Gearing up for their annual St. Patrick's Day concert at Metro, Jim spoke with Tossers songwriter and vocalist Tony Duggins about how the idea of the Northern Ireland civil rights movement impacts songs like "1969" on the latest Tossers studio effort Smash The Windows as the subjects of immigration and civil rights take on a new relevance in America. Full interview and concert preview at ChicagoNow: http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-at-night/2017/03/st-patricks-day-the-tossers-preview-metro-interview-tony-duggins-4878/
Daily Herald Interview: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Jim spoke with Motown legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Martha Reeves who performs alongside The Vandellas on Sunday, March 12th. Martha's first recording session actually took place in Chicago. And while that track, released on a Chess Records subsidiary, failed to chart, Martha & The Vandellas would go on to chart six Top 10 singles at Motown between 1963 and 1967 alone. Plus great stories about Marvin Gaye, Motown session group the Funk Brothers and more. Full interview and concert preview at the Daily Herald: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170308/entlife/170309147/
WGN Radio - The World's Weirdest Collections...
Jim joined the Nick Digilio Show on WGN Radio for a lengthy discussion of the world's weirdest collections... Which immediately spiraled into a Mr. T story from Jim and Nick's classic Gary Busey story. Now that's great radio! Check out the full podcast, commercial free: http://wgnradio.com/2017/02/16/the-worlds-weirdest-collections/
WGN Radio - Songs That Sound Suspiciously Similar...
Was Green Day, ahem, heavily influenced by The Kinks? Was Led Zeppelin, um, fond of the blues? Do many, many artists really, really like Tom Petty? We broke it all down on the Nick Digilio Show - you be the judge. Check out the commercial free podcast here: http://wgnradio.com/2017/02/15/songs-that-sound-suspiciously-similar/
Breaking Down The 2017 Grammy Awards On WGN Radio
Jim joined the Nick Digilio Show on WGN Radio to break down the 2017 Grammy Awards: performances that worked (and a few that didn't). Plus a look at Best New Artist Award winner Chance The Rapper and a discussion on the infamous Best New Artist curse. Check out the full appearance, commercial free, at the WGN Radio podcast link: http://wgnradio.com/2017/02/14/music-journalist-jim-ryan-on-the-good-bad-and-big-moments-from-the-grammys/
A Look Back At The Music of 2016 On WGN Radio in Chicago
On Thursday, January 5, 2017, Jim Ryan joined the Nick Digilio Show on WGN Radio to look back upon the music that made 2016: the best albums (David Bowie, Robbie Fulks), the biggest comebacks (Guns N' Roses), most impacting stories (Chance the Rapper) and much more. Check out the full appearance, commercial free, via the WGN Radio podcast at http://wgnradio.com/2017/01/06/jim-ryan-looking-back-at-the-year-in-music/
This week on The Rock N' Roll Radio Program (Saturday, 1-7 & Sunday, 1-8-17)
Join us for our first show of 2017 as we welcome Fab Four savant, "Professor Moptop" for an in depth look at The Beatles! Plus, information on Professor Moptop's forthcoming literary debut, the Textbook Beatle Project and how you can help him self-publish it via Kickstarter. Saturday at 10AM eastern on WHFB (streaming at whfbradio.com), Sunday at 3PM central on WIMS (streaming at whfbradio.com) and via the free TuneIn Radio app on any device (just search "WHFB" or "WIMS").
WBEZ FM, Chicago (NPR)
Jim will be handling traffic Friday, January 13, 2017 to Friday, January 20th during afternoon drive alongside anchor Melba Lara from 2PM to 7PM central on 91.5FM, WBEZ in Chicago, streaming at https://www.wbez.org/
Lossano And Friends Podcast!
Jim recorded a hilarious episode of the "Losanno and Friends" podcast alongside host Tony Lossano, NBC 5 meteorologist Kalee Dionne, "Date Me" writer Robyn Lynne Norris, actress/writer Vickie Eisenstein and sommelier Anter Thakur. Check out the podcast in its entirety here: http://radiomisfits.com/laf79/