Jim's Guitar Calendar
Local guitar and songwriting legend Jim Petrik is on a roll. Not only has his band The Ides of
March released a surprisingly good album this year, Play On (Let’s face it: veteran rockers often lose
their songwriting chops as they get older.), he’s also come out with an impressive 24-month guitar
calendar. Petrik’s 2020-2021 STARS, GUITARS, AND SONGS calendar features his extensive guitar
collection, lyrics from his most memorable hits, fascinating stories, and personal photos of Jim with
some of the biggest names in music. Peterik has written or co-written some of the most played AOR
songs in rock, such as “Eye Of The Tiger,” “Hold On Loosely,” “Vehicle,” and others, tallying over 30
million sales in his long career. The Stars, Guitars, And Songs calendar includes many of Jim’s hand-
written lyric sheets, showing the genesis of these blockbuster tunes. Fans will also get a peek “behind
the scenes” of these iconic songs as Jim shares their accompanying stories Like most famous rockers
Petrik is an avid guitar enthusiast. He’s assembled a collection of rare and one-of-a-kind axes.
Collectible guitar aficionados everywhere will enjoy the hi-res photos of Jim’s favorite axes through-
out the pages of this exclusive calendar. As with the songs, Jim relates the histories surrounding
select pieces from his treasured assortment. It's available on Amazon.com
11•2019
None More Black
Thanksgiving means counting our blessings, but for others, it means stocking up on deals on Black
Friday. The folks at Record Store Day have their own version, and that’s collecting vinyl on the post-
Thanksgiving recovery day. The curators at RSD “work year-round to shine a light on the independent
businesses in your local community that sells you records and other things that make you happy, make
you smile, make you sing, bring you comfort, bring people together. Everything you find at a record
store would be a great gift for someone, so being part of that holiday shopping season and the biggest
shopping day of the year makes sense to us.”
RSD recruits labels, artists, managers, and distribution companies who feel the same about Black
Friday and have put together a list of exclusive vinyl titles that drop on November 29. See page 44 for
our best picks for record store day, or visit recordstoreday.com.
6 illinoisentertainer.com november 2019
Punks Fighting T1
Punk label boss Jim Costanzo knew when his nephew Joey was diag-
nosed at age three with Type 1 diabetes, it would become his mission to raise
money for families dealing with the financial burden associated with it. “We
had no understanding of it [the disease], but we quickly learned that this is
a very serious illness. Working with the JDRF to learn what lied ahead for
Joey, Costanzo says, "We saw so many families that were not able to handle
the financial burden of providing care for their child. We have since made it
a goal to raise as much money as possible to assist the JDRF in their mission
to raise awareness and find a cure for type 1 diabetes.”
Being involved with promoting shows since his teens, Costanzo knew he
could assemble talent and put together a music event that would raise a
good amount of money to fight for the cause. “What we found was a com-
munity, a scene where even as teenagers, we could make a difference.
Whether it was playing shows against racism or gathering coats for the
homeless, we saw that through music, change was possible. One day we
were discussing ideas on how we could do our part, and we thought it
would be great to put on a benefit show like back in the day.”
After consulting with high profile local bands, Costanzo was able to put
together a two-night lineup that will come together at The Forge of Joliet that
features numerous noteworthy acts. T1 Fest commences Friday November 8,
and is headlined by Flatfoot 56 with support from Brendan Kelly, (Lawrence
Arms/Wandering Birds), The Brokedowns, and Andrew Thomas. Day Two
festivities begin at 3:30 PM on Saturday, November 9, with an equally inpres-
sive line-up including The Smoking Popes, The Lillingtons, 88 Fingers Louie,
Dan Vapid & The Cheats, Vandoliers, Kali Masi, The Reaganomics, and Cap
Gun Heroes. Tickets for each individual night are available, as well as two-
day weekend passes.
If you attended Riot Fest 2019 in Douglas Park, you saw T1’s booth at the
legendary festival. “We had a great but bittersweet response (at Riot Fest),”
Costanzo told IE. “The great part was thousands of people who came by our
tent to show support, and they wanted to let us know that they are coming
to the show. The bittersweet part was how many of those people we met who
were either Type 1 diabetics or had a family member or friend that was.
Obviously, having it touch our family, we see its effects daily. To see so many
families dealing with it as well only fuels our drive to do as much as we can
to fight this horrible illness. It's unreal to think that more than 50% of the
bands playing our Fest, including Smoking Popes, Kali Masi, and the
Brokedowns, either are affected by Type 1 or have an immediate family
members that are.”
T1 is an all-ages event. Tickets are available at www.t1fest.com and
ticketweb.com. Prices range from $15-50. The Forge is located at 22 W. Cass
St. Joliet, IL.