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CHIRP Podcasts
Podcasts on the topic of “Mick R.” 27 results
Artist Interviews Joan of Arc Interview
Chicago-based experimental rock group Joan of Arc has been broken up for several years now, but they will be reconvening for a special performance as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival to provide a live soundtrack to the classic Carl Dreyer film The Passion of Joan Arc. Features co-director Mick R caught up with band members Tim Kinsella, Bobby Burg, and Theo Katsaounis to talk about the band's history with the film and how the story of Joan of Arc inspires them and their art.
"[Joan of Arc] could have had a much more comfortable life. But no one would be inspired by her six hundred years later." - Tim Kinsella
Produced by Mick R.
Image Credit: Joan of Arc
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Artist Interviews Tommy Kessler Interview
Tommy Kessler is a busy local singer/songwriter who released a full LP and a double EP in 2022, in addition to producing an entire ccompilation of local indie artists to benefit Brave Space Alliance. Features Co-Director Mick R. caught up with Tommy to talk about the origins and inspirations of his solo work, his distinctive color palette, and his string of recent releases.
You can find the Weinder Tape compilation as well as Tommy Kessler's full catalog at on Tommy's BandCamp.
"The main feedback I get is that [my music] sounds like me. That's the nicest thing anyone could possibly say about anyone's art, is that it sounds like them." - Tommy Kessler
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Katlyn Sansone Wentzel
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Artist Interviews Walker Interview
Singer and songwriter Walker is a recent transplant to Chicago, but already considers it home. He released his debut album, Phew in December 2022 and Features Co-Director Mick R. caught up with him to talk about the album, his process, and his experience teaching music to others as a self-taught musician.
Walker will be releasing a series of singles in the sping of 2023; you can keep up with his upcoming releases by following him on Instagram @walkerwonder_.
"[T]he main thing I try to do is just follow joy, because for me, joy is my muse." - Walker
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: James Werner
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Artist Interviews Footballhead Interview
Ryan Nolen is the creative engine behind the Chicago-based alternative rock project Footballhead. Features co-director Mick R. caught up with Ryan to talk about his most recent EP Kitchen Fly, the Chicago underground rock scene, whether or not his music is "emo," and his ranking of the best Nick-Toons characters of all time.
Ryan will be playing at Sleeping Village with Dazy and Graham Hunt as part of Tomorrow Never Knows Fest on January 18, 2023.
"I was playing in my band Kirby Grip at the time and we were trying to do like an alternative based, [Smashing] Pumpkins, semi-shoegaze thing, and I had [writen] all these songs that were more like Gin Blossoms or Vertical Horizon almost... Songs that were too poppy... So I said to myself, 'I needed an outlet for these things.'" - Ryan Nolen on the origins of Footballhead
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Ryan Nolen
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Artist Interviews Sound Opinions Interview
Music critics and journalists Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis are the hosts of the long-running music podcast Sound Opinions. Formerly of WXRT and WBEZ, they are now fully independent and jammin' econo. Features co-director Mick R. caught up with Greg and Jim for this final Artists Interview of 2022 to talk about their podcast's origins, the importance of music journalism, integrity in reporting, and the challenges of telling stories that need to be told.
"[The] number one rule of being a journalist is to be curious, always. Never lose that sense that there's a big world out there. You wake up every day and you're gonna learn something new." - Greg Kot
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Marty Perez
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Artist Interviews Jordan Reyes Interview
This week, Features Co-Director Mick R speaks with Chicago-based artist Jordan Reyes. They discus his new album, Everything Is Always and how an antipsychotic drug led to an overwhelming obsession with death, how zen, zaza meditation and drone metal helped, and his collaborators.
Jordan Reyes will be celebrating Everything is Always at a release show held at the International Museum of Surgical Science on November 4, 2022.
"I talked to my general practitioner about everything that I was doing and we did a bunch of tests. He said, well, you're physically fine but there's something going on there. It's advice you wouldn't expect from a doctor, but he just told me to make music every day. So I was like, this guy's pretty smart and I know that music has helped me in the past, and I'm trying to wrangle all of these ideas, so I started working on Everything Is Always and what would be Everything Is Always." - Jordan Reyes
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Katherine Squier
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Artist Interviews The Cool Kids Interview
The Cool Kids are an American hip hop duo combining the talents of Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish. For more than a decade, they have been cutting a unique path through the world of rap, releasing groundbreaking albums and delivering unforgettable performances. They're now set to take it to another level with an event they are calling Night School, which will be taking place at Thalia Hall on September 24th. It will feature a dinner curated by Chuck Inglish & Chef Ben Trusdell of Dusek's, a live Mystery School Podcast recording hosted by Sir Michael Rocks and Owen Bones, and a cameo stuff performance by The Cool Kids themselves in which they will be performing their latest three-part album, Before Shit Got Weird. Features Co-Director Mick R. caught up with the dynamic duo to talk about the concepts and inspirations behind their new album and Night School, and where the guys believe their project is headed next.
