Sizzled Chicago

[Podcast Update] Five (5) All-New mixes from Deron Delgado & Aaron Dae

Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by John.

Hey folks! Just added three awesome new mixes from Stompy.com + GoodFamily Recordings owner Deron Delgado and two from Dae Recordings’  Aaron Dae. If you’re a podcast subscriber, they should be in your iTunes player already! If not, or if you prefer to download them yourself, you can snag them below! If you haven’t subscribed to the Sizzled Chicago Podcast, you can do so by clicking the image above, or the link below. Enjoy ‘em! 

Subscribe to the Sizzled Podcast (Requires iTunes)!

 

 Deron Delgado - (Birthday Set) Live At Stompy SF (08.31.08) [99:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Deron Delgado - Live At Stompy Pink SF (11.07.08) [58:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Deron Delgado - (New Years Set) - Live At Stompy SF (01.01.09): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Aaron Dae - 5 Magazine Monday Mix [70:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Aaron Dae - February 2009 Promo Mix [74:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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WNUR’s 2nd Annual Chicago Jack Summit | 5.5 Hours of Live Online DJ Sets!

Posted on 23. Feb, 2009 by Karl.

WNUR’s 2nd Annual Jack Summit happens Monday night. This is a phoneathon drive for this wonderful underground, commercial-free station that has been doing their thing for years and years. Expect lots of good music … and lots of nonsense too, as they let us get on the mics (oh no!).

2nd Annual Chicago Jack Summit - Featuring DJ Sets From (in set time order):

Karl Almaria
Chris Grant
Frankie J (of The Sound Republic)
Santiago (of Santiago & Bushido)
Justin Long
Midway Strangers
Bryan Jones

89.3 FM (Chicago Radio)
Monday, February 23rd
9pm-2:30am (CST)
Also streaming online: www.wnur.org.

WNUR STREETBEAT RADIO
Since our inception in the late 80s, our foremost goal has been to play the most forward-thinking, cutting-edge, underground dance and hip-hop cuts the world has to offer. We have programming on the station six nights a week covering material from industrial to progressive, hip-hop to tech house.

From the beginnings of house music in Chicago, WNUR has brought to the airwaves a side of dance music that doesn’t get exposure elsewhere on the dial, in the clubs, or even in the party scene. While WBMX’s Hotmix 5 were playing the latest local cuts during house music’s big explosion, WNUR’s role was playing the imports. Such legendary DJs as Derrick Carter and Mark Farina held shows on WNUR in the late 80s/early 90s. In the mid 90s, DJ Snuggles’ Strictly Jungle show gained national recognition for being the first weekly drum ‘n bass show in the country. Our present mission is to provide Chicago and the world with a source of consistently good underground electronic/dance music in all its variety, both new and old, whether local or imported.

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New Guest Mixes: BRETT JOHNSON and JEFF BLOOM + MY BOY ELROY!

Posted on 19. Feb, 2009 by Karl.

Greetings! If you are subscribed to our podcast, this may be a bit of old news, as we added these mixes a couple weeks ago. And if you aren’t, we have got a grip of new mixes for your download/streaming pleasure. Either way, we think you will be pleased with this round of guest mixes!

Brett Johnson [Aesoteric, Classic, Freerange] hit us with three mixes to share: “Live In La Casa”, “Live in Leipzig, Germany”, and “Rock Wit You”.

Also, we have a tag-team set from fellow Chicago residents (and all around great guys), Jeff Bloom a.k.a. Po!ntfive [Guesthouse, OM, .dotbleep, Movim, Gallery] and My Boy Elroy [of Liquid Soul]: “Live at .5 Studios”.

As a reminder, you can subscribe to the Podcast HERE. Also, you can view our separate mixes-only blog feed at podcasts.sizzledchicago.com.

 

 Brett Johnson | Live in La Casa | 12.08 [41:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Brett Johnson | Live in Leipzig, Germany | 01.05.05 [52:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Brett Johnson | Rock Wit U | 11.08.08 [69:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

  Jeff Bloom + My Boy Elroy | Live at .5 Studios | 01.08.09 [79:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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[New monthly column] Mixtape Chronicles 001: Star Trax

Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by baiee.

Ah yes… the mix tape! Those outdated, scratched-up, unstable pieces of plastic that most folks have banished to a forgotten shoe box in their mother’s basement…

If you’re anything like me (or are driving a car that still has a tape deck), then maybe you’ve held on to a couple (dozen) of the cassettes that meant something to you. If you’re like the vast majority of people my age (that spent their high school years chasing down rave parties), you have long since lost that old box of tapes, or maybe wish you still had a copy of that one special tape that melted in the backseat of your car.  It’s also entirely conceivable that you’re young enough to have missed cassette culture entirely — in which case this monthly series will hopefully open your eyes to a whole series of mixes (and the culture that went along with them) that hail from a Time Before Digitalia. 

