Profile: The Dirty Rooks
September 29, 2011
$7
The Double Door at 1572 N Milwaukee
BY BLAKE GOBLE
Written September 29, 2011
Lead singer Dan Stalilonis takes the stage before the third song, and swears “this song’s new. We have no good name for it yet. But it’s a good song!”
It’s true.
Dan is the front-man for The Dirty Rooks, tonight’s opener at The Double Door on Milwaukee Avenue. They’re playing a new song they’ve worked on, that doesn’t quite have a title yet. Doesn’t matter. This blues (booze?) rock band is here to share their music, a juxtaposition of countless influences that amounts to a sterling style of rock that you can dig.
Who are The Dirty Rooks? Well, begin by thinking of Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Derek & the Dominoes, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Oak Arkansas, Bachman Turner Orverdrive, The Black Crowes, The Faces, Eric Clapton, Sammy Hagar, and about a dozen+ other bands. Then, add some postmodernist lyrics, with feminist, theological ideas thrown in. Put a singer, two guitarists, a bassist, two back-up singers, a drummer and a keyboardist up there in front of an audience. Think of a band that’s cool with thinking of their work as something to reflect on and drink to.
That’s only a fraction of what The Dirty Rooks are about.
The Chicago-based blues-rock group. took the stage at The Double Door on a windy Thursday night in Wicker Park, and impressed the 30+ crowd of devoted music fans.
“We always love playing the Double Door. It’s a national icon” says songwriter and guitarist Grant Gholson. The Double Door is a real Chicago staple of music fare. It was an early venue for such infamous bands as Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Wilco, Liz Phair and countless others in Chicago. Tonight, The Dirty Rooks have the pleasure of being the venue’s opening act before several other bands. The Double Door and its patrons respect and truly appreciate unique acts like the Rooks.
“There are venues that pay more for cover bands. And they’re great! But there are venues like Double Door and many others in Chicago that appreciate original music” said Gholson.
The band’s roots are in Americacorp, where lead singer Dan Stalilonis and Grant Gholson first met. They would sing songs, come up with music, and eventually form The Dirty Rooks with several other band-mates from all over the Midwest. Their post-modern blues-y vibes was palpably exciting on the DD stage.
“Grant’s got a gift for writing songs, that sound like stuff, other stuff, but it’s our music” said Stalilonis.
A beer-rock band with a message? Seems so. The band’s blustery, bluesy style is rooted in serious theology and ideologies that add a level of legitimacy to the proceedings, even if you miss it the first go-around. Gholson, the band’s chief writer is working on a PhD at Loyola in theology, and isn’t afraid to embed his ideas on society into their tunes. They explore legitimate themes like empathy, individuality, postmodernism, relationships, standing up against society, the 1960s and onward, and much more. As Gholson, the band isn’t afraid to “give meaning” to their music.
Then again, as bassist Ben Hunt says, The Dirty Rooks can be straight-up “booze rock!” …as Stalilonis, Hunt and Gholson somewhat shamefully and proudly shared, The Dirty Rooks make music that you can happily have a drink to. Not, that they condone that or anything…
The Dirty Rooks’ next show is at the Cubby Bear in Wrigleyville on October 13th. Check ‘em out. They might have a name for that solid song by then.
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