It was an easy decision for me.
First, the Bears don't play on Sunday, October 13.
Second, I'm not running the 2013 Chicago Marathon, which also takes place that day. Truth be told, I swore off marathon running at age 8, after watching
an impostor steal Frank Shorter's thunder at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
So when a friend recently asked me to play music on October 13 in conjunction with
"Art Round Trip," a Sunday afternoon tour of Rogers Park studios, galleries and exhibitions, I signed on.
But I did so only after enlisting an actual artist, my friend Brian Wilkie, to play this "arts" event with me. ("Art Round Trip" is sponsored by the
Rogers Park Arts Alliance.)
Brian's one of Chicago's in-demand, A-list guitar players and it's always a treat -- and a learning experience -- for me to play music with him. Over the years, the man's shared stages with musical heavyweights from A (Alison Krauss) to Z (Zoot Sims). In his younger days, he worked professionally in Nashville with folks like Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan.
In any event, Brian and I will set up shop on the street in front of
Xoro, a gallery located at 1228 W. Loyola Avenue, near the Loyola El stop. Should the weather look dicey that day, we'll play inside Xoro.
We'll be rockin' and rollin' from noon until 2 p.m. There's no cover charge. We may have some special musical guests, and we certainly hope to see you out and about.
