Why "Wrigley Field" deserves to be the next Cubs theme song

By Ted Slowik

Last month Chicago Tribune writer Mark Caro started a movement to retire the 1984 Steve Goodman tune "Go, Cubs, Go" as the quasi-official Cubs theme song, played over the PA in Wrigley Field after Cubs victories since 2007.

Mark's been on WGN radio talking about his campaign and last week the movement got a boost from Dan Bernstein, co-host of 670 The Score’s “Boers and Bernstein Show.”A contest is underway to see if there's a song out there that might be a worthy successor to "Go, Cubs, Go."

This week I entered an original, "Wrigley Field," which friend Kev Wright helped record. Here's why it deserves consideration.

First, I'm a lifelong Cubs fan, just as passionate about the team as Goodman was. My lyrics are sung from the heart, with more than 40 years of rooting for the team. As a Chicagoan I've cheered on the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox. But my love for the Cubs dates back to the mid-1970s.

I'll tell you exactly why there's nothing else quite like being a Cubs fan. It has something to do with the fact that Wrigley Field was the only park in all of Major League Baseball that didn't have lights, until 1988. That, and the championship drought that dates back to their last World Series win in 1908. Being a Cubs fan is special. When they do eventually win another championship it's going to be the biggest party ever, and I want to experience the full effect of that.

My brothers Frank and Mike are big Cubs fans. Every year for as long as I can remember a group of us have gone down to see the Cubs play in Wrigley Field. We tailgate near Belmont Harbor off Recreation Drive, walk to the park and always have a great time. I don't really have opinions about the gentrification of the Wrigleyville and Lakeview neighborhoods, the quality of the talent on the field or ownership decisions about Wrigley Field renovations. For me, the Cubs are about spending quality time together with family, and there's nothing more meaningful in life.

Not only do I have a Steve Goodman-like love for the team, the song "Wrigley Field" is a sincere ode to the joys of Cubdom. It's short and sweet. The melody is catchy, the tempo is upbeat and the words are simple. You can watch the video entry here or listen to an audio version of it here.

Finally, just a little bit of fun history about this song. Three years ago WGN radio sponsored a similar contest. When I learned of the contest in February 2012 I wrote "Wrigley Field" on a Saturday night, recorded a sloppy audio demo and submitted my entry via email.

Then an incredible thing happened. On Monday morning, Jonathan Brandmeier played my song on his WGN radio show. This was less than 48 hours after the song came into existence. I knew then it was good. Sure, the recording was amateurish and it didn't make the voting round. But the tune is worthy. It's a good song, and deserves consideration to become the next Cubs theme song.

What's next for ex-Righteous Hillbillies cofounder Kev Wright?

Michelle Gadeikis photo

By Ted Slowik

Guitarist Kev Wright announced this week that he has parted ways with The Righteous Hillbillies, the band he cofounded eight years ago with Brent James.

In a Feb. 11 Facebook post, Kev said "with a heavy heart" that the split was mutual and "for personal and creative reasons." A post on the Hillbillies' Facebook page signed by Brent, bassist Jeff Bella and drummer Barret Harvey said "with regret" that Kev was no longer with the band, which will resume live shows in May and will announce Kev's replacement "when the time is right."

The timing of the split is difficult, as the band has just wrapped work on its third album, recorded at legendary Fame studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., produced by Craig Bishop and funded by money raised through Kickstarter. Kev wrote seven songs on the new album, Brent wrote three and they co-wrote two. Kev has always been the band's lead guitarist while Brent remains lead singer and now sole remaining original member.

It's hard to imagine the Hillbillies without Kev. The band's bio for the 2010 Grundy County Corn Festival tells its 2007 inception as well as any version, recounting how John Condron bestowed the band's name when Kev and Brent were playing as an acoustic duo following the split of Brent's band The Stone City Stragglers. (The two had previously played together in The Brent James Band, so their friendship goes way back.)

Kev's hands (Andy Goodwin photo)

What can fans expect from Kev, who turns 60 next month, now that he's left the Hillbillies? Probably more live acoustic performances, a solo album that he begins recording in March and plenty of fine guitar work on songs he writes and sings. There's no doubt Kev's desire to sing and play more of his own material contributed to his decision to leave the band.

Kev's songwriting and vocals have always been exceptional, though largely overlooked for the past decade because of his lead guitar abilities. Consider his song "Journey Road," which appears on The Brent James Band album "The Road Less Traveled." "You can spend your whole life worrying, thinking about your 'could have beens,'" Kev writes, though he says his late grandfather wrote all the words to the song through wisdom he directly imparted to Kev.

