CHIRP Radio and Records
You have to hand it to CHIRP Radio (107.1FM) in Chicago; their annual Record Fair keeps improving.
The independent community radio station has been running the successful record fair - and so much more
- for over a decade, and its curators keep topping themselves. The Fair returns to Plumbers Hall (1340 W.
Washington) on Saturday, May 4, 2019, and is being held a few weeks later than the last few years to create
a bit more distance from its younger sibling, Record Store Day. The later spring temperatures should make
for a great day of venturing out and digging through thousands of crates of vinyl records, as well as DVDs,
CDs, posters, music-related accessories, and more. With more than 100 tables across two floors from vendors
across the U.S., it's a music collector's paradise. Additional activities include a Gear Showcase area anchored
by Cambridge Audio. Live music includes performances by The Jellies, Baby Money (solo), DPCD, Thair,
and Charming Hokum (Bob Gerics & Megan Donahue), plus live music and comedy from Groovebox and
performances by the Blue Ribbon Glee Club and Reggio the Hoofer. Also featured are DJ sets from Van
Paugam, Miss Alex White, DJ Chuck Wren, and Metro Chicago founder Joe Shanahan. Food from Conscious
Plates and Taco in A Bag (including vegetarian and vegan options) and beer from Half Acre, cider from Eris,
Mezzo Spritz canned cocktails from Virtue, and wine provided by In Fine Spirits Coffee from Metropolis will
also be available. The First 500 attendees get a free tote bag with a download code and the CHIRP Record
Fair Local Label Sampler. Visit www.recordfair.chirpradio.org for more information.
05•2019
The Story Of Wax Trax!
Hello My Name Is...
Timothy Showalter
D
on’t ever get too comfortable — Timothy Showalter now recognizes
this adage as the cold, hard bottom line in every creative undertaking
he attempts under the shape-shifting moniker of Strand of Oaks. For
instance, in December of 2013, the Hoosier-bred, Philadelphia-anchored musi-
cian was pretty sure he’d completed HEAL, a hushed, sensitive document of
how he’d been feeling up to that point. Then — while he and his wife Sue were
driving back to Pennsylvania from Indiana on Christmas day, his car spun out
on black freeway ice and collided with two oncoming semis in the opposite
lane. The couple survived, and days later Showalter was back at work on
HEAL, amping up every reverent mix to anthemic 11 for what would become
his breakthrough. Theoretically, the heartland rocker was on his way to star-
dom. Or so it appeared.
The 2017 follow-up — the less bombastic Hard Love —failed to catch fire,
and the label’s attempt to repackage a bonus-track edition a year later, Harder
Love, barely registered on his radar. By then, things had turned dark, post tour,
and Showalter — left to his own depressed devices — was actually threaten-
ing to leave show business entirely. He was over it. But through a serendipi-
tous set of circumstances — and unexpectedly ardent supporters — he opted
to carry on with Eraserland, his most bare-knuckled, confessional collection to
Continued on page 8
The Moon Festival
We’re awash in festival hype this time of year, but there’s a real joy in
immersing yourself in a festival of emerging talent. The 7th Annual Moon
Runners Festival May 4th, and 5th at Reggie's, 2109 South State St, has
become the gold standard for showcasing up and coming roots bands. The
founders say that Moon Runners focuses on blending genres of music and
Could there have been a more brilliant way to end Record Store Day than with an Industrial Accident?
The just-released Wax Trax! documentary distills the history of Chicago’s seminal record label and store
into an entertaining yarn about love, family, music, sex, drugs, rock & roll and how not to run a business,
if you wish to remain solvent. Along the way, they also managed to invent the industrial rock genre. Hosted
on Record Store Day at the House of Vans location on the near West Side, the evening not only featured a
screening of the film, but also included nostalgia-producing ephemera from the label’s past. Saturday's fes-
tivities included a film screening, Q&A, and release party for the long-awaited Industrial Accident sound-
track.
And if that wasn’t enough, it included a live performance from Ministry, who were the tent pole band
for the label. Specifically, lead singer Al Jourgensen who had his hand in so many side projects (including
Revolting Cocks and 1000 Homo DJ's) during the Wax Trax! golden era of the '80s and '90s, he’s almost a
genre unto himself. The entirety of the evening felt like a high school reunion hosted on the Island of Misfit
Toys, which seemed all too appropriate. After all, those who didn’t seem to belong anywhere somehow
found each other in the Wax Trax! universe. Simply put, the end result was an incredibly special evening
and even more special film. Industrial Accident The Story of Wax Trax Records the DVD and Soundtrack
is available now at local record stores waxtrax.com.
– Curt Baran
6 illinoisentertainer.com may 2019
groups of people that go surprisingly well together. The Festival is yearly cele-
bration of MoonRunners
Radio - a podcast showcas-
ing country, roots, and
punk music.
Highlights include the
weird,
monster-themed
bluegrass and folk of
Photo by Ed Spinelli
Harley Pow; the dark hon-
esty and modern folk of
Amigo The Devil and the
punk red-neck bluegrass of
We Are Heathens. The line-
up also includes Possessed
by Paul James, Roger Alan
Wade,
Black
Eyed
Vermillion, Rachel Brooke,
The Bridge City Sinners,
The Calamity Cubes!, Urban Pioneers, The Ghost Wolves, Apes Of The State,
Whiskey Dick, Old Wolves, CATL, Joecephus and The George Jonestown
Massacre, Pearls Mahone, Zander Schloss, The Rent Strike, The Haws, Stoned
Evergreen Travelers, James Hunnicutt, Dog Bite Harris, The Suburbanists,
Won't Stay Dead, and Brittany Avery. View the full line-up and get more infor-
mation at www.reggieslive.com.