After a bit of a lull in travels and photography, Mr. Trent and I got back on the road again. What started out to be a normal gig turned into a road trip with no work and some nice down time. Since we were headed to the Milwaukee area anyway, we decided to just keep going and take a little extra time sightseeing-this will be the first of several sets of images and tales.
The trip started off normal-getting on the road after a work shift with a loaded van. When we left I thought we had arrangements to stay in a campground in Wisconsin but little did I know in a few hours things would change. When we got the news that everything was canceled we bedded down in a WalMart parking lot to sort things out. We made a decision to continue on. After we started driving I thought to myself “I bet Chess Records will be open when we get to Chicago” And sure enough it was. We found parking and jumped into a tour that had just started. We had a wonderful guide who had quite the music history herself which made it even more interesting. After we climbed the same flight of stairs that many greats had climbed before us we knew it was going to get even better. The studio was incredible; our guide went through the ins and outs of the structure and how and why it was designed to get the best sound possible. She played tracks that had been recorded there. The sound was clearly specific to this particular place and as I closed my eyes I could imagine being in that room watching these incredible musicians while the person at the mixer board pushed and pulled everything in line to make a very clear cut one of a kind sound. I was swept away in the moment, as the music stopped I was jolted back into 2018. I knew our tour was about to end. I highly recommend visiting Chess Records if you are in Chicago especially if you find yourself there when they are open for tours.
The tour was over and we headed back to to the van, the aromas of chicken and steak swirling around us, we both realized just how hungry we were. We walked past several eateries that smelled delicious but it wasn’t quite the scent that seemed to lead us. As we arrived back at our van the smell seemed stronger and there wasn’t much directly around where we were. Mr. Trent looked at me and asked if I would mind if we headed over to Reggie’s Rock Club. We headed over and waited a moment for our eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bar. We found out they were serving lunch and headed up several flights of stairs to a roof top deck. Much to my surprise as we walked out onto the rooftop the delicious smells embraced us. We quickly got a table in the corner so we could watch the trains come and go. The food did not disappoint.
We decided to head on out of Chicago before rush hour. We headed north to find somewhere to stay and begin the next day of our adventure.
The trip started off normal-getting on the road after a work shift with a loaded van. When we left I thought we had arrangements to stay in a campground in Wisconsin but little did I know in a few hours things would change. When we got the news that everything was canceled we bedded down in a WalMart parking lot to sort things out. We made a decision to continue on. After we started driving I thought to myself “I bet Chess Records will be open when we get to Chicago” And sure enough it was. We found parking and jumped into a tour that had just started. We had a wonderful guide who had quite the music history herself which made it even more interesting. After we climbed the same flight of stairs that many greats had climbed before us we knew it was going to get even better. The studio was incredible; our guide went through the ins and outs of the structure and how and why it was designed to get the best sound possible. She played tracks that had been recorded there. The sound was clearly specific to this particular place and as I closed my eyes I could imagine being in that room watching these incredible musicians while the person at the mixer board pushed and pulled everything in line to make a very clear cut one of a kind sound. I was swept away in the moment, as the music stopped I was jolted back into 2018. I knew our tour was about to end. I highly recommend visiting Chess Records if you are in Chicago especially if you find yourself there when they are open for tours.
The tour was over and we headed back to to the van, the aromas of chicken and steak swirling around us, we both realized just how hungry we were. We walked past several eateries that smelled delicious but it wasn’t quite the scent that seemed to lead us. As we arrived back at our van the smell seemed stronger and there wasn’t much directly around where we were. Mr. Trent looked at me and asked if I would mind if we headed over to Reggie’s Rock Club. We headed over and waited a moment for our eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bar. We found out they were serving lunch and headed up several flights of stairs to a roof top deck. Much to my surprise as we walked out onto the rooftop the delicious smells embraced us. We quickly got a table in the corner so we could watch the trains come and go. The food did not disappoint.
We decided to head on out of Chicago before rush hour. We headed north to find somewhere to stay and begin the next day of our adventure.
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