CHIRP (Chicago Independent Radio Project) has been supporting independent music since 2007 through benefit shows, web articles, and tent sale, but finally they will launching their own radio station on January 17th. The station will broadcast live 21 hours a day, seven days a week from the CHIRP studios in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Each three-hour on-air shift will be curated by a volunteer host, and will feature an array of independent and under-appreciated music from a variety of genres and eras, as well as conversations and information about happenings in the city’s diverse arts and cultural scenes. Chrip and it’s volunteers have been working on building this studio since last Spring, and their hard work will result in one of the best stations in town with a doubt. The 100% volunteer group also has been working to convince Congress and the FCC to remove existing barriers to the granting of low power FM radio licenses in urban areas in hopes that eventually it will be able to secure a broadcast license as well. The bill supported by CHIRP, the Local Community Radio Act, passed the House of Representatives in December 2009, and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate. Listeners can tune in to CHIRPradio.org beginning at noon on Sunday January 17 to hear the new station launch live.

The CHIRP launch party takes places on January 16th at Empty Bottle with The Yolks, Hollows, and Rabble Rabble.

Power-pop outfit, Treaty of Paris, debuts their latest EP, Currents, Saturday at Metro. The EP is the follow-up to 2007’s Sweet Dreams, Sucker. Although fans will recognize the familiar ToP pop formula, Currents boasts a new maturity, incorporating heavy piano and percussion instrumentation into the mix. ToP plans to debut six new tracks at Metro, backed by an impressive local lineup, including AM Taxi, The Insecurities, Last Fast Action, and The Victory Gins. Tickets available at Metro’s website and eTix. Doors at 5:30pm show at 6. All ages. – Neph Basedow

Although All Things Lucid has been putting out music since 2005, their latest album marks their first self-titled release. All Things Lucid keeps in true following with the band’s sound and style but ups the ante with a little something new. This was my first All Things Lucid album, so many of my observations may not be new or fresh from previous reviewers. A first listening experience can either make you embrace a band or disown them, and All Things Lucid was by far the former.

The band’s increasing fluency in sound captures you right away. Lead singer Miles Benjamin has one of the more unique voices in the Chicago area. It’s not smooth but it’s not caustic, not soft but not gritty. It’s not nasally, guttural, or throaty. It has it’s own category of timbre and quality that is rarely found but greatly liked. Benjamin’s voice on "Take it Easy Joe" and "The Lesson Learned" leads you in like a barker at a carnival into a song that will "astound the senses" or "boggle the mind." All Things Lucid has a certain bluesy quality mixed with good ol’ fashion rock and roll – none of that fake pop crap you hear on the radio that tries to pass as such – and Benjamin’s voice weaves easily between the band as well as the addition horn and string parts.

The recording quality is also fantastic and adds a lot to the band’s finished product. Since All Things Lucid is meant to be purchased on vinyl, each track has a warm sound with more definition than a digital release or CD could offer. Even just listening to it on your iPod you can get a true sense for the direction that All Things Lucid wanted to go with their sound. It’s rare to find a band that doesn’t want to slap a glossy coat of high-end production on their album with no regard for how it’ll affect their final product and call it a day. You can hear the extra effort All Things Lucid put into their album, and it makes a hell of a difference. A great album to kick of the New Year for Chicago music. – Amy Dittmeier

I spoke to the male lead of Gun Hat a few weeks before the show on the 29th at Reggie’s; Andrew was a little nervous. With good cause, one can suppose, as he had found out that they’d been booked to open for Country-Rock legends Supersuckers. Their first night of a three night cycle of shows culminating in a New Year’s Eve show. Andrew knew there would be quite the crowd and quite the show, he expressed a genuine desire to go on stage and give the audience the show they came for. This conversation represented the entire crew’s approach to their set and their attitude on stage. Comprised of the vocal stylings of Andy and Sarah, a Tenor and an Alto, Gun Hat’s steady country song structure is melodic and pleasing to the ear. The melodies are well underscored by the strings that Andy, Laura, Tara and Nick all deftly leverage towards this unique group’s sound. Held together by the classic and steady beats, as laid down by Andy’s wife Ann, these folks don’t disappoint.

Disposing of the modern notions involving “country” music they are a rare breed of music that shares few local comparisons. Perhaps The Golden Horse Ranch Band or The Steepwater Band may give you a hint as to what you might hear; but you wouldn’t be close. Everyone on stage was free of any twang or pop sensibilities, with this home-made style of American Rock N Roll, harking back to the early big bands of Little Richard or Elvis Presley. Even with that early rock swagger, they remember the roots of American music and provide the simple flavor of a country tempo and structure to delight the ear and the audience.

