Chicago XXX

Chicago XXX will be released on Tuesday March 21, 2006.

For those who were fans of Chicago in the eighties, chances are you'll enjoy this new album. Clear Channel has started streaming the album. So if you'd like a sneak peek check out the link below:

Chicago XXX Sneak Peek

I literally grew up with this band. As a young boy I was exposed to Chicago 16, 17, and 18 coming out of the stereo in my brother, Bryan's bedroom. Then in 1988 they scored a huge hit with Look Away (which incidentally I've never much cared for) and as a result their back catalog started getting more exposure. That exposure planted the seeds and while there's a lot of other groups and musicians I've come to listen to and enjoy since-- Chicago has been the one constant in my life. No matter what other music I've ever been interested in, no matter what's been going on in my life-- the music of Chicago has always been there, like an old friend. Their music has carried me through some rough patches and I count many of their songs as the patchwork quilt which have made up the soundtrack of my life.

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, seeing Chicago live proved to be a bit more of an undertaking than it may have been for those who lived closer to larger metropolitan areas. But in the summers of 1993 and 1994 my father and I made the 3 hour trek to Latham, NY (suburban Albany) to see Chicago live. Those drives allowed my father to bond moreso than we might otherwise have had the opportunity to do. In the summer of 1996 my mother joined us as we drove to Saratoga Springs to see them live with Crosby Stills & Nash and in 1997 when they were visiting me in Ohio we made the much more reasonable hour-long trek to Toledo to see them live there. My parents have grown to enjoy their music nearly as much as I have and actually even get rather excited when they happen to be scanning radio stations and stumble upon one playing one of the many Chicago classics which still find themselves in the rotations of the classic rock stations across our country.