Brazilian Whacks

Despite an unprecedented effort by President Obama, his wife, Oprah, et al to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago, it was the first candidate city knocked out of contention by the IOC today. (I'm guessing that a week of high-school kids being beat to death on YouTube may not have screamed "host city".) The pro-lympics contingent contended that the games would have been a boon to the local economy in the form of construction jobs and increased revenue from global tourism to our fair city. However, the civic pride that we would have felt now would have completely dissipated by the time 2016 rolled around and hard reality had set in. Chicago is a city whose infrastructure is already under immense financial strain and the Olympics are historically known for plunging host cities into colossal debt, to say nothing of the attendant graft and corruption. Mayor Daley's usual shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach to city government thankfully met with greater resistance on the global stage, a clear sign that President Obama is not a silver bullet rendering anti-American sentiment inert. We're already hosting an unpopular war on multiple fronts and our financial institutions are being blamed for leading the world to the brink of financial ruin; there was no way that an international committee would see fit to entrust us with those colored rings. The fact that we were "shocked" to be eliminated illustrates how clueless we continue to be about the world's perception of us. Besides- with thousands of bikini-clad Brazilian girls in attendance, I may actually watch the Olympics for once.

"He Said, 'Trane Did It'. That Was All I Needed To Hear"

In the mid-80's, the late, great, Warren Zevon was asked to record a jazz song called, "You Don't Know What Love Is", for a film soundtrack. Being a rock and roll songwriter of the grittiest stripe, he declined. But he also respected his predecessors. Once he was told that no less than John Coltrane had covered the song, he reconsidered on the spot. I've found myself in a similar situation. I'm a die-hard rock and roll guy who needed little convincing to accept a new job. I'm taking time off from being in the spotlight and joining the sales team at 95.5 WNUA. It's Chicago's smooth jazz station and I've been a closet fan for a long time. I was gone from Chicago for eleven years, on the air in other cities. Any time I came home, I would get in a cab and ask the driver to put on WNUA. I never got home as much as I wanted to and it always embodied the sound of the city to me. Every other town has a rock station, a "Kiss" station, country, NPR, whatever. You can't hear WNUA anywhere else, nor a reasonable facsimile that comes close. It will definitely be a change of pace (I've gone 37 years never having an office job), but I'm looking forward to trying something new. Sales is all personality, and I think I've established in 15 years of performing that I'm not lacking in that area. We shall see.

O Cover, Where Art Thou?

One of the biggest strengths any city has is its art- specifically, its local music scene- and Chicago music fans need to start putting their money where their mouths are. I just read an article that numerous clubs in the Chicago area have stopped booking live bands. The reason being that patrons balked at the five dollars being charged at the door. Seems a lot of bars had been charging no cover but, economic times being what they are, were now asking patrons to fork over a Lincoln. The result was that "fans" of local music cried foul, convinced that this meager contribution to an artist's time and talent was the straw not only breaking the proverbial camel's back, but also its wallet as well. Evidently, the same people willing to pay 75 dollars to watch the Dave Matthews Band do twenty versions of the same song were a bit miffed at being asked to help fund local music. Clearly this was undermining their usual position of standing motionless, swigging rotgut PBRs. Granted, with gas close to five bucks a pop and a gallon of milk not far behind, you can't begrudge people for going all Monty Burns with their wallets but I reject the notion that the burden of proof is solely on those of us presenting the music.

My point to the fans is- it's easy to "support" something when you don't actually have to do anything about it. It's cheap and you can maintain the illusion of street cred, whatever the hell that is. But bands make their mark (and their meager earnings) on the strength of their live shows, and when you're playing to four people, that's tough to do. Posting to a band's Facebook page doesn't cut it, either. You may actually have to get your ass up, grab a friend, walk down the street, and pay five bucks (still a bargain) to see a band. Anyone grousing about the state of local music need only look in their nearest mirror to find the culprit. The music business has never been more cutthroat than it is now, so it falls to us to support local bands from a wide variety of styles. Now, the fact that some of the biggest draws in this town are cover bands speaks nauseating volumes, and- as the law of averages dictates- plenty of local bands suck. Sometimes you're underground for a reason. Nevertheless, my suggestion is to spend a few bucks to see some original music cranked out nightly by Chicagoans. You may make some band's night- and possibly, their future.

And for those of you IN a band, you may want to book some strip club gigs. No one's tight-fisted with their money there.