger in England, where he had 22 Top 40 hits, as opposed to 16 Stateside. He left a fine catalog of songs, so let’s salute him by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Erik Roldan writesBear In Heaven Stream New Album as Experiment
On April 18, 2012, Bear in Heaven will be playing at Schubas – surely a venue catered to hearing a band’s textures and layers. Until then, the small rock house isn’t your only opportunity to hear the subtleties in the rock band’s sound. Touring in support of their new record, I Love You, It’s Cool, the band is offering fans a free stream of the album over at their website. BUT HOLD ON. SLLLLOOOOWWWW YOOUUUURRR ROOOLLLL. I Love You, It’s Cool is streaming now, stretched out to 400,000% longer than the real length. What that means is that even though the stream went up in December, if you started listening when then and waited until it finished, you’d be able to hear the entire thing just once. Justin Beiber, eat your slowed down heart out.
Listen to CHIRPradio.org for Blake Burkhardt’s exclusive interview with Bear in Heaven, coming soon.
Erik Roldan writesCHIRP + Coach House Sounds Present: Redgrave
Late February and early March are shaping up to be a busy time for Chicago-based band Redgrave . A new EP, a SXSW showcase, and plenty of shows around town, the duo started out using home recordings by vocalist Angie Mead, and later becoming a two-piece after adding drummer Stephen Howard. Having worked with Tim Rutilli and David Yow on their debut single, the band is getting ready for big stuff. Check out their Coach House Sounds session starting Wednesday February 15th, and listen to CHIRP.org for a selection of tracks from the session!