(from http://www.classicbands.com/chicago.html)
". . . "Baby, What A Big Surprise" sailed into the Top 5, and Chicago XI was certified platinum the month after its release. But only a few months later, the band would be devastated by a terrible loss. On January 23, l978, Chicago guitarist and singer Terry Kath died from an accidental gunshot wound. "Terry Kath was a great talent" says Jim Guercio, who worked with him on a solo album that was never completed. "Hendrix idolized him. He was just totally committed to this band, and he could have been a monster (as a solo artist)." Kath's death devastated Chicago, and the band considered breaking up. A short time after Terry's death, "Take Me Back To Chicago," was released as a single.
If the band was going to continue, it would need a new guitarist, and auditions began in earnest in the spring of 1978. "We felt that we were being left behind by the new music," says Cetera, "and we thought we needed a young guitar player with long hair. We sat through I don't know how many guitar players, but I'm sure it was 30, 40, or 50 guitar players. Toward the end, Donnie Dacus showed up. He played a couple of songs right and with fire, and that's how he was in the group."
Fast forward to 2014 - their new album . . .
(from http://chicagotheband.us/profiles/blogs/james-pankow-interview-chicago-trombonist-and-horn-arranger-leads)
" . . . includes 11 brand new songs, recorded on the road.
"We have some very exploratory stuff and music that is traditionally Chicago," Pankow said. "We have the signature horns and the identity that the music has always had, but we also have the fun of taking it places that was not possible before. The music is very daring in some ways. It is where we are now."
For this record, Chicago built a new "recording rig" that travels with the band.
"This new technology has allowed us to be extremely mobile," Pankow said. "The music is reported by us as we travel, as we get inspired. We can record in hotel rooms, on the bus, in the venue. We don't have to, like the old days, assemble in a traditional recording studio and track new songs and go through the protocol. We are now free to do whatever we want. We can push the limits."
They have even created an online collaboration portal that allows even more performances to be worked on around the clock from remote locations.
"For the first time since the beginning of the band, we are looking at not only a new way of making records, but a new way of manifesting those records," Pankow said. "We do business now essentially direct to fans through the Internet."
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
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