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Band Bios

Studs Terkel

The Chicago History Museum presents the legendary Studs Terkel, interviewing Mahalia Jackson, the Queen of Gospel and fellow Chicagoan. This excerpt was originally recorded on June 2, 1968 as part of the Studs Terkel Program.

Studs Terkel, prize-winning author and radio broadcast personality was born Louis Terkel in New York on May 16, 1912. His family moved to Chicago in 1922 and opened a rooming house at Ashland and Flournoy on the near West side. Terkel attended University of Chicago and received a law degree in 1934. In 1952 Terkel began working for WFMT, primarily to play music. This later became the award-winning, "The Studs Terkel Program." His first book, Giants of Jazz, was published in 1956. Ten years later his first book of oral history interviews, Division Street : America, came out. It was followed by a succession of oral history books on the 1930s Depression, World War Two, race relations, working, the American dream, and aging. His latest book, Will the Circle Be Unbroken : Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith, was published in 2001. Terkel continues to interview people, work on his books, and make public appearances. He is Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the Chicago History Museum. www.studsterkel.org

Wilco

Since Jeff Tweedy assembled Wilco more than a decade ago, the Chicago rockers have released six studio albums, including the current trio of releases on Nonesuch Records: last year’s Sky Blue Sky, a ghost is born (2004) and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002). In the 90’s they released three albums for Reprise Records: 1999’s Summer Teeth, 1996’s Being There and their 1994 debut effort, AM. Additional releases have included the live album Kicking Television (2005) and two collaborative efforts with Billy Bragg and the estate of Woody Guthrie, Mermaid Avenue Volumes 1 & 2. Various and sundry side projects, solo efforts, contributions and collaborations with roots in the Wilco family tree round out their accomplished discography.

Known for their fierce live performances, this line up of Wilco - Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche, keyboardist Mike Jorgensen, guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone - have played hundreds of concerts since assembling in May of 2004.

Neko Case

Neko Case is revered for her role as the heart of celebrated Canadian pop outfit the New Pornographers, but she’s won her greatest praise as a dynamic solo artist. The Washington-bred songstress, songwriter and producer claims no genre, nor utilizes any classic formula for her songs and singing. More than anything she thrives in the spaces in between her music. Neko’s developed a sound all her own: a mix of country, gospel, torch, and pop, and her five full-length albums have won her critical acclaim and countless devotees. When she’s not laying on the floor with her four dogs and two cats, Neko spends an enormous amount of time carpooling with her band members on tour.

Kid Sister

Kid Sister is Chicago. She makes rap music and works at a children's clothing store slanging bibs and teething rings. Yes, her hype man J2K of Flosstradamus is her real brother, and yes that does rule. Together they took the Chi-town music scene by storm, rocking parties and causing all around dancefloor mayhem. This was followed by tours with Kanye West's DJ A-Trak (one of her main producers and co-owner of Fool's Gold Records). 2006 found Kid Sister selling-out shows from Chicago to Paris, including an appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival. The media responded favorably, with features on MTV ("My Block"), Pitchfork, i-D Magazine, XLR8R, the New York Times, Billboard and the cover of URB's "Next 1000" issue, among others.

Building on the strength of this early buzz, Kid Sister hit the studio and released two singles on Fool's Gold ("Control" and "Pro Nails"). Frequent international touring followed throughout 2007, including an appearance at Coachella, a sold out show at SXSW, and a full US tour with her fellow labelmates. Kanye West also took notice, adding a verse to her "Pro Nails" single (which he released on his "Can't Tell Me Nothing" mixtape) and appearing in the music video, which quickly became an MTV favorite.

With her Downtown/Fool’s Gold full-length debut on the way this year featuring A-Trak, Xxxchange of Spank Rock, and others on production duties, Kid Sister is taking this.

The Horse's Ha

Princess, Princess

Frank, Jaimie and Toby were friends. Sometimes they played music together, in one combination or another. They feel like the understand each other pretty well, especially when they play music together. Often they said; 'We should play together lots more, like every week. Or, almost every week.' Then for a while they played every other week at the Skylark. They ate tots, drank beer, got in the photobooth and named themselves Princess Princess. Frank bought keychains. They don't play every other week anymore. You can find out more about them from myspace.com/princessprincesschicago or at pionicrecords.com.

Martha Berner

Wisconsin born, Chicago based singer/songwriter Martha Berner has been described as "an individualist, a poet and an artist with bittersweet, pleading words that stick to your heart like gum on a sidewalk in the middle of September" and with musical styling that "melds a perfect union of alt-country and indie-folk that touches the soul." Behind her debut full length CD, This Side of Yesterday (2005, Machine), and EP Ten Tiny Little Pieces (2007, Machine) this promising new talent has received press accolades, toured nationally multiple times and garnered impressive support at radio. Martha Berner is poised to breakout nationally with the release of her next full-length album due in the fall of 2008. More info at www.myspace.com/marthaberner

"This Side of Yesterday, is a very solid disc with tunes that are peppy, poppy and deliciously sad. Each tune has its own distinct hook, with seemingly very little effort - there¹s a great subtlety in her simplicity." - Richard Milne / WXRT Chicago

"think Natalie Merchant with fewer adult contemporary leanings or Aimee Mann on a folkier trip. Berner's voice can thicken and thin like Joni Mitchell's and it's unmistakably her greatest asset." ­ Magnet Magazine

The Heard

The Heard is an Electro Alien Hip-Hop group currently hailing in Chicago. The five core members comprise composers with multi-genre experience, a menagerie of rapping styles, and some of the best young jazz musicians in Chicago. The plan is to give listeners a musical experience which can carry them through the present and into the future, equipped with the necessary tools to maintain a positive mindscape. The Heard hosts Hip-Hop showcases in Chicago, and has developed a reputation as a catalyst for new directions in the Chicago music scene. With eclectic fashion and high-energy live performances, The Heard’s fan base continues to grow and extend. The recent signing to Springfield, Missouri’s own DC-Jam Records is breaking new ground for the quintet’s plan to innovate the future of music. With tours, an LP, and explosive energy on their side, The Heard is coming.

