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The booze-rock band has less-than-perfect memories of the White Sox World Series win.

Friday Feb 05, 2010.     By Centerstage Chicago Staff

Music Feed

Follow Friday is a weekly interview series in which each Chicago artist we talk to recommends a fellow local act.

This week's guest: The Dirty Rooks

Blues rock is all the rage nowadays, but The Dirty Rooks have been at it for some time now. The band's latest album, Sugar Mama feels both fresh and classic at the same time, as the ever-expanding crew throws down a mix of soul and classic rock. Guitarist/vocalist Grant Gholson (second from left) took some time to answer a few questions in advance of the band's album release party, February 14 at Lincoln Hall.

Describe your sound in 140 characters or less.
"Booze rock" aptly describes the sound of our big, noisy, inebriated musical community. Think, The Faces, with moments of soul & country.

Where and when was your first show – and what was it like?
Phyllis' Musical Inn, like everyone else's first show. It was the night the Sox won the World Series. Our set was delayed an hour because of the game, immediately after which most of the patrons left the bar. We played a hastily-improvised version of "Sweet Home Chicago" to the remaining stragglers. There were just four of us at the time, and I'm sure it was awful. But it felt pretty good to be in a rock band.

Name three of your favorite Chicago spots.
As a venue, Martyrs', absolutely. Big stage, great sound, lots of support. For listening to music, it's hard to beat B.L.U.E.S., since you're about two feet from the stage and they bring in A-list blues talent. And we'd be remiss if we failed to mention Laschet's Inn near Lincoln Square, which is one of those special little enclaves of the Old Country that has somehow managed to stick around.

What Chicago artist/band should we interview next and why?
Packy Lundholm. The man is a musical polyglot. He's playing guitar in I Fight Dragons right now (great band), and several other instruments in several other bands. It's not a case of if he gets huge, but when.