Everything you need to know for The Frunchroom Vol. 3 tomorrow

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Scott Smith

Our 3rd volume of The Frunchroom opens tomorrow! And it’s the kickoff to Beverly Art Walk week.

Here’s what you need to know.

+theFrunchroom_vol_III_85x11 (1)What’s the time? 730pm

Where’s the place? O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western Ave.)

The readers:

Jaime Black; Founder/host @ Dynasty Podcasts
Lolly Bowean; Writer
Carly Carney; Owner, Beverly Yoga Center
Erin J. Shea; Writer, ejshea.com
Mario Smith; Host, News From the Service Entrance, WHPK-FM

Is it free? It is! But if you want to bring a few dollars to donate to the Beverly Area Arts Alliance (see below) then everyone will think you’re smart and good-looking and generous.

Are there seats? Yes, but it’s limited. So get there early. Otherwise, wear shoes for standing.

Where do I park? The Leona’s lot on 111th St. (trust me, it’s fine) or there’s usually street parking available.

How do I get there via transit? Take Metra’s Rock Island line to 111th St. Walk west toward Longwood then up the hill and keep going until you hit Western Avenue. Make a right and you’re there.

Where can I eat? Get to O’Rourke’s early and order in from Waldo Cooney’s or Leona’s and you can get a 20% discount. Five Star Burgers is also nearby. If you don’t mind a walk there’s Home Run Inn Pizza up the street or Horse Thief Hollow for an after-show beer.

What are the stories like? Some are sincere, some are tongue-in-cheek. One may be a call-to-action, another might make you think. One might be historical, one might make you remember a place you haven’t been since childhood. Basically, like having a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a while. You can listen to stories from our first event here.

Who’s helping you with this? I’m producing this in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance (or The Alliance, for short). They’re a great non-profit and you should check out some of their other upcoming events including the 2015 Beverly Art Walk this Saturday from 12-7pm.

A big thanks to Monica Wilczak, Sal Campbell, David Barsotti, Chris Wilczak and Lizzy Benner who’ve given this event material, financial and moral support. And a huge thanks to O’Rourke’s Office for hosting us. (Thank them by purchasing beverages tomorrow and tipping profusely.)

And, of course, huge thanks to all our readers and, in advance, to you for coming.

Posted in Lineups | Tagged | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Mario Smith

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Scott Smith

IMG_20150530_140351-1Our final reader in this edition of The Frunchroom is Mario Smith, a Chicago poet, educator, activist and radio chat show host. He’s been performing in the Chicagoland area and the US for over twenty years and he currently hosts News From the Service Entrance on WHPK in Chicago and is a contributor to “The Download with Justin Kaufmann” on Chicago’s WGN 720 AM .

His poetry appears in the book, The Break Beat Poets published by Haymarket Press. A resident of South Shore, he’ll be reading some poetry about living in Chicago.

Join all of our five readers on September 29th at 730pm at O’Rourke’s Office (11034 S Western).

Posted in Lineups | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Erin J. Shea

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Scott Smith

Another writer, neighborhood resident and yoga enthusiast, Erin J. Shea, joins us at The Frunchroom on September 29th.

erin_frunchroomErin is a mom, wife, student, runner, yogini and neat freak. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, though these days with all of the adulting she does at her day job as head of editorial for Weber Shandwick’s Chicago office, and myriad volunteer projects, most of her work is distilled to 500-word brain dumps in a Word file on her MacBook Pro.

She is a frequent writer and performer in Chicago,
though, appearing at literary series such as Funny Ha-Ha, Guts & Glory, The Paper Machete and The First Time reading series. Erin’s work online at ejshea.com has been recognized by the New York Times, MSNBC.com, the Chicago Tribune, Good Morning America, Women’s Health, Shape, O, The Oprah Magazine and more. In 2011, Shape magazine named ejshea.com one of the “20 Blogs That Keep Us Happy and Sane.” In 2005, her book, Tales from the Scale, was named one of the top six health books of the year by the Wall Street Journal. She can stand on her head.

Erin lives in Morgan Park and will discuss what led her to move here from the North Side to raise a family.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Jaime Black

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Scott Smith

Chicago has long been a hotbed of great audio storytelling and we’re pleased to have one of the new pioneers of it at The Frunchroom on September 29th.

