CHIRP Radio is an all-volunteer effort. We would like to introduce you to some of the people who make the station what it is!
Blake Burkhart was born in Chicago, raised in the nearby suburbs to the North and now is a member of the Ukrainian Village community. He studied Documentary Filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago for undergrad and graduated in 2008.
Aside from his day-to-day grind, Blake does freelance Video and Photo projects for clients (mostly Chicagoland artists/bands), and sometimes purely to entertain himself. He is most at home behind the lens of a camera and now has plans to take on more projects than ever before in the coming months. He’s somewhat handy with a bass, shaky with a guitar, and is now attempting to learn the drums (slowly but surely….very slowly).
Blake has been a CHIRP volunteer since February 2011. He has enjoyed every second of his involvement from handing out fliers and telling nice Chicagoans what CHIRP is all about, to conducting interviews for the guest department including: Cut Copy, Architecture in Helsinki, Battles and Art Brut. He has also done photo work for CHIRP and is in the early stages of some CHIRP-related video projects.
He has just started DJ training, and is thrilled at the prospect of gracing the CHIRP airwaves one day soon. Blake will continue to tell anyone who will listen that joining CHIRP easily ranks among the best decisions of his life and he has high hopes for his future involvement with the best radio station in the world.
He’s MCA, he’s Nathaniel Hornblower, he’s a Free Tibet kind of guy. Of course, I’m talking about Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. His slightly raspy voice has offset the whinier Mike D. and King Ad-rock, dropping killer rhymes for years. The Beastie Boys are rap legends, who proved detractors wrong again and again, becoming elder statesmen in the process. Yauch has apparently overcome cancer and the Boys are reaping plaudits for their recent Hot Sauce Committee album. Since Paul’s Boutique has about as many samples as any album ever made, I’m sure Yauch would appreciate the shuffle. So grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle, and share the first 10 songs that come up…for Adam. I’m sure he’d want it that way.
A.C. Newman — The Changeling (Get Guilty) (Get Guilty): On Newman’s first solo album, he developed some things that he later incorporated into The New Pornographers. On his excellent second album, the songwriting was more consistent with his main gig. The main difference is that the overall sound is a bit less dense. Newman put together a great supporting cast, and the songwriting is really strong, making for an effort that ranks with the best of The New Pornographers’ albums. This is a really nice mid-tempo song.
Fleetwood Mac — Landslide (Fleetwood Mac): A terrific Steve Nicks tune from her first album with the Mac. This song has a quality that’s not too far from Dolly Parton or Emmylou Harris, with just a bit of a Laurel Canyon aspect. As time moves on, the first three Fleetwood Mac albums with Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham seem to get better and better.
Paul Revere & The Raiders — Observation From Flight 285 (In 3/4 Time) (Somthing’s Happening): A piece of psych-pop fluff from Paul Revere & The Raiders. They started out as a classic frat party band, with a great facility for R & B and rock ‘n’ roll. As they evolved, they became a pop machine, with a chameleon-like ability to take on any style and sound good. This is a tribute to the versatility of singer Mark Lindsey. This song is somewhere between The Bee Gees and Chad & Jeremy. Sweet stuff.
1910 Fruitgum Company — Goody Goody Gumdrops (The Best of the 1910 Fruitgum Company): A fine bubblegum hit from the band that also gave us “Simple Simon Says” and “1, 2, 3, Red Light”. It’s all about the hook, and this song has a big one.
The Sonics — Dirty Robber (Here Are The Sonics): A rock ‘n’ roll burner in the tradition of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis from arguably the greatest garage rock band of the ’60s. The playing isn’t quite as frenzied as on the best Sonics’ sides, but Rosalie is totally into it, and there is a fine honking sax solo.
Lime Spiders — Save My Soul (Headcleaner): Best known for “Slave Girl”, this Aussie garage band from the ’80s featured the shredding vocals of Mick Blood. This song relies on soft/loud dynamics and is a rave up somewhat in the style of The Animals or Yardbirds.
The Casual Dots — Evil Operations Classified (The Casual Dots): Christina Billotte of Autoclave and Slant 6 continued with her beguiling mix of post-punk and more traditional ’50s and surf rock tropes. This song has a number of styles, portrayed on the guitar, played over a loping beat. From ska like riffing, to surf guitar to melodic Buzzcocks like blasts, this song is quite something.
Ron Sexsmith — Impossible World (Exit Strategy of the Soul): A philosophical number from Ron Sexsmith. While he usually focuses on matters of the heart and vignettes, this is Sexsmith trying to figure out why we experience so much pain. And he sings to a typically warm and pithy melody.
Anton Barbeau — Stewart Mason (Guladong): A driving paean to ultra-knowledgable writer Stewart Mason. Whether any of the details of the song are accurate, I would not know, but having a bouncy pop-rock tune with your name in it, from a fine Bay Area pop eccentric is pretty darned cool. I think this is the second time this has come up in a shuffle.
XTC — Harvest Festival (Apple Venus, Volume 1): The penultimate XTC album is their last classic, full on sumptuous orch-pop songs. This is a pretty baroque pop song with three distinctive killer melodies. Andy Partridge’s lyrics are evocative of the past, with precise detail. The way the melody of the verse melts into the chorus is perfection, and then is countered by middle eight that douses the fuzzy nostalgia with a dose of reality, which explains why we are nostalgic. This is an amazing song, yet there are at least two or three tracks on the album that are even better.
Let’s pay tribute to Charlie Christian. Who is he? Merely one of the earliest, if not the earliest, innovators on the electric guitar. He is the man who turned the guitar into a solo instrument, getting his start in 1940, playing with Benny Goodman. But his legacy isn’t just about being the first prominent electric guitarist. Some say his distinctive playing was a precursor to bebop. He is certainly a figure who should be remembered. So let’s salute Mr. Christian by getting out your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 tunes that come up.
