Chirp | The Decibel Tolls

CHIRP, or the Chicago Independent Radio Project, now has a space for its studio and alchemy laboratory. This is most triumphant. We’re now almost ready to start the web broadcast, and with the Local Community Radio Act moving to the House this fall with bipartisan support, it looks like CHIRP will be pretty close to having a terrestrial signal as well, pretty soon. So, the new home of CHIRP is the second floor of The Dank Haus, Chicago’s German-American cultural center. My seven or so years of studying German throughout middle and high school will now pay off handsomely.

CHIRP now has a space!

Having come of age with many pothead friends, it will be hard for me, at first, to dissociate “dank” with “weed.” This is rather annoying. With that said, I still think it’s very cool that our LP and Internet radio station will be housed in a pretty awesome (and graciously generous) community center.

pitchfork Pitchfork Music Festival 2K8 Set Times Revealed

The world’s most affordable summer festival, Pitchfork Music Festival right here in Chicago, is certainly a favorite of mine. If I remember correctly, 312s are only, like, $4 (muy bueno). The schedule was just released this morning, so I figured it would be poignant to post the set times for the shows that the Decibel Tolls is stoked/pscyhed/pumped for (a.k.a. relevant to this blog).

For the psych rock and psych pop fan, here is your personalized schedule:

Saturday:

1:25 – A Hawk and a Handsaw – Balance Stage
2:00 – Caribou – Connector Stage
2:20 – Icy Demons – Balance Stage
4:15 – The Ruby Suns – Balance stage
8:25 – No Age – Balance Stage
9:00 – Animal Collective – Aluminum Stage

Sunday

1:30 – Dirty Projectors – Aluminum Stage
2:00 – Boris – Connector Stage
3:00 – The Apples in Stereo – Aluminum Stage
7:00 – Spiritualized – Aluminum Stage
8:00 – Dinosaur Jr – Connector Stage

Obviously, the artist to watch during PMF2K8 is Spiritualized, as it’s been a looong time since we’ve seen the J Spaceman in action, and it’s entirely possibly that he will bring a 30+ member band with him to reproduce some of the nauseatingly thick rock action of Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space. Though I’m sure, since everyone has shorter set times anyway, that he’ll be focusing more on the equally excellent but more minimal Songs in A & E, I just have a feeling that Pierce & Co. is going to bring something really special to the table on Sunday evening. I’ve seen/booked a number of these bands before, so I’ll offer previews closer to the festival dates.

chirprecordfair Pitchfork Music Festival 2K8 Set Times Revealed

I will be working the CHIRP Record Fair part of the time, so please stop by to see us. Lots of crusty old records sold by even crustier dudes, as well as new jam hives, will be available, and a bunch of reps from Drag City, Thrill Jockey, et al. will be hanging out and slamming their free bottled water privileges. There will be tons of tables, so you can’t miss us (we might be the festival’s largest vendor). Plus, it’ll be nice to get out of the sun (the fair is held under a bunch of open air canopy tents). Proceeds will benefit CHIRP building an LPFM station in Chicago. We’ll have free schwag, too. LPFM is the new movement, so get hip.