Never one to stay down for long -- and, I should note in the interest of journalistic disclosure, formerly a volunteer on my own radio program, "Sound Opinions" -- Campbell immediately began work on a new initiative, the Chicago Independent Radio Project or CHIRP, along with Metro publicist Jenny Lizak and other music- and radio-loving locals. But finding funding and winning approvals for radio ventures is almost as difficult as getting the city to O.K. a new rock club, and it took longer than anyone expected for CHIRP to actually get going. Now it's here.
According to a statement from the group, the "non-profit, volunteer-run organization... will launch its station online at CHIRPradio.org at noon on Sunday, January 17, 2010. The station will broadcast live 21 hours a day, seven days a week from the CHIRP studios in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. [And] each three-hour on-air shift will be curated by a volunteer host, and will feature an array of independent and under-appreciated music from a variety of genres and eras, as well as conversations and information about happenings in the city's diverse arts and cultural scenes."
CHIRP will celebrate its launch with a party and fundraiser starting at 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, featuring Chicago bands the Yolks, Hollows and Rabble Rabble. (Tickets are $8.)
For more information, visit www.chicagoindieradio.org.