Champaign Is Also A Band
One songwriter, one song. Podcast about stories & songs of Champaign-Urbana music. In each episode Sven sits down with a person from the C-U music scene to hear the story & the background of a favorite song they’ve written.
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday May 19, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
Sven meets up with José Guzmán (He/Him) in the lobby at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to talk about his composition "Holande Pa Uste" as performed by the UIUC Latin Jazz Ensemble, finding a musical connection with blending different Puerto Rican musical traditions as well as West African styles, and his favorite non-musical things. José is running the 2023 Chicago Marathon for his favorite charity: Mercy Home, you can donate to his fundraising here: https://marathon.mercyhome.org/chicago2023/jguzman
SONG: Holande Pa Usteperformed by UIUC Latin Jazz Ensemble. Soloists: Matthew Storie on alto sax, Jack Cassidy on trumpet, and Kurt Reeder on piano.
BANDS: Mr. Chair (Madison, WI), KASA Quartet, Eddie Barbash with KASA Quartet, The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Favorite treat: Almond croissant or Banana bread with black coffee.
Photo credit: Herminio Rodriguez
Friday May 05, 2023
Friday May 05, 2023
Sven chats with Jules Rose (She/Her/They/Them) about her song "Run" off of her album "One Year," working with Half House Studios (BEP25), we talk about her first performances, the CU music scene, and her favorite non-musical thing.
SONG: Run
ALBUM: One Year
Favorite treat: Black Coffee/Uncrusables
Photo credit: MacKenzie Archibald
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Sven chats with Carissa Yau (She/Her/They/Them) about her song "I-57," some local shoutouts, acting, and her favorite non-musical thing
See Carissa Yau at The Station Theatre "The Good Person of Setzuan" on opening April 27th at runs through May 7th 2023 (see website for details)
SONG: I-57ALBUM: UnreleasedFavorite treat: SalamiPhoto credit: Kati Yau
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Sven zooms with Jon Ginoli (He/Him) of The Outnumbered and Pansy Division to talk about his song "Tell Me What's Wrong" from their 1987 album "Work... Buy... Die," the CU music scene back in the 80's, following your ambition, and other memories from back in the day.SONG: Tell Me What’s WrongALBUM: Work… Buy… DieBANDS: The Outnumbered, Pansy Division
Photo credit: selfie
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Sven chats with James Karavites (He/Him) BKA Apollo K about his song "When September Comes"
SONG: When September ComesALBUM: SingleBANDS: Vinylsides, Blues Lawyer JuniorFavorite treat: Orange CrushPhoto credit: Gregory Karavites
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Sven chats with Genaro Jr. (He/Him) (EP96), JRjoos (He/Him) and Matthew (He/They) from HIDEOUT (FKA: Hip-Hop Collective) as they talk about the creation of HIDEOUT, their recording and album creation, and future plans for HIDEOUT.
If you're interested in joining HIDEOUT check them out on Insta and send them a DM: https://www.instagram.com/hideout.hhc/
Check out their most recent release "FOUND FOOTAGE" on Spotify
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Sven chats with Mousepad (Josh, He/Him) and WhipTRip6 (Dave, He/Him) about the creation of Half House Studios and it's goals going into the future. HHS Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Halfhousestudios
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Sven sits down with Max Szymczak (He/Him) and Erik Paulius (He/Him) of Stańczyk to talk about their song "Aeroplane," great DIY venues, and their favorite non-musical thing(s).
SONG: Aeroplane
ALBUM: Single
BANDS: Blues Lawyer Junior, Stańczyk
Favorite treat: Pita Chips and Hummus, Mtn Dew, Genmaicha Tea
Photo: Jess Miyata
Friday Jan 13, 2023
Friday Jan 13, 2023
In this 100th Episode of the pod sven chats with Rick Valentin (He/Him) of Poster Children about his song "*He's My Star" off of the 1995 album "Junior Citizen," writing songs with Poster Children, his relationship to creativity, and trying to meet David Hasselhoff at a mall.
*Song truncated due to usage rights-- To listen to the full song listen on Spotify CLICK HERE
SONG: He's My Star
ALBUM: Junior Citizen
BANDS: Poster Children, Salaryman, and Thoughts Detecting Machines
Favorite Treat: Green River soda
Photo Credit: Self
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Sven sits down to chat with Tessa Turner (She/Her) about her song "Narcissist," unusual venues, and her favorite non-musical things.
SONG: Narcissist
ALBUM: Unreleased
Favorite Treats: Tea and Dark Chocolate
Photo Credit: DJ BJ Clark