Full of energy and all evidently very happy and grateful to be there, Gun Hat gave a wonderful show. With a 10-song set they all had a great time and interacted with the audience as a family might. Clearly a tight knit group this can often translate into the performance of their songs. From “When You Lie” or “Theme from Gun.Hat” you can tell they all have a good sense of each other. Their easy smiles and friendly demeanor was a breath of warm air on a brisk Chicago morning. Gun Hat’s unique Country-Rock sound is definitely refreshing in a world oversaturated with honky-tonk-hijinks and pop-tarts. If you want a fun band to take friends or family to see, keep your ears perked for these guys. The well-written songs and lively performance will not disappoint and will surely put you in a Rock-N-Roll kind of way. – Ben Kessell

 On January 26th Pit Er Pat and Thrill Jockey will team up once again to break down some musical walls. As Butchy and Fay of Pit Er Pat put it, “It has been just 10,992 hours since the last album”, but it is what remarkable is what they have accomplished in that time. Their new lp is called The Flexible Entertainer, and as I listen through the layers of sound I can see just how fitting that title is. These two are flexible in how they develop songs and sounds and in the structure and instrumentation they utilize. In their words they “freak you hard with banging mpc”, but the album has more depth than that statement may allude to. A mixture of instrumental jam sessions and vocal tracks, it the diversity of sounds that make it such an enjoyable listen. The duo is calling it a “brave new sound” and in a way it is. There is really no classification, it’s danceable, it has guitar, it has drum machines, it has mpc, but really what is it?

Aside from this wonderfully dense and complex collection of tunes Pit Er Pat have hard at work collaborating with the like of Soft Circle, Hecuba, These Are Powers, Rainbow Arabia, and others. These are two talented and creative musicians and other bands are seeing this and wanting to work with them in some capacity. There is no word yet, but hopefully their will be a tour this Spring to support this impressive album.

The goal of the poll is to involve local scenemakers (the jury), local music fans (the readers) and Deli writers in choosing the best emerging artists of 2009 of the various local scenes covered by The Deli.

There will be prizes for the winners of The Readers Poll and the Jury Poll, and likely also for some of the runner-ups. Please make your vote today. The poll will be open until January 16th.

The “scenemakers” that helped select the bands are as follows: Brent from Avant/Chicago, The Chicago Independent Music Review, Phil from Double Door, Michael from Ear It Now, Tankboy, Billy from The Whistler, Brian from Chicago Snacks, Bill Valenta, Matt from Schubas, Brian from Gallery of Carpet, Frank from Windy City Rock, and Farrai from Stop Being Famous.

Brighton MA, Coach House Sounds, The Deli, and Schubas have all combined to put together a contest to end all contests. It all started when BMA announced their two night stay at Schubas this month (Jan. 22nd and 23rd), but more on the show and the fine supporting bands on the ticket. You need to enter this contest today. One lucky winner will win a pair of tickets to one of the upcoming Brighton, MA performances at Schubas, and also admission for two to come and watch Brighton, MA’s upcoming Coach House Sounds session* on Sunday 1/10 at 1:30 pm!

To enter contest, please send email to: coachhousesounds@gmail.com with Subject: BMA SESSION

Winners announced Friday @ Noon!

Chicago’s Tall Corn Music is releasing the latest effort from Brad Loving (aka Lobisomen) this February. As Lobisomen, Brad is free to explore the depths of electronic music. Combining influences as diverse African, South American, and Jamaican music with elements for hip hop and jazz, his new ep Brightest Solids is near global effort. It’s not surprising given his extended stays in Brazil, France, Japan, and Mali. However, when you listen closely you can hear heavy elements of thriving local improvisational music scene. Tall Corn is giving us a sneak peak at the ep which is scheduled for release on Feb. 23. Here is “Plasma Is For Lovers” (mp3).

Seeing Daytrotter post their new session with Headlights today reminded me that I had not shared their video for “Love Song For Buddy”. This animated gem was directed and Illustrated by Scott Marvel, and beautifully captures this gentle effort from the normally upbeat Southern Illinois band. The song appears on the band’s second album, Wildlife, which was released by Polyvinyl back in October. Headlights also announced tonight their spring tour with David Bazan that will bring them to DeKalb’s House Café on April 3rd.

The creative process of an artistic hipster is a fascinating thing to watch. Seriously, Oreaganomics create more than just music and have posted a series of series they are calling “Atlas Drugged”. It’s an album filled with short compositions and uniquely made sounds.

When the album is released it will be a vinyl only release (Jan. 26th, Sophomore Lounge), but I still feel compelled to mention what my verision of this album looks like. A few weeks ago I was going through my mail and opened a package from State Champion. I looked inside and there was the spine of Michael Jordan’s I Can’t Accept Not Trying. Now it was close to Christmas, but why me and why Jordan’s tiny collection of thoughts? I pulled it out and found the guts of the book had been removed and in its place was a promo copy of Stale Champagne the new album from State Champion.

The album itself is almost as exciting as it’s unique packaging. A blend of southern twang, calculated Chicago rock, and a heavy dose of violin magic makes for an exciting and surprisingly warm album. It’s a lo-fi, heartfelt, and endearingly passionate garage-country. This, the bands debut album, proves that something original and unique can be built on a foundation of traditional ad known. Ryan Davis provides a steady swagger that could propel this band to bigger things in the year ahead.

Stale Champagne will be released on Jan. 26th, but you can celebrated the release on the 20th at Empty Bottle with Rabble Rabble, Phantom Family Halo, and Wishgift.

First, thanks to everyone who entered our open contest to be included in our year-end poll. The response was overwhelming and all of The Deli’s writers were involved in narrowing the field down to arrive at three bands that will be included in the year-end poll. Those bands are Panda Riot, Daniel Knox, and Mr. Bear. These bands will be added to the list of bands hand selected by a jury of Chicago media, venue booking agents, and other Chicago music nerds. The year-end best of Chicago poll will be posted on January 6th and will run through the 15th.