Whatever the case may be, if you were part of that culture, then you almost certainly had a favorite mixtape. As an example, some of the tapes of my youth contain elements that continue to inspire me as a DJ 13 years later. The intent of this article — coming at you once a month — is to happily recognize, explore, and expose new (and old) listeners to some of the tapes that have had the biggest impact in my life as a house music enthusiast that grew up in Chicago in the 1990’s. 

The Mixtape Chronicles will aim to dig up the best sets of yore, and although there are many established and well-known mixtapes to acknowledge out there (most of which are readily available on archival sites), I’ll be attempting to showcase more obscure, harder-to-find tapes from my own collection that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. These are the mixes that I’ve proclaimed as my own personal classics! So without further ado, here’s the first.

As I was trying to decide what to kick this series off with, I bounced between a number of strong contenders. When it came down to it though, my first choice ended up being Star Trax, a personal favorite of mine that will hopefully encompass the essence of what this column is all about. My original copy was handed down to me in 1996 from a friend, and has since been in and out of my hands at least three times. I was finally just recently able to recover a copy after years of trying to track another one down, and to my delight it was just as good all these years later as it was back then.

This tape brings back memories of hot & sweaty house parties, long car rides to random check-point raves, and grindin-ass fools makin’ shit twerk in south side barrios all over Chicagoland. This tape is a straight-up ghetto house banger, a sound that was especially huge in the Midwest (and is probably responsible for Daft Punk’s entire career) but is in no way tacky. Seminal Chicago ghetto house labels DanceMania and Relief Records make a dtrong showing all over this mix, along with early tunes from legendary producers Fast Eddie, Green Velvet, Paul Johnson and DJ Funk.

The (still) unknown DJ who laid this mix down could have been plucked straight out of any house party at the time, and the mix contains tons of edits and reworks that I’m still trying to track down! The packaging (and side A) positively scream commercial studio mix, but I’m still pretty sure this was mixed live. The jock behind the decks is not at all afraid to abruptly cut tracks in (or quickly slap them out), and the tape captures a lot of the attitude and style I still hope to see from DJ’s when I’m out and about.

This mix remains a true mystery tape to me and my friends (we still have no idea who was responsible for it), but it was definitely professionally duplicated (printed in white across the side of a clear cassette case with nothing but a telephone number).

I always had fun hypothesizing what DJ was behind this (anybody out there with inside information, please pass it on)! What’s especially curious about this tape is that the first song on side A is “Cotton Eyed Joe”…. um, yeah we won’t go there (nor present that side to you here) but trust me, Side B to this day is where it’s at!

Thanks again to Brian S. from Wisconsin for taking the time to digitize his copy of this classic tape for me. This has given me the opportunity to share one of my favorite tapes of all time, Star Trax, with a whole new audience.

Of course ripped tapes aren’t going to be of the best audio quality, but after years of research and easy listening on the deephousepage archive, I’ve learned that inspiring content doesn’t always require perfect sound quality!

So, without any further hold-up, I present to you the infamous, ghetto-fabulous, yin to DJ Funk’s yang, inspirational, and (in my opinion) classic music mix that is Star Trax!

Grab the mix on the Sizzled servers at: 
http://sizzledchicago.com/guestmixes/MixTapeChronicles-StarTraxx.mp3

Or from Underground Existence dot info at:
http://www.undergroundexistence.info/StarTraxx.mp3

Until next month,

Bryan (BAI-EE) Balli

http://smoothagentrecords.com

http://myspace.com/truefamilyunit

http://undergroundexistence.info

 

 TMTC001 "Star Trax" [30:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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New Mixes for download/stream/podcast!!! DJ Mes, Lee Mortimer, and Natalie Williams!

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Karl.

Well, after several trial-and-error episodes, the Sizzled Chicago Podcast is fully functional! You can subscribe to the Podcast HERE.  Also, you can view our separate mixes-only blog feed at podcasts.sizzledchicago.com. Or, just keep your eyes on our homepage, as any new mix additions will be posted here as well.

To kick things off the right way, we have added mixes from DJ Mes [Guesthouse Music], Lee Mortimer [.dotbleep | Wearhouse], and Natalie Williams. This is a real nice variety pack of ear candy: jackin’, techy, and deeper-ish flavors of house are all represented here. All mixes can be downloaded and streamed above. Enjoy these sets … there are plenty more on the way!