Stream Before Shit Got Weird on Spotify.
Tickets to Night School are available through Thalia Hall.
"In a way, [Night School] turns the concert concept upside down a little bit. I think that gives more room for us as curators to do what we do best. Because I think that's the era that we're able to step into now. We're at a point right now where [The Cool Kids] have been curating so much through music and through fashion and through our own tastes and interests that now we need to bring those tastes and interests and bring that curatorial spirit into how we present our shows and tours." - Sir Michael Rocks
Produced by Mick R.
Image Credit: Jamal Peters
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Artist Interviews Makaya McCraven Interview
Makaya McCraven is an influential composer, producer and jazz drummer who calls Chicago home. For his most recent album Deciphering The Message, he was granted access to the Blue Note archives and, utilizing their library, created a record that combines classic jazz samples with fresh recordings produced by his band. Features co-director Mick R caught up with this local luminary to talk about the story behind the record and what he hopes the listener takes away from their experience of it.
Deciphering The Message is available through Blue Note.
Makaya McCraven will be performing for two nights at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on May 27 & 28, 2022.
"All of the work that I do as a musician, as much as it is my professional output, I try to maintain a student of music and look at every opportunity as a chance to grow and learn something as an artist." - Makaya McCraven
Produced by Mick R.
Image Credit: Nolis Anderson
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Artist Interviews Daydream Review & Smooth Rogers Interview
Earlier in 2022, Zac Bron of Smooth Rogers remixed one of the songs off of Chicago local psychedelic rock band Daydream Review's self-titled EP. The remix of "Yesterday and Tomorrow" brought out some fun and funky space disco and was released as a separate single. Daydream Review's Elijah Montez and Zach are long-time collaborators in various projects, and Features Co-Director Mick R caught up with both of them to talk about their most recent single and get some insights into how they work together.
"The way that I talk about the EP with other people is each song is almost like trying on different hats... [and] Zach has a really great expertise in making things sound funky almost like without even trying." - Elijah Montez
Production by Mick R.
Image courtesy of the artists.
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Artist Interviews Manasseh Interview
Manasseh Croft, aka, Manasseh is a Chicago-based soul singer whose debut album Monochromatic Dream explores themes of dream interpretation and how those dreams inspire action. Feature Co-Director Mick R. caught up with Manasseh to talk about the collaborations that made his album possible, his work as a vocal coach, and how dreams have changed his life.
You can stream Monochromatic Dream on SoundCloud and Spotify.
"We all have had those life defining moments. And they have come to us in dreams, whether we paid attention to them or not." - Manasseh
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Seed Lynn
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Artist Interviews RXM Reality Interview
Chicago-based producer Mike Meegan is the master sound architect behind the electronic dance music project RXM Reality. Features Co-Director Mick R. caught up with Mike to talk about his latest album sick for you, out on Hausu Mountain Records. They talk about Mike's inspirations drawn from his label mates, his personal goals for the project, and the unlikely origins of his project's name.
sick for you, and other transdimensional oddities, can be found through Hausu Mountain Records.
"[I]t's better to have an intense response to something than an apathetic, 'eh, whatever' one." - Mike Meegan
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Bryan Ohr.
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Artist Interviews RP Boo Interview
Legendary Chicago DJ and pioneering footwork producer RP Boo talks about the music that inspired him to start producing, how his fourth album Established! got its name, and why music is the key to understanding and why it will outlast everything else. Interview by Features Co-Director Mick R.
"We are all part of music and that's the greatest thing that I've learned... I have all the days until I'm no longer here to keep creating something unknown and to inspire others to keep going." - RP Boo
Established! is out via Planet Mu.
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Matthew Avignone
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Artist Interviews Fire-Toolz Interview
Angel Marcloid is the producer and visionary behind the boundary-pushing and Chicago-based electronic music project Fire-Toolz. She spoke with Features Co-Director Mick R. about her latest album Eternal Home and how it ended up being her longest release to date, as well as how she manages to maintain such a relentless work ethic, and the role empathy plays in the writing and performance of her music.
