RakstadĪccording to Jim Lapinski, his father Rich Lapinski purchased the building in 1964. Originally built as a storage facility for a coal and ice company, the building was converted into a bowling alley in 1941. Rebar A. It’s believed the building was named the Fireside Bowl after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s radio addresses, the Fireside Chats. With bowling on the rise as a popular pastime in the U.S., the building that’s home to the Fireside Bowl converted to a bowling alley in 1941. Shows at the Fireside were often promoted through half-page flyers. Top row courtesy of Christopher Gutierrez, bottom row courtesy of Brendan Banaszak The Fireside’s origins For a little over a decade, the walls shook and the music blared at the rare all-ages punk venue. A whole generation of young people, Principe included, laced up their Doc Martens and came to the Fireside Bowl in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood to mosh, dance and shout along to the anthems of the era. Like today, there weren’t any established all-ages music venues in the city.īut there was a moment, nearly 30 years ago, when a run-down bowling alley opened its doors to punk musicians and fans from across the city. Principe started going to punk shows at a hodgepodge of Chicago-area venues: VFW halls, house shows, church rec rooms - basically any place that would take the young teenager. It was about challenging the status quo and powers-that-be. Kids like Principe gravitated towards punk music in all its iterations - hardcore punk, grindcore, even pop punk - because punk meant freedom. And I remember coming across Dead Kennedys’ Plastic Surgery Disasters.” “I got into punk when I was really young, probably fourth grade … I would go into bedroom and steal her cassettes. Like other teens, he was searching for an outlet in music that grabbed him by his adolescent collar. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 1980s and ’90s, Joe Principe was a kid filled with a little rage and plenty of restlessness. Posted Sunday, October 1st, 2023 at 4:20 pm “The Fireside Bowl: An unlikely place for punks of all ages,” WBEZ Chicago
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |