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The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Link Wray Edition
Some say he’s the man who invented the power chord. Today is the birthday of Link Wray (full name Frederick Lincoln Wray), one of the early rock ‘n’ roll guitar innovators. The distorted instrumental classic “Rumble”, a 1958 hit, was his calling card, and his career had its ups and downs, but found him collaborating with ‘70s rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon, singing back up on an NRBQ record, playing live on stage with Jason & The Scorchers and many other things. Pete Townshend once said that if it wasn’t for Link Wray he would never have picked up a guitar, and many other great players (and not-so-great ones) would say the same thing. Let’s pay tribute to Link by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday May 2 to Thursday May 8
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday May 2
Mobb Deep, Mic One
Abbey Pub 9pm, 21+
Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers
Beat Kitchen 9:30pm
Shlohmo
Bottom Lounge 9pm
Blu and Exile, Alex Wiley, DJ Rude One, DJ RTC
Double Door 10pm, 21+
The Delivery, The Dastardly Bastards
Elbo Room 8:30pm 21+
The Hoyle Brothers
Empty Bottle 5pm, 21+
A Minor Forest, Electric Hawk, Mako Sica
Empty Bottle 9:30pm 21+
Tim Kinsella Sings the Songs of Marvin Tate w/ Leroy Bach, Willis Earl Beal, the YEAH babies
Hideout 10pm, 21+
Bronze Radio Return, Hey Monea!
Lincoln Hall 9pm 21+
Vintage Blue, The Future Laureates, The Ivoys, Mike Golden
Metro 8:30pm 18+
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Andy Bell Edition
Before he became the lead singer of Erasure, Andy Bell was working at the meat counter of a grocery store. I try to reconcile that reality with the reality of the second time I saw Erasure, and Bell came out wearing a rubber one piece women’s bathing suit. While I’m sure Bell was expert with various cuts of meat, it’s a good thing he answered Vince Clarke’s advert for a singer. Clarke had left Depeche Mode after one album, split Yaz after two and The Assembly never got off the ground. But Bell was the right partner for some awesome synth pop, including great songs like “Chorus”, “Sometimes” and “Chains of Love”. Moreover, Bell was an openly gay pop star and showed that it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Erasure had three Top 20 U.S. singles and I got tired of counting how many Top 40 singles they had in England - trust me, it’s a lot. Bell is also proof that HIV positive status does not have to slow one down, as Erasure is still a going concern and he’s also released two solo albums since being diagnosed. In honor of Mr. Bell, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday Apr. 25 to Thursday May 1
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday April 25
Branches, Time and The New Romans, Old Salt Union
Abbey Pub 9pm, 21+
Woodrow Hart & the Haymaker, Mimicking Birds, Gar Clemens, Bubbles Brown
Beat Kitchen 9pm, 21+
Odonis Odonis
Bottom Lounge 7pm
Sunshine Band
Bottom Lounge 9pm
Girl Group Chicago, The Congregation
Double Door 8:30pm, 21+
No Love for Linus, Phil Jacobson's New Month Party
Elbo Room 9:20pm, 21+
I Break Horses, Rival Consoles, The Variable Why
Empty Bottle 9:30pm, 21+
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Jim Ellison Edition
Are you ready? Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready....at the close of yet another fantastic show, as drummer Mike Zelenko would launch into the famed drumbeat of Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz”, Material Issue frontman would pick out someone from the audience and point at him or her, insistently asking “Are you ready” until that person said yes, and the band would then launch into a rocking cover of a glam classic. Skinny, arrogant, passionate and talented as hell, Ellison led one of the best power pop bands of the era, a power trio out of the suburbs of Chicago. Ellison loved the classic tropes of the genre, but injected them with the inspiration of Cheap Trick, glam rock, punk and even some classic ‘60s acts like the Bee Gees. The music was sharp, forceful and hooky as hell, with lyrics that were often as astute as Chuck Berry’s, if he was a teen growing up in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Their first album, International Pop Overthrow seemed to be the start of something big and is an acknowledged power pop classic. The next two albums had tons of great tunes but never caught fire. But even when their national profile descended as fast as it had flashed brightly, Material Issue was still a giant here, playing to packed houses. Sadly, for reasons no one really knows (the contents of a note have never been revealed by his family), on April 18, 1996, Jim Ellison took his own life. Very few rock deaths have affected me more – he was such a talent. On the first Material Issue song I ever heard, “She’s Goin’ Thru My Head”, he brags about the girl who is “playing my very most favorite Sweet record.” Years later, Sweet (well, half of the band, guitarist Andy Scott and Mick Tucker with some other guys) came to Cubby Bear, and at the side of the stage, there was Ellison. And he was rocking out with total abandon, just as I was, at seeing an all-time favorite. It made what was already obvious even clearer – he lived for rock ‘n’ roll. On the anniversary of Jim’s birthday, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.