Golden Horse Ranch Square Dance Band

Founded in 2000 by Annie Coleman, who grew up calling square dances at her family’s Golden Horse Ranch resort, and Anthony Burton, this group’s 5 part harmonies and good-time stomping cowboy style is not to be missed. Their 8-piece ensemble features mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, guitar, snare drum/washboard, and the occasional bassoon played by a stellar group of musicians from a cross section of Chicago bands. www.myspace.com/goldenhorseranchsquaredanceband.

Icy Demons

Information about Icy Demons can be found at http://www.myspace.com/icydemons.

Contest Winners

Brighton MA

Brighton MA is a band from Chicago IL, which could at first glance seem confusing. They take their name from singer Matthew Kerstein's birth place, a name which evokes the idea of all sorts of homes you can never go back to, even as the four band members build their own home within the name. Amateur Lovers, their first full-length record (following an EP in 2007) finds Kerstein, guitarist Jim Tuerk, bassist Devon Bryant and drummer Sam Koentopp stretching themselves to the edge to see what can be built to last. They write and work in Chicago, maintaining a clear vision of their own brand of rock and roll.

Cobalt & the Hired Guns

Cobalt & the Hired Guns is a boot-stompin', tambourine-shakin', irresistibly genuine good time. Seamlessly blending upbeat genres from Americana to Ska, this dynamic four piece puts on a rambunctious show filled with sharp musicianship and emotion. Cobalt & the Hired Guns is about love and guts, energy and enthusiasm - refusing to pretend they aren't having fun.

Their new record Jump the Fence, created at Chicago Recording Company with producer/engineer Brian Humphrey (State Radio, The Hives, Stephen Kellogg), is a fresh blend of dance-fueling vigor and introspective sentiment. Jump the Fence is also a carbon neutral album - all of the greenhouse gases associated with the recording, production, and direct promotion of the CD were offset via investments in wind energy.

CTA Sound Project - Justin Petertil & Seth Vanek

The CTA Sound Project was conceived by Justin Petertil and realized with Seth Vanek at milquetoast Studios, Logan Square. The audio recordings are meant to simulate the sound of travelling on CTA trains. They were made by making field recordings of actual trains and then completely recreating the sounds in a studio using synthesizers, percussion, household items and digital manipulation. They can be appreciated on their own as experimental audio or used with a personal listening device to create a fabricated version of the aural environment of public transit. Visit www.ctasoundproject.com to listen to and download more variations, or dial in www.justinpetertil.us to hear some of Petertil’s melody based music. The CTA Sound Project was supported by a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Judson Claiborne

Judson Claiborne is the reclamation of a name given to me by my father. On a personal level, it means rebirth into a greater consciousness. This record was made during a period of personal and artistic transformation and was coaxing for the return of dormant creative energies. The writing of "Before Midnight Scholar" began on a bicycle ride through Southeast Asia, continued on through a four month stay at a spiritual community in the woods of the Hudson River Valley, and ended in the beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois.

Just before moving to Chicago from Saint Louis in 2000, I tried songwriting as an experiment in a new art form. I found great inspiration in the process and started a band called Low Skies. Over the couse of seven years, Low Skies released four records, (three with the Flameshovel label) and toured like crazy, sometimes with acts like Neko Case, Giant Sand, The Handsome Family, Band of Horses, Okkervill River, Explosions in the Sky, and Mucca Pazza.

The songs are mostly narratives about my strange and beautiful travels, encounters, adventures, family, lovers, and dreams. I’ve retold the story of my Great Grandmother, Vida’s tragic relationship with her third husband Crow. I wrote a love song to Elegua, the mythological spirit or orisha who stands at the crossroads in our lives. There are a few covers, songs by James, Tim Buckley, Ross Cashiola, and Paul Seibel.

I’ve collaborated here with Ryan Boyles, a great engineer, multi instrumentalist, and maker of baba ganoush. We met a few years ago when I was barbacking at The Hideout in Chicago. After introducing himself, he invited me to see his band, High Hawk open up for the radical North African refugee band, Tinawiren. I was floored by the whole experience and we began playing shortly thereafter. Darrell Greiwe plays many instruments on the record. We grew up in the same town and have been working together on creative projects for ten years, my favorites being this album and bamboo sticky rice. The beautiful female voice on these songs belongs to Jamie Topper. She also plays and makes her own drums, a godess from the Paleolithic era.

Kaotic Drumline

The Kaotic Drumline, a young percussion ensemble from Chicago’s south side, is part of the regular halftime entertainment for the WNBA’s newest team, the Chicago Sky. The Chicago Sky Drumline pumps up the crowd with their intricate beats and marching routines. The award-winning Sky Drumline entertains before every home game and during player introductions. They also dazzle the crowd with several half-time performances and lead crowd chants during the game. The Sky Drumline has performed for thousands of people around Chicago, including parades, ground breakings, grand openings, parades, rallies, marches, sporting events, festivals, and various civic events. For booking information call 312-994-5997.

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