*Special thanks to LA’s Hawt Music  for providing the Mes mixes! Do yourself a favor and subscribe to their podcast here.

 

 DJ Mes | Live At Jack Frost (Dec 08) | Part 1 [59:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 DJ Mes | Live At Jack Frost (Dec 08) | Part 2 [54:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Lee Mortimer | January 2009 Mix [72:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Natalie Williams | January 2009 Mix [41:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Preemptive Strike! Friday, February 6th: Sizzled 003 with The Beechers (Father + Son DJ Team)

Posted on 10. Jan, 2009 by John.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6th: SIZZLED with special guests The Beechers: Marshall + Bill Sr. Father + Son DJ Team!  

The Beechers: Marshall & Bill Sr. (Chicago, IL + Milwaukee, WI • Plate C Studios)
How many people in their 60’s do you know that can match beats? That love house music and disco? Whose record collection puts yours to shame? (The man will only handle his records while wearing latex gloves, for Christ’s sake. To put things in perspective, my dad was a big fan of Ottmar Liebart, the smooth jazz guitarist.) Well, until we met Bill Beecher Sr., we didn’t know anyone like that either. But he exists, and he happens to be the father of our good friend and equally awesome house jock Marshall Beecher (he’d better be awesome with a dad like that!). Bill Sr’s record collection is absolutely legendary amongst Milwaukee disc jockeys (where he resides), and every once in a while he can be coaxed in to coming out and sharing some of his incredible collection with the masses. Even more rarely, he plays alongside his son Marshall, making for one of the coolest and most musically phenomenal sets you could imagine. So when they agreed to come out for Sizzled, you can imagine how excited we were! Prepare yourself for something really special, and of course it’s FREE all night! Oh yea, and the date is NOT a typo. We are doing the first Friday JUST in February this month to accommodate a special event at Lava on our normal night. Oh, and I’ve gone ahead a posted a recording of Marshall + Bill Sr. playing together at the Highbury in Milwaukee too, grab the set and get a little taste of what you’re in store for next month. 

alongside residents
KARL ALMARIA (Bunchlox Music) & JOHN MORK of THE SOUND REPUBLIC (SpatulaCity Records)

—–

Sizzled!
Every Second Friday of the Month
at Lava Chicago
1270 N Milwaukee Ave
(between Paulina St and Ashland Ave)
Bucktown/Wicker Park, Chicago
CTA Blue Line: Division St.
7PM-2AM | 21+ w/ID | NO COVER | 773-342-5282

Map:

Hit lavachicago dot com for more info!

You can also email us with any questions, comments, or theories on quantum mechanics at info at sizzledchicago dot com.

—–

The Sizzled Concept
A Chicago Underground House Music Night held every SECOND FRIDAY of the month at Lava Chicago (1270 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL) and hosted by John Mork of The Sound Republic + SpatulaCity Records and Karl Almaria of Bunchlox Music. The night is the logical evolution from Grizzled’s “new-school/jackin house-only” musical format to a more eclectic, uncompromising, inclusive, and exciting “anything-goes-as-long-as-it’s-good” format that seeks to focus on the extremely wide range of sounds and possibilities that all fall under House Music’s wide umbrella. In an effort to remind ourselves and everyone else that this music and these parties are at the core ALL ABOUT FUN, we think now is the perfect time to get back to focusing on WHAT is getting played, not necessarily who’s playing it. And of course, it’s FREE (NO COVER) ALL NIGHT, just as Grizzled was in its inception. So there it is… let’s get Sizzled!

 

 Holidaze with the Beechers @ The Highbury Milwaukee (12.28.07): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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DOWNLOAD WestFest DJ Sets!

Posted on 16. Dec, 2008 by John.

Yo duderinos! WestFest and the afterparty at Lava Chicago were both off the gosh darned chain! Lava’s resident photographer and Chicago drum n’ bass legend, the one like Doctor Groo (more affectionately known as Ben Baez to us regular folk) took an assload of awesome pics from both days, and the great folks from IllMeasures (who provided the killer sound and the badass of Striz on the decks) managed to snag some really dope recordings of the festivities! That being said, they’re being hosted at the IllMeasures site, and I went ahead and put ‘em up here just in case too. So go ahead and peruse Ben’s dope pics while you peep some sets that will hopefully put you right in the moment. Here’s to another great year of the music we love in the streets of our neighborhood!

Derrick L. Carter - LIVE @ WestFest ‘08

John Mork TSR - LIVE @ WestFest ‘08

John BID Simmons - LIVE @ WestFest ‘08

Striz (IllMeasures) - LIVE @ WestFest ‘08

Enjoy!

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