First Time First Catch | Natalie Grace

Natalie Grace Alford was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1987. She was raised in a suburb of Chicago and was classically trained in music from the age of 11. She is a multi instrumentalist playing piano, guitar, and uses loop pedals to perform and make the song live. She has opened for various artists such as Jack Garrett, Nellie Mckay, Tim Fite and many more amazing artists. She was also named The Deli Music Magazine's artist of the month for March of 2017. You can find her music on ITunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play, and Amazon.

Produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Catch | Wes Needham

Wes Needham is an actor, writer and producer here in Chicago, having performed at iO Theater, Second City and ComedySportz. Currently he's Content Director, writer and producer for "Good Evening with Pat Whalen", Chicago's only political late-night talk-show. As an ensemble member of The New Colony theater company, he's appeared in such shows as 11:11, Sordid Little Story, Frat, reWilding Genius, Merge and B-Side Studio. You've maybe even caught him oh-so briefly keeping the streets safe from riff-raff on NBC's "Chicago PD".

Produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Catch | Dan Shapiro

Dan Shapiro is a writer and comedian from Wichita.  He is a regular at local writing performance competition, Write Club.  He co-hosts a mental illness and addiction themed variety show the first Wednesday of each Monday at Schuba's in Chicago called Psychotic Break.

Produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Catch | Micki LeSueur

In addition to writing stories for fun and her own amusement, Micki LeSueur is a creative director and copywriter, writing fiction posing as non-fiction and putting on shows for major corporations and their agencies. She is also the founder and host of Fictlicious, a live reading and music series at The Hideout in Chicago, and president and founder of Coat Angels, a local not-for-profit proving warm winter coats for cold Chicago kids.  

produced by Brian Heath

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First Time First Test - Allie Wachowski

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The self appointed Mariah Carey of the midwest, Allie Wachowski has been described by bouncers as the "Wicked Witch of Logan Square," "Logan Square Famous", and "Can You Stop?" She's an aspiring Instagram honey and one third of the world's only living podcast, Amateur Hour. You can find her in her element on twitter @alliewach. She politely requests you refrain from speaking to her about anything that isn't hot dogs.

produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein

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First Time First Test - Dan Epstein

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Dan started in radio in the 1990s as a DJ and producer for jazz stations in San Diego and San Francisco. During that time, Dan was co-producer of an occasional radio comedy series called The Cabinet of Dr. Marconi. As a CHIRP volunteer, Dan's been news director, one-third of the production director triumvirate, and features producer. He likes hats, and his 1979 Vespa scooter. Dan can trace his lineage all the way back to the first single-celled organism.

produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
 

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First Time First Test - Bill Ayers

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William Ayers, formerly Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has written extensively about social justice and democracy, education and the cultural contexts of schooling, and teaching as an essentially intellectual, ethical, and political enterprise. His books include A Kind and Just Parent; Teaching toward Freedom; Fugitive Days: A Memoir; Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident; On the Side of the Child; To Teach: The Journey, in Comics;  and Demand the Impossible! A Radical Manifesto.

produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein

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First Time First Test - Britt Julious

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Britt Julious is a twenty-something journalist, essayist, storyteller and filmmaker. She regularly contributes to Esquire, ELLE, GQ, The Guardian,  Vice, Pitchfork, and many others. Her work focuses on the intersection of feminism, race, music, art and culture. She's a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and an editor for Vice’s THUMP. She also hosts The Back Talk, a storytelling podcast featuring original stories from women of color. She wants to remind everyone that although 2016 was been terrible, both Beyonce and Solange released new albums, so there's that.

produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein

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