CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Karin Fjellman writes

CHIRP Night at the Whistler next Monday!

Incredible local music! Amazing drinks! Cool raffle prizes! It’s all at CHIRP Night at the Whistler! Check out this month’s featured local artists, In Tall Buildings & Helen Money, while DJ STV SLV (of Hood Internet) and Dena Masley (CHIRP) spin records throughout the night. A portion of the bar’s proceeds goes to CHIRP.

CHIRP Night at the Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee
9:30pm – 2am
No cover

In Tall Buildings confounds expectations on their new self-titled Whistler release, unless you’re familiar with the force behind this project. Going by the name alone, you might think that In Tall Buildings would create an artificial and electronic sound, busy with blips and beeps but devoid of all life, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Indeed, there is a warmth and sense of space throughout the eight compositions on this debut that is palpable, and comes as a welcome refuge from the daily hubbub of urban life. Once one learns that In Tall Buildings is a solo project from Chicagoan Erik Hall, a guitarist and percussionist in NOMO, bassist in His Name Is Alive and drummer in Saturday Looks Good To Me, the quality of the songs and performance is less of a surprise, but the writing and the sound is still more contemplative than one might expect. The territory is the road well traveled of acoustic folk, but Hall does bring a fresh approach that warrants a close listen.

Another stellar example of musical work by an alter ego is Helen Money, the nom de plume of classically-trained cellist Alison Chesley. Lovers of music first had the chance to fall in love with Helen Money when she was known as the Alison half of Jason and Alison, and the love only got deeper with the advent and flowering of their group Verbow. Since the end of Verbow in 2001, Chesley’s cello has appeared on records by Anthrax, Broken Social Scene, Russian Circles, Chris Connelly, Disturbed, Poi Dog Pondering and Bob Mould (who produced the first Verbow record). Chesley’s second album under the name Helen Money, In Tune was recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio and released last fall on Table of the Elements. The release features eight beautiful original compositions of vastly varying styles and paces (from chop-chop rock to dark ballads) and an awesome Minutemen cover. When she plays the CHIRP Night at The Whistler, she will have just returned from playing in the avant garde ensemble Carte Blanche (with Rhys Chatham) and under the Helen Money moniker at the Berles Rock Festival in Switzerland, and she will be opening for Shellac and Mission of Burma starting this September.