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Local band Nest caught up with CHIRP volunteer Julie Mueller at the CHIRP studios. They talked about the band's 90s influences, their favorite places to play in Chicago, and what it's like to listen to music on vinyl versus digitally.
produced by Amanda Mayo (@AmandaRMayo)
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Ozivell Ecford is a songwriter, designer, and performer. He has studied at Depaul and the International Academy of Design and Technology. He's worked with the Old Town School of Folk Music as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has produced and composed for a number of independent films, plays, local artists, and bands, and performs with his band Kick Bricks regionally and nationally. Ecford was ranked as one of Chicago’s Top Ten Teaching Artists by 3Arts.org in 2014 and 2015.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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CHIRP volunteer Shawna Kaiser recently sat down with Trevor Shelley de Brauw (of Pelican) in the CHIRP studios to discuss his new solo album, Uptown. They chat about "epic" sounds, the anxious origins of the album, and getting things done.
produced by Joseph Griffin
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Tristan A. Smith is an actor, writer, and comedian born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up on the city's South Side in the Bronzeville neighborhood. It's a known fact amongst performers that great art comes through Chicago. Tristan has spent more than enough time in the city to provide all the evidence you need of just how special the homegrown talent is. A lot of elements have had a hand in crafting Tristan's artistry both in Chicago and in his travels. From his time in Atlanta at Morehouse College, to his improv and writing training at Act One Studios and Second City, to his everyday experiences. All of it makes an impact. He is honored to be working with Chirp Radio for the first time and happy you are listening.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Comedian and immigration rights activist Chris Trani tells the story of how he posed as a journalist from Street Wise to interview Jane Fonda and Eve Ensler.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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CHIRP DJ Alli Klein sat down with local band So Pretty after a recent band practice to discuss their new record and how it highlights their ethos about staying true to yourself, your band and your fans in order to emphasize being inclusive instead of exclusive.
produced by Jenn Rourke
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If you’ve been to Chicago in the past two decades, you've probably seen or heard Dustin somewhere -- be it DJing, hosting a radio show, or peddling records at local fairs and events. Obsessive record collecting as a teenager led him down the path of music journalism (Magnet, Dusted, MTV2, Stop Smiling), then to hosting a radio show and DJing. You can currently hear Dustin at monthly gigs at Coles or the Whistler in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. A veteran of the local record label scene, Dustin spent time in the trenches at Locust, Drag City, and the archival reissue label The Numero Group. In 2015, he was nominated for a GRAMMY (Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package) an A2IM Award (Creative Packaging) and won an AIM award (UK) for his work on the Numero release, Cities of Darskcorch. As if all that weren't enough to keep him busy, he also runs/owns two boutique record labels, Addenda and Plustapes. In the few instances when he has free time, Dustin enjoys playing board games and indulges his more nerdy interests by collecting comic books and vintage synthesizers.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Local group Air Credits (aka Hood Internet & ShowYouSuck) recently stopped by the CHIRP studios to sit down with Features Director Amelia Hruby. They discussed the post-apocalyptic premise for their first album Broadcasted and how it feels to be making overtly political music in the current climate. (Hint: awesome.)
You can catch Air Credits live in Chicago on February 19th at the Empty Bottle for a Red Bull Sound Select show with Dan Deacon and Marijuana Deathsquad.
produced by Amelia Hruby (@ajhruby)
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"So much of our lives are rationalized and routinized, and everything seems kind of known or knowable. So anything that feels like it's not quite knowable is what I like to do creatively. ... When there's no explanation for something, that's where I like to let my mind and my music stay."
Last fall, Whitney Johnson came to the CHIRP studios to talk with Amelia Hruby about Johnson's solo electronic project, Matchess. They discuss how she builds the multi-layered structures of her songs, the inspiration she draws from industrial field recordings, and what magic happens when you listen to repetitive sounds over and over again.
