CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Erik Roldan writes

CHIRP + Coach House Sounds Session with Rabble Rabble

Seeing “Jailbait” and “Bangover” listed as the names of two available singles by Chicago quartet Rabble Rabble, you start to get a sense of their intentions. Low-end Stooges sleeze with a yelpy punker in the front and reverbed psychedelia in the back give this heavy rock a mature swagger.

This summer, Rabble Rabble recorded a session with Coach House Sounds and the result was an amplification of their vinyl-friendly bass, warmth only an analog recording could bring out. The band insisted on democratic answers to my interview questions; below is their group effort.

Rabble Rabble’s CHIRP and Coach House Sounds Live session is streamable at coachhousesounds.com starting Tuesday, November 9th!

What the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a basement?

We were doing a photo shoot for our album at Ottoman Empire (R.I.P) over the summer and they had a show the previous night so the basement was still pretty trashed. One of the bands that played had a giant cardboard/plastic vagina as a prop that was sitting in a corner and was covered in olive oil (yes, olive oil) to create a “wet” visual effect.

Being the young, innovative, individuals that we are, we all climbed into this giant wet vagina and did a Beatles-esque stack-up. It was pretty gross. Those pictures might not surface for awhile… Also Salvia…

Tell me about a coach you had as a child. What did you learn from them?

Rabble Rabble never went to school. We all coach each other and help each other out when we’re having life or other problems. Got have each others backs in a band like this, you never know when a fight is gonna break out.

For instance, we played at Mortville in January and there were some crust punks that were starting some shit with us. They were trying to grab our microphones and getting all up in our shit when Matt started strangling one of them and fighting him.

Kaylee saw what was going on and got out from behind her drums and started fighting these punks too and then Ralph and Todd joined in. It was an all out Band Vs. Audience brawl for a minute.

What do you like about Chicago, and what makes it special to you?

Chicago is a city of diversity. If you get sick of hanging out in Wicker Park getting wasted at the Flat Iron with a bunch of post-art school cats, then go to Pilsen and get mugged. Now that you don’t have a wallet, go to Lincoln park and peddle outside of the Pita Pit so you can get enough money to catch the 74 bus back to your apartment in Logan Square. Safe and sound!

Never a dull moment. Keeps you tired at the end of every day. Plus the sense of camaraderie and general love that is developing in the music community is a breath of fresh air compared to New York or L.A.

Tell me about your CHS session—what did you like about it? Was there anything that surprised you or was spontaneous that came out in the recording?

We recorded our set sometime in June just before Radar Eyes did. It was brutally hot. In fact it might have been one of the sweatiest one hour periods of our lives, and we have played many a sweaty basement shows. That day was exceptional hot however.

Also, our session includes two songs that at the time happen to be very new. “Why Not” and “Long Hook”. We are quite certain that both songs have grown a lot since then but it’ll be nice to hear the early stages of our first steps into new territory after recording our first LP “Bangover.”

What’s happening? What are your current/upcoming shows or releases?

We are doing a radio program on December 15th for Vocalo 89.5 FM. Then we have the Chicago Music Blogger Showcase at the Sub-T with White Mystery, Hollows and Radar Eyes on December 18th. That’s all that’s confirmed as of now. But we may be doing a few out of town gigs and a DIY space or two. November is gonna be filled with a lot of experimentation and new song writing.

As for releases, we are actually gonna release a full studio-recorded single of those two new songs that are on the CHS session, “Why Not” and “Long Hook” sometime early next year. We are also hard at work on new material for our next album and things are sounding EPIC!