Chicago Sound are Queens
The Chicago Sound Story
by Jeff "Killer" Kowalski
Greetings rock fan and music lover. I am very drunk right now, so bear with me. The Chicago Sound was formed by Weasel Walter and Todd Rittman in Spring 1998 in order to showcase these two geniuses rock and roll side. Weasel is pretty well known for being the man behind long-lived skronk/no wave/prog/free jazz/grind monolith The Flying Luttenbachers, while Todd holds down one of the guitar anchors in US Maple's circus of daliesque AC/DC adulation. They wanted a band to do their favorite classic rock songs, but didn't really have that much time to learn them. The men decided that if they could play along to a tape of those beloved chestnuts, that exact notes wouldn't matter -- feeling, heart and soul (a love for classic rock) would take over and transform the performances to a new, higher dimension.
The two dudes enlisted friends and acquaintences that they knew both loved the classics, but had that chaotic, party attitude that The Chicago Sound is becoming widely known for all over the world. Todd called his friend Mike Sims, a gunslinging, beer-chugging renegade who had spent decades playing these same songs in cover bands. Weasel added a whole rogues gallery of rockers to the mix. Three members of the reknowned "Party Grind" combo 7000 Dying Rats came into the fold, each one offering a unique skill and totally kickass energy and atitude: Steve Rathbone with his "fill in the cracks" approach to instrumentation, Toney Vast-Binder with his raging vocals/wicked bass licks (and hot sisters) ans finally Justin "Dirty" Berger, a virtuoso lead guitar player who is really very clean, despite his rock and roll nickname. Filling out the group for the first show was the mysterious oriental shamen J-10 on the cryptic baritone slide guitar, from the glam/comedy metal group Hott Lixx.
Although, not as many rockers as the band would have liked on stage, the seven warriors mounted Lounge Ax on June 9, 1998 to kick ass and get wild. Weasel had sort of a "Duff McKagan" look with long pink wig, shades, leather pants and no shirt. He forgot his guitar strap and spent the whole set balancing the guitar or hoisting it victoriously into the air. Steve, in shades, mullet and painter's cap, manned the back line ..boards, grooving hard and doing that neck movement that everybody likes. There were at least two members wearing sleeveless union jack shirts. Todd proved his versatility on guitar and backup vocals. The sound guy was a dick and kept trying to turn down the tape in the monitors, but the band rocked so hard that it inspired one of the six audience members to return to his hometown of Toronto, Canada to start "The Toronto Sound" (Danko Jones -- did you do this, dude? let us know!!!) (NOTE: Since the time of this writing, The Pittsburgh Sound and The San Francisco Sound have also emerged).
This embryonic set was immortalized on the first Chicago Sound release "We're A Good Band". The songs were "Rock of Ages", "Just What I needed", "Live and Let Die", "Barracuda", "Fantasy life", "More Than A Feeling", "Anyway You Want It", "Double Vision" and "The Stroke". All the versions really rocked. In "rock of ages", the band got behind and then ahead of the tape, causing a round to occur, like "Row, row, row your boat" and shit! On "Live and Let Die", the band ably recreates the intricate orchestral sections with flair and energy. The monitors were so lo by the final tune "Barracuda" that the resulting cloud-burst of sound is remniscent of the mass sonorities of celebrated 20th century composer Iannis Xenakis. This CD is available from this website, by clicking here .
After this totally victorious show -- there was silence!!! Almost three years of silence. Although everyone at the show -- audience and musicians alike -- raved about this powerful debut, the band felt they needed to gestate their vision a little longer in private. Many, many hours of heated discussion, torturous practice and discipline occurred during this stolid period of aesthetic reassessment...
Finally the silence was broken. On May 24, 2001 The mighty Chicago Sound reclaimed the stage with a new, heavier line-up and musical vision. Todd and Weasel switched off between drums and guitar and vocals in a display of extremely multi-talent.
Now, once agin The Chicago Sound returns to the stage on March 30th, 2006 at The Beat Kitchen for what might prove to be the most formidable line-up yet. Come on dudez...let's get it on!
