“Something about a recording studio, I think it’s always overlooked as a place for community.”
Category: Chicagoans of Note
Adam Gogola, front man of Blind Adam & the Federal League
“When you look around your community, it’s easy to help the people around you. And once you start doing that, it’s easier to understand how we can effect change.”
Nick Acosta, publisher of New Morality Zine
“I started my zine when I moved to Chicago. . . . I thought, ‘What is something I can do by myself yet still contribute?'”
Andrew Tham, composer, performer, and cofounder of Parlour Tapes
“I was just livestreaming myself from my room for eight hours a day, just to see what it felt like. It was weird.”
Jumaane Taylor, tap dancer
“I’ve been on this journey to be able to present within the jazz community. . . . To be a union of creative beauty.”
Maura Walsh, creator of Tiny Guide to Chicago Arts
“Our city is just exploding with creativity and music and art, and all of these truly irreplaceable spaces are in danger of closing.”
Sandra Treviño, DJ and founder of Latin-music site Enchúfate
“I love that I can share the music that I love, and that once people hear it they’re gonna love it too.”
Deborah Bowen, singer for Bushoong and makeup artist
“A lot of musicians around this time are suffering from the thought of not being able to perform. There’s a certain level of anxiety.”
Toronzo Cannon, bluesman and bus driver
“All of us have been put on pause, where we’re forced to go sit down and think about our lives, because things can be taken away just like that.”
DJ Hank, footwork producer and bike messenger
“Something with the culture just instantly made sense, coming from a punk background. I think footwork music is pretty subversive. It’s raw.”
Olivia Junell, codirector of Experimental Sound Studio
“Right before the shelter-in-place got announced, we started thinking: OK, how can we help?”
Thomas Comerford, filmmaker and singer-songwriter
“To me that’s kind of the magical part, bringing the songs to various people to work on them together.”
Billy Helmkamp, co-owner of the Whistler and Sleeping Village
“This is gonna devastate our industry. We were the first to close; we’re gonna be the last to reopen. A lot of venues aren’t gonna make it.”
PJ Gordon, hip-hop promoter, curator, and writer
“I have a pinned tweet on my page that says, ‘“I fucked someone to that playlist you made” is the highest compliment you can give me.’”