Mike Nikolich writesI Lost Control Celebrates 10th Anniversary at CHIRP Night at The Whistler!

Bassist Tina L. Sunny, guitarist Toby Tennent, drummer Chris Bijalba and lead vocalist/guitarist Steve Anderson are I Lost Control.

Chicago rock fans are in for a treat Wednesday, August 22, when I Lost Control and The Thin Cherries perform at CHIRP Night at The Whistler. Tickets are free but you will need to RSVP to this 21+ show, which begins at 8:30 p.m.

I Lost Control is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Bandmates Steve “Stevo” Anderson and Toby Tennent met at an Old Town School of Folk Music graduation show, and they’ve been playing together ever since.

Stevo, who hosts “The Friday Afternoon Happy Hour” on CHIRP Radio-107.1 FM, is the lead singer and guitarist, while Brit ex-pat Tennent handles lead guitar. Bassist Tina L. Sunny and drummer Chris Bijalba complete the quartet.

The band will premiere its new single “Vigil” at the Whistler.  The song, which was recorded at the band’s studio just down the hall from CHIRP, features a catchy bass line and the jangly guitars that are a hallmark of the band’s sound.

“The song’s about losing some important people in my life,” Steve says. “As I thought about their lives and the impact they had on me, I began writing lyrics. I shared these lyrics with Toby and he added the basic chord structure. Then Tina showed up and created a killer bass line. Suddenly, we realized we had a great song.”

The new song was released as a split 7” single with “Indian Hill” by the Purcells, who have been longtime friends of I Lost Control.

Keeping a band together for a decade is no small task, a fact that isn’t lost on Toby, who moved to Chicago from the UK more than a decade ago.

“There have been some pretty interesting bands that were formed at the Old Town School of Folk Music,” Toby says. “Some fizzled pretty quick but somehow we have managed not to fizzle. I think the most important thing about being in a band is showing up week after week and making the commitment to stay together. If you keep playing together, I believe eventually something good will happen.”

Stevo agrees, noting that the band keeps its chops by playing live as least once a month and collaborating on new material as often as schedules allow.

The band’s first EP, Cones and Arrows, was released in 2011, and continues to be played on the CHIRP airwaves. The EP has a definite ‘80s post-punk vibe, drawing comparisons to bands like Joy Division and the Smiths, two bands that had a definite influence on The Thin Cherries, the other band on the bill that night at The Whistler.

“Our original bassist and I were big Joy Division fans,” Steve says, “and I still play with him in a Joy Division cover band called The Unknown Pleasures. Toby brought a blues and British pop influence, which helped us refine our sound.”

Since all the members of I Lost Control have day jobs and busy lives, it isn’t easy to create new music, but the band members are determined to continue producing new material.

“It takes time to write these little gems,” Toby says. “Obviously, we have families and careers, so our weekdays and weekends are pretty busy. It takes a solid two weekends of your life to create a decent, 3-1/2-minute song. The process usually begins with Tina, Chris or me creating a riff. One of us will bring that riff to one of our practices and we will start to jam. If we are lucky, Steve will create some lyrics.”

Steve and Toby agree that the lyrics are what turns an idea or riff into a song. While inspiration doesn’t strike at every practice, the band tries to be disciplined about producing new material.

“Each January, comedian Jerry Seinfeld hangs a large year-at-a-glance calendar on his wall and, every day he writes new material, he draws a big red X over that day,” Toby says. “His goal is to create a chain of red X’s on his calendar, and keep that chain going for as long as possible. I guess that’s the way to do it; you keep plugging away. If you rely solely on inspiration, you tend to wait a long time between new songs.  We have more than two albums worth of unreleased material.”

CHIRP Night at The Whistler marks the first time I Lost Control and The Thin Cherries will perform together, although Steve and Toby have known bassist Mark Lofgren and guitarist Steven Delisi for several years.

“We played a bunch of shows with Mark’s previous band, The Luck of Eden Hall, and I met Steven after we played at the first annual Dovetail Brewery and Begyle Brewing Company Oktoberfestiversary,” Steve says. “Steven said he loved our music and we decided right there that we would find a way to get our bands paired for a live performance. That will finally happen August 22 at The Whistler.”

I Lost Control will perform new and classic material that spans their 10-year career. They will celebrate their official anniversary by playing a rooftop show at the same building in West Town where they began their career.

“This is an exciting month for the band. We’ve had a few personnel changes over the years, especially with our drummers,” Toby says, “But we’ve continued to progress and refine our sound, and I believe we sound better than ever live. We’re looking forward to celebrating our decade together with The Whistler audience.”

Make plans to see The Thin Cherries and I Lost Control on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at “CHIRP Night at the Whistler.” Tickets are free, but you need to RSVP to this 21+ show.

You can listen to Mike Nikolich every Friday from noon to 3 pm on CHIRP-107.1 FM