Robyn — In My Eyes (Body Talk, Pt. 2): You’ve got to figure that some day, Robyn will be back topping the pop charts. Her three records last year were brimming with melodic dance floor fare, sometime with pretty decent lyrics. One thing I appreciate about her music is that she seems to take inspiration from a wide swath of electronic pop music, so her albums play like the best of the ’80s to now in the various trends in synthesized stuff. This is a mid-tempo number with a particularly urgent vocal, with some wise mulit-tracking in spots.
Bill Moss — Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother (Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label): This is from the first ever Numero Group compilation, which chronicled this Ohio label. Moss, the founder of the label, was a singer who liked positive messages. This song has a light funk groove, somewhere between James Brown and Sam and Dave as Moss lists famous black people and emphasizes that African-Americans need to work hard and they can make it. Of course, Moss never would have anticipated that O.J. Simpson would later not be much of a role model.
Doleful Lions — Ocean Stars (The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here!): A bouncy tune from the Lions’ second album, finding Jonathan Scott trading in jangly pop that would fit well in between The Smiths and The Housemartins. Hearing his angelic voice sound quite playful on this fairly simple tune is a real pleasure. Fun song.
Guided By Voices — Everywhere By Helicopter (Universal Truths And Cycles): A slicing, riffy tune from GBV. This song seems somewhere between ’60s freakbeat with a bit of punk rock snarl. I could actually hear The Smithereens covering this, though it would be a bit cuddlier.
The Byrds — Hickory Wind (Sweethearts Of The Rodeo): A weepy country ballad from this seminal country rock effort. Gram Parsons caused a major shift in The Byrds’ sound, as they suddenly purveyed classic country sounds. The sincerity is evident, but I find this album to be overrated, as the band is often too measured and the vocals aren’t that strong. One would be better off with a contemporary Buck Owens or Merle Haggard album.
The Wonder Stuff — The Animals And Me (The Eight Legged Groove Thing): If you like melodic British guitar pop, you can’t go wrong with the Stuffies’ debut album. Great riffs, strong melodies and hooks out the wazoo. The Wonder Stuff managed to incorporate some creative rhythms (not just 4/4 stuff) while not sacrificing the great pop song structure, as on this excellent tune.
Superchunk — Certain Stars (Here’s Where The Strings Come In): This song fades in on some feedback before hitting stride in a galloping rhythm. The bouncy drums and lockstep guitar chords always get to me. Everyone from The Clash to Big Dipper has a song like this in its repetoire, and it always works for me.
The Boo Radleys — One Is For (Giant Steps): An interlude from the Boos second and best album. They straddled the border between Brit pop and shoegazer music, eventually heading more to the pop side. They could be pretty arty, as this brief snatch of chamber pop illustrates.
Split Enz — Titus (Second Thoughts): A Phil Judd number from the second Split Enz album, which is produced by Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music. This is a twee psychdelic number with Judd’s compelling, quivering voice. A lot of early Enz sounds like a mix of The Beatles, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Genesis. This short number has a great instrumental break with stately horns.
Freda Payne — Band Of Gold (Have A Nice Decade: The ’70s Pop Culture Box): A classic slice of ’70s pop-soul. A lot of retro soul heads right to the ’60s, but I wish someone could revive the sounds of Payne, Honey Cone, The Spinners and other of the early ’70s.
In a Chicago summer packed with concerts, street parties, and music fests, The Music Box Theatre is presenting its own music series on the big screen. CHIRP Radio is proud to be a part of this week’s Music Box Theatre Summer Music Film Festival, a celebration of new, classic, and underground movies about music!
We’re especially excited to present “A Fond Farewell Night” on Tuesday, July 26. The night’s lineup includes:
Damon Locks and Wayne Montana (currently) are The Eternals . The band has been fusing rock, dub and Caribbean rhythms into a sound that was once so hard to categorize, they made up their own: “rawar style.” This year, they released Approaching the Energy Field (Addenda Records ), garnering critical praise for evolving with the sound they pioneered in 2000. CHIRP is proud to present their session with Coach House Sounds, streamable and downloadable at coachhousesounds.com on Tuesday July 26th!
1. What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?
Assumed that the water wouldn’t get any higher.
2. The Eternals have a long history in Chicago. Can you tell me about one time when you realized this was YOUR city?
Hmm…as a band? I think only recently. Our old band Trenchmouth always felt like outsiders (our label was out of Minneapolis) and The Eternals have felt similarly. After years and years of playing, we feel as though we have successfully graffiti’d the walls of Chicago’s musical landscape.
3. Describe a scenario where Eternals could be someone’s life coach and the top 2 life lessons you’d teach them.
Over the years, I think the band could be described as a life coach to other younger bands like Watchers or Jai Alai Savant. Whether they took heed is another thing all together.
Top life lessons for bands:
The music industry doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t know good music. Pay as little attention to it as possible.
The more universal you attempt to make something, the less personal. The more personal you make something, the more universal it can be.
4. Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?
I generally enjoyed the experience. The guys were very friendly and accommodating (thanks for the cookie and the use of the sunglasses).
During the performing of “Shadow Radio” I was so enthusiastic that I inadvertently knocked my sampler off my keyboard and it fell onto my vocal effects pedal and changed the setting. I really got into that performance.
5. What’s happening? What are your current/upcoming shows or releases?
We have a bunch of shows coming up this summer:
w/ Ted Leo at Fireside July 26th
Milwaukee Art Festival July 30th
Experiment Sound Studio August 27th
We are in the planning stages of doing a show at the MCA. That should be a lot of fun. We are also talking about playing The Hideout Block Party.