Eternal Home is available from Hausu Mountain Records
"If you're not trying to see the full perspective, then you're doing yourself a disservice... and that's something that Fire-Toolz is all about... that sort of non-duality and trying to see all the shades of something... all angles, because that's the wisest thing and the healthiest thing that we can be doing for ourselves when we are interpreting our experiences." - Angel Marcloid
Production by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Lyndon French
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Artist Interviews Dos Santos Interview
The Chicago-based Latin fusion band Dos Santos wants their city stay connected with the international community that helps it maintain its local character. For this episode of the CHIRP Radio's Artist Interview Series, bandleader Alex Chavez spoke with Features Department Co-Director Mick R. about the philosophy of Dos Santos's music, the legacy of Latin rhythms in popular music within the United States, and the making of their second album for International Anthem, City of Mirrors.
Buy City of Mirrors from International Anthem.
"I think the thread that unites what we do is just a deep appreciation and therefore desire to continue to be inspired by Latin American rhythm... an approach to those ideas that we subsequently experiment with." - Alex Chavez
Production by Mick R.
Image Credit: Victor Duarte
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Artist Interviews Hausu Mountain Records Interview
Doug Kaplan and Max Allison run the Chicago-based experimental record label Hausu Mountain. They talked with Features Department Co-Director Mick R about the origins of the label, what kinds of artists they like to work with, their opinions on psychedelic music, and their unique approach to avant-garde art.
Featured Tracks (in order of appearance):
"Steam Room Sauna Holla" by Sharkula x Mukqs
"Help Desk" by Wobbly
"Rhododendron pt. II" by d'Eon
"Fungal Abundance" by Prolaps
You can check out Hausu Mountain's catalog online on their site.
"[We're interested in] musicians that are able to... convey excitement and fun, but also maintaining a dedication to total experimentalism [and] genre recombination... [T]here's a whole group of people that have just associated experimental music with listening to a fan for an hour... they're just like, 'Peace! I don't want to deal with that. That sounds really, really boring to me.' [W]e want to work with the people that are [experimental] but able to make [it] fun and engaging for musicians and non-musicians alike." - Doug Kaplan
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Doug Kaplan & Max Allison
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Artist Interviews Jaimie Branch Interview
Jaimie Branch is an accomplished jazz trumpeter and composer from Long Island, who once upon a time called Chicago home. For this week's episode of the CHIRP Radio Artist Interview Series, Features Co-Director Mick R. caught up with Jaimie to talk about latest album Fly Or Die Live, her connections to Chicago, and how she balances her singing with her trumpet playing on her song "Prayer for Amerikkka pt 1 & 2."
"Music is on the side of beauty. We need to put it into the world however we can." - Jaimie Branch
Fly Or Die Live is available from International Anthem.
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Abdesslam Mirdass
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Artist Interviews Jyroscope Interview
Dominic "I.B. Fokuz" Pettis EL of Chicago hip hop group Jyroscope goes deep on the history of his collaboration with bandmate Robert "Collasoul Structure" Moman, explains the origins of their name, and provides illuminating insights into their new EP and collaboration with producer Montana Macks titled Happy Medium. Interview by Mick R.
Jyroscope's Happy Medium is available on Bandcamp.
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Jason Neloms
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Artist Interviews Gabacho Interview
Gabacho is a Chicago-based surf and psychedelic rock artist with a penchant for soft harmonies and Latin rhythms. For this week's episode, he speaks with Features Co-Director Mick R. about the origins of his name, the make-up of his band, and the single and video for "Los Feels" which he did with Mexican singer and songwriter Dromedarios Mágicos.
You can follow Gabacho on Facebook and Instagram.
You can buy Gabacho's self-titled EP from Bandcamp.
Produced by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Gabacho
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Artist Interviews Layton Wu Interview
For this week's episode, Features Co-Director Mick R. spoke with Taiwanese soul and funk producer Layton Wu 雷頓狗 about his latest release Summertime Mixtape, the origins of his name, how he discovered his love for hip-hop and how his training as a computer scientist informs his approach to making music.
You can buy Summertime Mixtape here.
Produced by Mick R.
Photo credit: Layton Wu
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Artist Interviews Buggin Interview
This week we have Features Co-Director Mick R. in conversation with two chillin' villains, Bryanna and Peyton of the Chicago hardcore band Buggin. They talk about the origins of the band's name and their recording plans for 2021, as well as their influences, motivations, and style, and whether or not they could see themselves opening for Harm's Way.
Buggin's flexi single Brainfreeze is out via Flatspot Records.
Production by Mick R.
Photo Credit: Bryanna Bennett
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