Jaime_BlackJaime Black has been working in Chicago’s music and media industries for 17 years, since the age of 15. He served as producer of the late Q101 radio’s Chicago music program, Local 101, for a decade – up until the station’s format switch in 2011.

In 2005, he launched Dynasty Podcasts, the first ever and subsequently longest-running music podcast in the City of Chicago’s entire history. The podcast has produced over 500 episodes, with over 100,000 plays in over 165 countries.

In 2013, Black began teaching in the Business & Entrepreneurship department at Columbia College Chicago. He covers the Chicago music community across multiple platforms, has a passion for emerging digital media platforms, and has been attending Smashing Pumpkins concerts for two decades as of next year.

Jaime, who lives in Pilsen, will be reading a piece about living in Bridgeport and Pilsen.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Carly Carney

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Scott Smith

As much as possible, we like to feature stories about Beverly, Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood. So we’re happy to have Carly Carney at The Frunchroom on September 29th.

BYC8_sq_ForBlogCarly is the founder and director of the Beverly Yoga Center (established in 2004). She has been a student of meditation and yoga and has been teaching for over 12 years. Before owning the Beverly Yoga Center, she founded Beyond Shoes. Through this organization, she collected and distributed over 50,000 pairs of shoes to poor children in Africa. She was also a Program Director for the late Mrs. Maggie Daley’s beloved after school program After School Matters.

Carly’s passion is to understand human beings and their journey through life. Since she was a young girl, she has been curious about her own life; as well as about how other people live, work, interact, and find meaning in the demands of daily life and in difficult times that cause suffering. She contemplates about how to live from a place of peace and ease amidst the uncertainty and mystery of life.

She writes a monthly blog about what she contemplates as a mom, wife, sister, small business owner, and community member. Her writings reflect what she continues to learn and thinks about on her journey as a human being.

Carly lives in Morgan Park with her husband Tom and two children. She will read about her recent field trip to Malcolm X College – with her kids – for a town hall budget meeting.

Posted in Lineups | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Volume three of The Frunchroom: Beverly Art Walk week edition

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Scott Smith

img_2192Fall is coming and so is the next edition of The Frunchroom, Morgan Park’s quarterly live reading series of and about the South Side. Our next event will be Tuesday*, September 29th at 730pm at O’Rourke’s Office (111th and Western).

This upcoming edition will be the same week as The Beverly Arts Alliance‘s Art Walk on Saturday, October 3rd.

In addition to five new readers, we’re adding something special for this one: a band! The Acoustic Mercenaries will play a set after our readers are through. So those of you who enjoy hanging out at O’Rourke’s after we wrap up have even more reason to linger.

Here are the five readers at this edition of The Frunchroom:

Jaime Black
Founder/host @ Dynasty Podcasts

Lolly Bowean
Writer

Carly Carney
Owner, Beverly Yoga Center

Erin J. Shea
Writer, ejshea.com

Mario Smith
Host, News From the Service Entrance, WHPK-FM

See you on the 29th. Look for bios and more news about the next Frunchroom soon.

* Yes, it’s a Tuesday, not Thursday.

 

Posted in Lineups | Tagged | Leave a comment

Everything you need to know for The Frunchroom on Thursday

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Scott Smith

IMG_2192Our 2nd volume of The Frunchroom opens tomorrow! Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the time? 730pm

Where’s the place? O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western Ave.)

The readers:

Jeff Danna; Writer/Blogger, Main Street Beverly
Shay DeGrandis; Artist: shaydegrandis.com, Mortifier: getmortified.com
Mikki Kendall;Writer and occasional feminist
Evan F. Moore; Political sportswriter
Scott Smith; Writer, ourmaninchicago.net

Is it free? It is! But if you want to bring a few dollars to donate to the Beverly Area Arts Alliance (see below) then everyone will think you’re smart and good-looking and generous.

Are there seats? Yes, but it’s limited. So get there early. Otherwise, wear shoes for standing.

Where do I park? The Leona’s lot on 111th St. (Trust me, it’s fine.)

How do I get there via transit? Take Metra’s Rock Island line to 111th. Walk west toward Longwood then up the hill and keep going until you hit Western Avenue. Make a right and you’re there.

Where can I eat? Get to O’Rourke’s early and order in from Waldo Cooney’s or Leona’s and you can get a 20% discount. Five Star Burgers is also nearby. If you don’t mind a walk there’s Home Run Inn Pizza up the street or Horse Thief Hollow for an after-show beer.