produced by Amelia Hruby (@ajhruby)
photo by Jeremy Deputat
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If good stories come from a riotous life, Elle’s background is just the thing. Born in Albuquerque, she traveled her whole life, which involved attending 22 different schools, before landing in Chicago 20 years ago. She’s been a talent buyer (translation: books bands) for 17 years, and loves whiskey, taking naps, bad decisions, and her daughter. In 1980 at Washington Elementary in Kalamazoo, MI, she won student of the month. She considers that the pinnacle of her success.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Megan is a writer, actor, singer, political activist, and aspiring psychologist. She sings with the band, The Mashed Potatoes, has performed in numerous cabarets with Brown Paper Box Co., and has told stories for Story Lab Chicago and TUTA Theatre. She has also been a performer, writer, and director for various sketch comedy shows at The Second City Training Center and Stage 773. When not performing, Megan can be found working on graduate school applications to become a clinical psychologist.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Rachel McCartney has performed in way too many bars to still look so out of place in them. Based in Chicago, she is a regular at the Laugh Factory, and recently made her Comedians You Should Know debut opening for Drew Michael at his album recording. She has also performed at the Comedy Exposition, the Green Gravel Comedy Festival, and the Orlando Indie Comedy Festival.
The Chicago Tribune once described her as a "New Year's treat," which probably made more sense when the article was published in early January. In less calendar-sensitive praise, local legend Peter-john Byrnes once called her "Chicago's foremost grammar comedian," and she plans to have that distinction carved into her headstone.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Kyle Kelly is the co-owner and head chef of The Cajun Connoisseur. He's a self-taught Cajun chef starting out his second winter in the “deliciousness business” of Chicago’s food truck scene. With his crew of family on board, Kelly serves grits, jambalaya and po'boys, makes plans for his brick-and-mortar restaurant, and offers opportunities to young people from his Englewood neighborhood. But his mantra of good food and forgiveness can't prevent gun violence from touching his business and his life.
This story was produced as part of new collaboration between CHIRP Radio and City Bureau, a Chicago journalism lab. City Bureau reporter Sarah Conway worked with CHIRP producer Dan Epstein to create this day-in-the life radio portrait as part of City Bureau's fall 2016 cycle on Englewood's food desert.
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Ada Cheng is renegade academic and a professor turned storyteller, improviser, and comedian. She is a recent Moth story slam winner, Bughouse Square Debate runner up, and presenter at The National Storytelling Network Conference. In her free time, she loves sleeping (with or without cats) and playing with cats (sleeping or not). Her motto is: Make your life the best story you tell.
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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Alicia Swiz is a professor and performer who facilitates conversations about feminism and pop-culture through humor, candid observation and being really smart. She teaches Media & Gender Studies at Harold Washington College and is the creator of SlutTalk, a performance that raises awareness of slut shaming and encourages sex positivity. Sometimes she's funny; sometimes she's not. Find her on the Internet @popgoesalicia
produced by Brian Heath and Dan Epstein
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CHIRP volunteer Marites Velasquez caught up with local band Lala Lala at the CHIRP studios this fall. They chat about how the band came together, how Chicago has influenced their music, and whether they'd ever want to be famous.
produced by Marites Velasquez
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Pat, Phil, and Anthony of local band Horrible recently came by the CHIRP studios to chat with CHIRP volunteer Amelia Hruby about their debut EP, Is It Even Music, Really?. They discussed how they named the band, their most terrible shows, and a series of horrible puns.
Catch them at Quenchers on Saturday, December 10th.
produced by Amelia Hruby (@ajhruby)
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Daniel Knox is a local singer-songwriter and a projectionist at the Music Box Theatre. In this interview, CHIRP volunteer Eve Szokolai speaks to Knox about how he started playing music on pianos in historic hotels, the ways long walks at nights have inspired his songs, and his desire to create films.
produced by Eve Szokolai
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The First Time Four is the house band at CHIRP’s quarterly storytelling series, The First Time. Steve Frisbie, Liam Davis, Gerald Dowd, and Scott Stevenson bring their considerable talent and experience together to provide a musical component to the series. But they’re more than just a cover band. They’re an essential part of the First Time experience.
produced by Dan Epstein (@radiovespa)
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Fran Hoepfner is a writer and comedian from Chicago. She has written both pop culture criticism and personal essays for The AV Club, Brooklyn Magazine, Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, and Jezebel, among several others. She can be seen performing stand-up around the city, most notably as a resident of the monthly Bell Hop showcase with Ian Abramson at the Virgin Hotel. She currently works as the Digital Editor at The Onion.
produced by Dan Epstein and Brian Heath
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