Question?

Jon - Kate + Falcon the Balloon Boy x Octomom / Dog The Bounty Hunter = ?

Photos: JaGoFF interview on WHPK vs. the Chicago Promoters' Ordinance

JaGoFF w/ DJ Snooze (and the rest of the WHPK family), discussing the implications & repercussions of the proposed Chicago Promoters' Ordinance and the state of the industry, as it effects the independent artist today. Good times.

View Photo Gallery Here.

Law may threaten San Francisco music scene.

It appears that Chicago's music and creative communities are not the only ones in danger of falling victim to ridiculous proposal's like the Chicago Promoters' Ordinance.
The city of San Francisco is holding hearing on Monday at City Hall, based on findings from a so-called, ""Night-time Safety Summit".

This is not good news and shows that similar laws are making thier way on to the radar to other cities. All the more reason to stay aware of the issue facing us and not let it "parking meter" it's way into our lives.

You can find out more on the San Fran issue here:

Here is an excerpt:
"A vocal group of ultra-conservative neighbors have banded with the anti-alcohol and anti-entertainment elements in the police department and the state alcohol control department to shut down night-time entertainment in San Francisco. This is a real threat. These people have come to hearings at City Hall and blamed night-time entertainment for ... society's problems. We need you to show up at Monday's hearing and/or send an email of support now. Again, the hearing is next Monday, Oct 19 at 10am in room 263 at City Hall."

TONIGHT: Chicago Promoters Ordiance Interview on WHPK 88.5FM. Tune in or Stream it live.

JaGoFF is going to be INTERVIEWED TONIGHT on WHPK's "Underground Dance Show' w/ DJ Snooze. We'll be touching on various topics, including the CHICAGO PROMOTERS' ORDINANCE. Should be a great time. The show runs from 10PM-12AM (Chicago Time), you can stream it LIVE from WHPK's website or tune into 88.5 FM if you live in Chicago.

You can stream it from here:
WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago - University of Chicago.
http://www.WHPK.org

Maxwell Street: The Last Performance

Maxwell Street's Last Gasp.
48 Hour Blues Marathon on Maxwell St. (06/10/01)

In light of the recent Chicago Sun-Times expose on Maxwell Street (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) we felt compelled to post our photos from the her last days.


The last bid to save the Home of Chicago Blues, knocked down and fenced off courtesy of UIC - tearing down history so that they can teach it.

For those who do are unaware of her storied history, Maxwell Street was the incubator for the blues, and as a consequence, much of the music that we have today. This is the corner where stood - Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Benny Goodman, etc ... Countless artists performed, experienced it on this street or were otherwise influenced from what has happened here.


A mere sliver of the flavor that was Maxwell St.
(NE corner of Halsted and Maxwell). There will never be anything like it.

Maxwell Street is were waves of immigrants would come (Russian, Jewish, German, Irish, Polish, Italian, African-American, Mexican). It also represented the American entrepreneur at it's most basic level. This area represented so much to so many. Maxwell Street was one of the very few areas to survive the "Great Chicago Fire" - but it could not survive "progress".


The Blues Keepers standing ground on Maxwell's last performance.

In 2001, Maxwell Street played host to the music one last time. These are the photos. All of what you see here is now part of a $750 million dollar development called "University Village". You can read about what has gone on since, on the front page of today's Sunday Sun-Times. Our American history has been sacrificed for "business as usual" ... as usual.


The blues, complete with black sock mic windscreen. We can remember catching performances, tucked away in the alley, being blown away by dudes on dented harps, drum kits made of duct tape and toothless keyboards. Man they would burn it down. The blues doesn't get any better than that. That was Maxwell St.


Images from Maxwell Street.


Getting down n' dirty.


Maxwell St. kicked iTunes ass!


Down Home is right.


Progress. Multi-million dollar condos now stand in the womb of the blues (rock, punk, hiphop, R&B, Soul, house, etc...)



Little Scotty and his wife reminicing and rapping (in the blues context) about Maxwell St., on the corner where it all began. In the background: Clearly, the redevelopment was well under way at the time of these photos.







Maxwell Street Bling.


One of the terra cotta storefronts, which is now sitting in a landfill, when it sould be sitting in the musuem.


more Maxwell St. bling.


They teach civil engineering at UIC don't they?


Resident's pleas written on the walls.
Wonder how Daley's graffitti blasters missed this one?

Jimmie Lee Robinson makes his entrance.
Jimmie passed on July, 6th, 2002.




Jimmie gettin' down on the corner, with the vultures hovering over him. Those signs in the the background read "Welcome to University Village" wiping out any hint of what stood there. Rebranding is putting it mildly.



Where there once stood a stage... Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Benny Goodman, the Chess brothers, Louis Armstrong, etc ... the Blues Brothers, "mission from God", must have fallen on deaf ears.


more of the vacated storefronts.





still breathing.



Rallying to "SAVE MAXWELL STREET!"



The blues...


Little Scotty performs "Goin' Down to Maxwell Street"




Kanye aint got nothin' on Scotty.


A trunkload of Maxwell St. memmories covering up the electrical extension chords that make it all happen.


The sun finally sets on Maxwell Street.



The reason that the blues in not a history lesson. Beatboxing the blues accapella




The Maxwell St. Polish.


Gettin' served.


"Don't Detroy Us"
All that was left and now is gone.


Jimmie Lee Robinson's son packing up dad's car.
More progress.

Growing Our Own on 4/20

"Do they have what it takes?
Spinach seeds yearn for freedom and plot their escape. In most cases, JaGoFF is immune to plant-human mind control techiques, but these two were successful and forced us to plant them."

In celebration of 4/20, JaGoFF has decided to grow "our own" again this summer. As your read this, JaGoFF's cosmic slop is on slow cook.

This year's selection features:
Spinach, Broccoli, Egg Plant, Onions, Garlic, Tomato, Peppers, Basil, Oregano, Cat Nip, Mint, Snap Peas, Strawberries & Cumcumbers

Hold on to your seats as we document all the madcap misadventures of JaGoFF urban farming. Pray nobody loses a limb.

You can keep up with the ongoing progess in our photo gallery.


Cosmic slop in a pill?

Instructions:
1. Drop pill in pod.
2. Add warm water and watch the fun!
These peat pills are like the "Drop the dinosaur in the water & watch it grow by 20X" meets those snake things that you light on fire around the Fourth of July.


Sugar Snap. Our favorite.
Germination Period: 7-14 days.



Eggplant in solitary confinment.
Germination Period: 14-21 days.


Overhead view of the JaGoFF's Organopod Matrix.
Gotta love the "PRODUCT" stamp on the upper right hand corner.


Cosmic slop slow bake.
Stay tuned...

Chicago 2016: Setting Ourselves up for Olympic Failure?

No Games Chicago organized a protest at Federal Plaza on April 2nd, in opposition to Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. It was cold, overcast and raining and JaGoFF was there to document it. (View full photo set here).

The idea of having the Olympics in Chicago is wonderful one. However, if it is at the cost of having less police on the street in favor of rent-a-mall cops and ineffective, big-brother style surveillance cameras "on every street corner" - while our violent crime rate soars. If it means privatizing our public parking meters, selling off our roadways and airports while our school system, public transportation, medical facilities and infrastructure crumbles. If it means sacrificing our creative and cultural communities by proposing ridiculous laws like that of the Promoters' Ordinance - then we simply cannot afford it.

Thanks but no thanks.