I Know Jon Cheese

NAME: Andy
LOCATION: A supremely bizarre party 35 stories up on Wacker.

So, who is Jon Cheese?

Jon Cheese is the manager of a band called Limbeck. [Andy can tell I have never heard of this and very kindly spells out the band's name.] L-I-M-B-E-C-K.

Tell me about that band.

I saw that band when I was working at the Iowa State M-Shop. That's the Iowa State University venue.

You were a student there at the time?

I was a student there.

And they were just a band that came through?

Yep. And I, uh, I mean I hung out with the band and their t-shirts were like fifteen dollars and this one was only ten. So I picked out the Jon Cheese shirt.

So do you personally know Jon Cheese?

I actually met Jon Cheese. And he looks identical to this photograph. Or, to this screenprint.

Is he as awesome as he seems from the shirt?

I don't know, how awesome does he seem from the shirt?

He seems pretty awesome, in my opinion.

He's pretty much the same. He's got the 'stache, he's got the fro-ey hair. It was pretty amazing.

The band sells this shirt as merchandise. But there's no way that this shirt would tell me anything about that band.

No, not really. Not that I know of. Unless we're missing something.

Has anyone ever come up and asked you about it and learned about the band - other than the guy curating the blog?

I actually don't wear this shirt very often. I haven't done laundry in like two months. So this is like the last stack. No, nobody's ever come and asked me about Jon Cheese. Just you.

DISMANTLE

NAME: Erin
LOCATION: Parrots Bar and Grill, Wellington and Halstead

I didn't know what to do with my life and I was graduating from college and my sister bought me a ticket to see my favorite band for my birthday. So I came here to visit for the first time in a lotta years and we went to the concert and I bought this t-shirt and it's kinda embarrassing because it's a U2 concert t-shirt but it means more to me because it's the color it is and it says "dismantle" and it appeals to my, like, leftist politics, but - and it's, you know, protest-y.


But it also has this really great memory that like my sister and I connected for the first time in a really long time and I came here for the first time in a really long time and it was that weekend that I decided that when I graduated from college I would move here. And I graduated from college and I had no job and I had nothing and I moved here and I'm still here three years later, so. Every time I wear this t-shirt I feel a little, like, liberated, and I believe in myself a little bit more.

So, normally I ask a lot of questions, but I'm tempted to just write down everything you just said and leave it at that.

It sounded completely geeky!

No, no, it sounded really good.

Fishbone

NAME: Angel
LOCATION: Whole Foods, Lakeview

Fishbone was an early-80s band that was a ska/punk/metal hybrid ... they had a couple good records in like the mid-, late-80s. Still around. But I found this shirt vintage at, um, Brown Elephant, I believe?

I just, this kinda brings me back a little bit to my childhood, I guess. The early 80s, or the late 80s, 90s.

Are they from here?

Uh, no no, they're from California.

Is that where you're from?

No, I'm born and raised in Chicago.

But have you seen them live?

No, not live. I've seen them - I've seen, like, footage of them on TV. I mean, they were an exciting band at the time. They were one of those bands that you couldn't really pigeonhole because they just had so many different styles but like the Chili Peppers were down with them and um, a lot of metal bands, too. Primus, I know they toured with them, so. And it glows in the dark!

Nice.

And it's very appropriate because I work in the fish market. So, you know.

You wear it to work a lot?

I wear it out and about. I do get comments from the old-timers, they see it, they're like, "Yeah, Fishbone, yeah!"

Harvey Danger

NAME: Kyle
LOCATION: Schubas, Belmont & Southport (Chicago stop for Harvey Danger's farwell tour)

You're a Harvey Danger fan.

I am. I have been for a couple years, actually.

Only a couple years?

Okay, for about ten years. Since "Flagpole Sitta" came out. I mean I really don't like the song now but it was what first introduced me to them.

You don't like "Flagpole Sitta"?

It grew old. It got overplayed. It's - I mean, it kinda overshadowed any other song they had that came out.

They have a lot of other stuff, obviously.

They have four albums! I mean, three plus all the bonus stuff.

But do you want them to play "Flagpole Sitta" tonight?

I wouldn't be offended if they played it but I mean I'd rather the room be saved in the set for something more obscure.

How do you feel about the band breaking up?

Very disappointed. I mean, I know they haven't been very active in a while, but I mean, I didn't mind just like once every couple years a new album coming out... I've driven downstate to see their tour before. It's fun times.

How many times have you seen them?

Only twice.

What's your favorite Harvey Danger song?

My favorite one is probably one that I don't even have a complete cut of off their original demo tape, called "Ignore Me". Otherwise, like as far as more popular songs go, my favorite single is probably "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo". Or, "Woolly Muffler" if we're gonna go with just album tracks.

My friend Mal over here wrote out a top ten. She likes "Wrecking Ball".

Ooh! I really like that song. Have you heard the piano version that they did on the "Little Round Mirrors" EP?

[Here, Kyle and my friend Mal went off on their favorite Harvey Danger deep cuts for about ten minutes. Instead of transcribing all of it, I'll just link you to this video, which I feel is a pretty impressive representation of the joy that swells in my heart whenever I hear Harvey Danger's one big hit.]

eels with strings

NAME: Jon
LOCATION: Clark St, Lakeview

Tell the uninitiated about eels and Mr. E.

Eels is my favorite band of all time and, let's see. They're from California. They had a hit about 1996 called "Novocaine for the Soul". But then, after that, they didn't really have any big hit radio songs. They just kinda kept going but people didn't really know that they kept going. Well I knew they kept going. So I kept listening.

What about "Last Stop: This Town"?

That's another one they kinda - yeah, that's true. They did have one more - it wasn't as big a hit, but y'know.

I love that song.

I love that song, too. They're a great band.

So was E morose and depressed when you met him?

Uh, no. He was rocking out at a concert. I've been to see them three times.

Where?

I saw them first time at the one down here. The Metro. Yeah, the Metro. And then I saw them again in Detroit and I saw them again - this is the concert I got the shirt from - I saw them at Park West.

How did you go about meeting him, to get him to autograph the shirt?

I just hung out after the show. The first time I met him was at The Metro when I was young and dumb and excited to meet a rock hero and so I was this very scary big man going crazy.

Just how tall are you?

I'm 6'5". So I said, "Hey, can I get a picture?" And he said, "Yeah, sure, whatever." And so I just went like this...

[To demonstrate, Jon threw his long lanky right arm over my shoulder with delightful enthusiasm.]

...and so the best picture I've ever taken in my life is me smiling this big huge smile and him looking off to the side not even looking at the camera. So, that's the first time. And then the second time I, you know, I went home that night and I thought you know what? He's probably gonna think I'm a big jerk or whatever and if he ever sees me again he's probably gonna wanna punch me in the face so I gotta lay low this time and so I just went up to him and said, you know, "nice concert" hoping he wouldn't remember this big kid from Chicago who mauled him last time. So I just asked him for an autograph and he was cool.


This says something here?

It says "E was here".