What are the stories like? Some are sincere, some are tongue-in-cheek. One may be a call-to-action, another might make you think. One might be historical, one might make you remember a place you haven’t been since childhood. Basically, like having a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a while. You can listen to stories from our first event here.

Who’s helping you with this? I’m producing this in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance (or The Alliance, for short). They’re a great non-profit and you should check out some of their other upcoming events including Summer Swelter, a food music and arts fest at Horse Thief Hollow on July 25th and the 2015 Beverly Art Walk on October 3rd.

A big thanks to Monica Wilczak, Sal Campbell, David Barsotti, Chris Wilczak and Lizzy Benner who’ve given this event material, financial and moral support. And a huge thanks to O’Rourke’s Office for hosting us. (Thank them by purchasing beverages tomorrow and tipping profusely.)

And, of course, huge thanks to all our readers and, in advance, to you for coming.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Scott Smith

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Scott Smith

I’d made a rule when I started The Frunchroom that I would neither:
A) Read for it, keeping the emphasis on other voices
B) Put my name on the poster

It took me until our second event to break the first rule which necessitated breaking the second. Why? Truth be told, we had some date conflicts with other people I had in mind for July and rather than run with four I decided to fill out the bill. Also, it’s been several months since I’ve read onstage and I miss it. Forgive me my indulgence.

suitme2So, hi. I’m Scott Smith. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago before moving into the city proper in 1998.  My years attending college in Ohio were my most formative and my years since, living in Chicago, have been my most enriching. In that time, I’ve worked as a tech support rep and a supervisor at a runaway youth hotline. I’ve also written and edited for a variety of publications including Time Out Chicago, Chicagoist and Playboy.com and Chicago magazine. I’ve also worked at a couple agencies. I’m currently the editorial director of Touchvision, an video news and entertainment startup.

I’m also an occasional radio/TV commentator and conference speaker on medi – social and otherwise. You can also find me doing other readings around town, most often at The Paper Machete and Tuesday Funk. I live on the South Side in Morgan Park with my wife, Erin, and daughter, Abigail.

At 730pm this Thursday, July 16th, at I’ll be emceeing and reading at The Frunchroom about…something. Probably having to do with raising kids on the South Side because that’s where my head is at these days.

Posted in Lineups | Tagged , | 2 Comments

In the Frunchroom: Evan F. Moore

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Scott Smith

ATT_1435245424498_RU photoThere’s a fine line between bartenders and journalists and there’s usually a beer or two served along that line. Evan F. Moore knows this well as he’s a former bouncer who’s also a journalist. At The Frunchroom on July 16th, he’ll discuss how his former profession informs his current one.

Evan writes about sports, politics, race and culture. His work has appeared in The Nation, Chicago, The Cauldron, Chicago Tribune, The Shadow League, Thrillist, Red Eye, Chicago Reporter, Daily Herald, Huffington Post, Time Out Chicago and Community Media Workshop’s We Are Not Alone/No Estamos Solos project on youth violence.

See him at our favorite fine line: O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western Ave) at 730pm on July 16th.

Posted in Lineups | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In the Frunchroom: Mikki Kendall

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Scott Smith

One of the great joys of producing The Frunchroom is featuring people whose work I’ve admired. Mikki Kendall is someone I’ve followed on Twitter for a while so I’m really looking forward to experiencing her words in a new context.

ReaderconMikkiKendallMikki describes herself as a writer and occasional feminist who divides her time between two careers, a family, and brunch. The last is necessary to provide the energy she needs for everything else on her to-do list. Her writing can be found at the Washington Post, Ebony, Essence, XO Jane, Salon, NPR’s Code Switch, Guardian, and a host of other places willing to let her rant on topics ranging from feminism to police brutality to pop culture.

She also commits occasional acts of fiction largely focusing on black people in every situation under the sun, and a few under undefined celestial bodies. She can often be found on Twitter as @karnythia engaging in the highest quality shenanigans.

Mikki’s piece for The Frunchroom will be one of those occasional works of fiction or, more specifically, “Midwest Gothic since I have this story about Chicago as a living entity that demands sacrifices that’s taken over my brain.”

See her at O’Rourke’s Office on July 16th at 730pm.

Posted in Lineups | Tagged , | Leave a comment