CHIRP Radio Podcasts

CHIRP Radio's Katie Owens joined Chris Twist, Juicy James and John Lemon of Chicago's, The Lemons, in Lakeview for an exclusive CHIRP Radio interview. We talked about the band's inclusive motto, its home away from home, and a Japanese connection made at Multikulti. You can catch The Lemons this Friday at Animal Kingdom, where they'll kick off their full U.S. summer tour. On June 6, The Lemons play the Burlington for the release of their/Teen Runnings split 7" out on Gary Records. Produced by: Brian Szpak

If you’re into infographics, then you probably know about Edward Tufte. He’s arguably the world’s foremost expert in the visual presentation of data, and leader of the campaign against “chartjunk,” the gimmicks and gadgets that frequently adorn and confuse the graphs, tables and charts we see online, in print and at work. When he’s not working on a new book or teaching his one-day course on presenting data and information, Tufte spends his time making sculptures. A collection of his sculptures is devoted to what Tufte himself calls “maybe the greatest data visualization ever done,” a way of graphically depicting sub-atomic particle behavior developed by physicist and Nobel laureate, Richard Feynman. Appropriately enough, an exhibit of that collection is on display at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) until June 26th. CHIRP’s Dan Epstein went to Fermilab recently to talk with Tufte, and with physicist John Campbell, about Feynman diagrams, and the “intense seeing” that art and science have in common.   Special thanks to Don Lincoln of Fermilab for providing additional background and a Feynman diagram calculation. produced by Dan Epstein

Kip Berman, frontman of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, sat down with Dylan Peterson down in the basement of the Empty Bottle before the band's sold-out show. They talked about how 90s irreverence was kind of annoying, gifs vs "jifs," feeling self-conscious in sunglasses, Kip said "cumshot" out loud, and Hot Doug's*. The band's new album, Days of Abandon, is out this week via Yebo. *interview recorded prior to announcement of Hot Doug's closing produced by Dylan Peterson

Where: Skokie "It's not just a ride home."

Before their show at Township, some of the guys from Perfect Pussy stepped outside to hang out with CHIRP's Cher Vincent. They talked about naming songs after numbers, how to make a recording sound like you're playing in a tunnel, and almost getting Mom to be in the interview. Perfect Pussy play the Pitchfork Music Festival 2014. Happy Mother's Day! produced by Kwame Shorter

Over beers in the green room at Schuba's, CHIRP DJ Jessi D sat down with Josh Kolenik of Small Black before their Chicago show. They talked R&B versus chillwave, not over-thinking the editing process, and paying homage to 90s hip hop with mixtapes.

From Sunday, March 16 through Friday, March 21, the Columbia College Chicago Department of Creative Writing presented its 18th Annual Story Week Festival of Writers. Story Week 2014 offered six days jam-packed with readings, conversations with authors, panels, performances, and book signings at venues throughout Chicago—all free and open to the public. This podcast features festival speaker Stuart Dybek.

CHIRP Radio’s Katie Owens met up with Chicago rockers, Tall Walker, for an exclusive CHIRP Radio interview in Noble Square. Tall Walker spoke about expanding the band for live shows, its connection with Christian music, and its dramatic writing style. Tall Walker released its self-titled EP in December 2013 and will play Subterranean on May 1 as part of CIMM Fest 2014. Produced by: Ben Buddig

Chicago writer & performer, Alisa Rosenthal sat down with Bobby Evers and Jessi D after a performance of her variety act, "The Plucky Show," to discuss her stage persona and what it's like to assemble independent theatre in Chicago. The conversation took place as they were striking set, and a series of puppets were enclosed in a dark bag. The next performance of "The Plucky Show" will take place Thursday April 10 at Gorilla Tango.

As a working band in Chicago for over 20 years, The Luck of Eden Hall has fans the likes of Billy Corgan and Jim DeRogatis. The Luck of Eden Hall are juggling several projects, but made time to sit down with CHIRP DJ Julie Mueller to discuss their artistic process and what's changed about being a band in the last twenty years. The Luck of Eden Hall released their eigthth full length, Victoria Moon, in September 2013. You can catch them live at Crabstock USA Festival of Psychedelia on April 11th, in Hamden, CT and at Vintage Vinyl in Evanston for an in-store performance on Record Store Day (4/19). Produced by: Julie Mueller and Eugene Cabanban

Before their show at Schubas, Water Liars sat down with Katie Owens to discuss the erroneous genre label of “southern rock," Barry Hannah’s influence on the band, and how honesty plays into Water Liar’s live shows. Water Liars released their self-titled full length on Fat Possum in February. They'll be back in Chicagoland on May 14 to play at Rozz Tox in Rock Island. produced by Brian Szpak

Where: Humbolt Park "I only eat on my days off."

From Sunday, March 16 through Friday, March 21, the Columbia College Chicago Department of Creative Writing presented its 18th Annual Story Week Festival of Writers. Story Week 2014 offered six days jam-packed with readings, conversations with authors, panels, performances, and book signings at venues throughout Chicago—all free and open to the public. This podcast features festival speakers Stuart Dybek, Katey Schultz, Roxane Gay, and Christine Sneed.

CHIRP Radio’s Katie Owens stopped by The Observatory to catch up with Twin Peaks while on a break from recording their upcoming album. Twin Peaks gave us the scoop on a side project known as Twin Hits, self-imposed pressure, getting signed and they even assigned music homework. Twin Peaks plays an already sold out show at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, April 1 with The Orwells. You can also catch Twin Peaks at the Pitchfork Music Festival this July.

CHIRP's Kelsey Phillips sat down with Miss Alex White and Francis Scott Key White, brother/sister duo of Chicago's own White Mystery. They met up in the back of Reckless Records in Wicker Park following an in-store set that packed the house. White Mystery tells us what it was like growing up in the Chicago music scene, talks about going to their first show, and shares some DIY tips. White Mystery releases their fourth full-length, self-released album, Dubble Dragon, on April 20. You can catch White Mystery next at the Emporium on April 4. Produced by: Colleen Pellissier