The band's version is slickly produced with lush harmonies and instrumentation, but on the day of his announcement Kev posted an acoustic demo of "Journey Road" that is beautiful in its simplicity and hauntingly prescient in its meaning. Kev seems like a man with purpose, and that is to share his gifts for creating music in ways that can't always be realized by a four-piece southern rock band with two electric guitars, bass and drums.

More recent clues hint at the direction Kev is headed. The Hillbillies played an all-acoustic show Jan. 25 at Chicago Street Pub In Joliet, IL, its first and now it would seem only such show, at least with Kev in the lineup. Before a packed house on a Sunday afternoon the band re-imagined its roadhouse setlist by squeezing every bit of tenderness out of tunes that have always resonated well with crowds at loud volumes and high energy levels.

The Mug Shot Saints

Also, Kev has performed acoustically recently with "Bourbon Cowboy" Jeff Givens and the Mug Shot Saints, including Dec. 19 at Metro in Chicago and Feb. 4 at Schubas. The band includes Jason Botka and Johnny Gadeikis, another ex-Stone City Straggler who played bass with the Hillbillies until 2014."It's good to play with Johnny again," Kev said.

Kev has publicly shared many demo recordings that showcase his songwriting and singing. His writing shows the influence of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson and others. His compositions range from straight-ahead rock of "Black Jack Mama" to the tender ballad "I Could..." Kev also displays a social conscience. "This Is America" is an angry ode about income inequality. Kev can do it all, but sounds best when he's tapping his deepest inspirations, like the swampy "Gasoline."

Take a listen to this beautifully melodic Leo Kottke-like instrumental "Winter." Then this live recording of "County Jail." It's not hard to imagine the future Kev performing solo with a bass drum and multiple instruments much like the post-Backyard Tire Fire Edward David Anderson.

In more than one way, this week's announcement signals that Kev has come full circle these past eight years since he and Brent decided to put away the acoustic guitars and go electric with the Hillbillies. The band would be well-served to carry on with a lead guitar gunslinger, one content to contribute the occasional vocal and songwriting duty.

But Kev is so much more than just an amazing lead guitarist. He's a deep soul with something to say who can write lyrics and tell stories in honest and heartfelt ways. Kev plays his songs with superb musicianship and vocals laden with emotion. His voice needs to be heard.

Allison Flood shines on solo debut "Blackbird"

By Ted Slowik

Good things are worth waiting for, especially debut solo albums nearly a decade in the making.

Nine years after her band Stone City Stragglers delivered its third and final album, Allison Flood has released her solo debut on the Flipside Works label. "Blackbird" is a five-song collection of beautifully crafted originals delivered with ethereal harmonies, expert instrumentation and exquisite production by John Condron with assistance from Bill Aldridge of Third City Sound in Joliet, Illinois.

She was known as Allison Moroni back when she was in the Stragglers with five bandmates including Brent James, who continued his career with The Righteous Hillbillies. Since then she's had two kids with musician/firefighter Chris Flood, who says, "I loved her music so much I married her. (Her) first solo record is delayed because I keep getting her pregnant."

The songs on "Blackbird" are about relationships, though they also work as precious stories told by a young mother re-entering the music business after an absence. In the opener "Harbor" she sings, "I've been lost and I've been found, I've been somewhere in between, now I call this house a home, still feel like I'm lost at sea." And when she sings in the chorus, "Won't you find your way back to me?" she could easily be addressing the Stragglers' extensive following, asking old fans to rediscover her music.

The Stragglers were a big regional draw a decade ago. A Chicago Reader preview of the band's appearance at the 2005 Chicago Country Music Festival noted, "This Joliet sextet stands tall among this year's Taste Stage acts thanks to the sweet harmonies of Brent James and Allison Moroni, whose voices casually intertwine a la Gram and Emmylou."

Harmonies are the highlight of "Blackbird," though there's nothing lacking about the musicianship, either. The backing vocals and accompaniment on "Ties That Bind" create a Fleetwood Mac-like vibe; sounds created by guitars, harmonium and other instruments are appropriately woven among Flood's sparse acoustic guitar. There's not a note or sound that seems out of place in the 20-minute collection.

Yet it's the vocals on "Blackbird" that stand out, which speaks to the strength of the songwriting and lyrics in particular. When, on "Things Dead & Gone," she sings, "It isn't easier to lie when no one's listening to you," is she saying that during her hiatus she remained true to her musical calling? And in "Come To Me," when she sings about distance between people she's surely telling a story about estranged lovers, though read another way she could just as easily be talking about the fans who loved her in the Stragglers.

In the closer "Easy" she sings, "I never knew it would be so easy to forget me." 

Fans of Allison Flood's music are about to discover how wonderful it is to hear new music from her again.

The release of "Blackbird" will be celebrated with a performance featuring appearances by Brian Motyll, Matt Biskie and others on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St., Joliet, IL.