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Chris Trani
Chris Trani is an American stand-up, storyteller, and documentary filmmaker who uses his humor to educate & entertain audiences around the world. Chris has traveled North America and Europe engaging audiences with his hilarious stories, candid views, and pro-immigration politics- which he turned into the documentary film "An American House". Chris is a winner of National Public Radio's The Moth, SNUBFEST Comedy Festival, and is a Moth GrandSLAM runner-up. He has had the honor to share the stage with Chris Redd of SNL, Tracey Ashley of Netflix's They Ready, and Senior Correspondent for The Daily Show, Roy Wood Jr. Chris produces one of the best stand-up shows in the city, Tight Ship Comedy in the South Loop, and he lives in Chicago, IL.
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Tristan Smith
Tristan A. Smith is an actor, writer, and comedian born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up on the city's South Side in the Bronzeville neighborhood. It's a known fact amongst performers that great art comes through Chicago. Tristan has spent more than enough time in the city to provide all the evidence you need of just how special the homegrown talent is. A lot of elements have had a hand in crafting Tristan's artistry both in Chicago and in his travels. From his time in Atlanta at Morehouse College, to his improv and writing training at Act One Studios and Second City, to his everyday experiences. All of it makes an impact. He is honored to be working with Chirp Radio for the first time and happy you are listening.
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Dustin Drase
If you’ve been to Chicago in the past two decades, you've probably seen or heard Dustin somewhere -- be it DJing, hosting a radio show, or peddling records at local fairs and events. Obsessive record collecting as a teenager led him down the path of music journalism (Magnet, Dusted, MTV2, Stop Smiling), then to hosting a radio show and DJing. You can currently hear Dustin at monthly gigs at Coles or the Whistler in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. A veteran of the local record label scene, Dustin spent time in the trenches at Locust, Drag City, and the archival reissue label The Numero Group. In 2015, he was nominated for a GRAMMY (Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package) an A2IM Award (Creative Packaging) and won an AIM award (UK) for his work on the Numero release, Cities of Darskcorch. As if all that weren't enough to keep him busy, he also runs/owns two boutique record labels, Addenda and Plustapes. In the few instances when he has free time, Dustin enjoys playing board games and indulges his more nerdy interests by collecting comic books and vintage synthesizers.
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Miranda Winters
Chicago based and Providence born, Miranda Winters is (among many other things), a musician, printmaker and painter.
She will take any Twitter followers she can get, bots or not. -
Gwynn Fulcher
Gwynn Fulcher is a Staff Writer at the award-winning WBEZ podcast PleasureTown and an Artistic Associate with the Neo-Futurists. She is a writer and performer who has been sharing pop culture rants and personal essays at live lit and storytelling events around the city since 2011. Gwynn is a four-time WRITE CLUB champion, she's been published by Chicago Literati, and she's a repeat performer at The Paper Machete.
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Ozivell Ecford
Ozivell Ecford is a songwriter, designer, and performer. He has studied at Depaul and the International Academy of Design and Technology. He's worked with the Old Town School of Folk Music as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has produced and composed for a number of independent films, plays, local artists, and bands, and performs with his band Kick Bricks regionally and nationally. Ecford was ranked as one of Chicago’s Top Ten Teaching Artists by 3Arts.org in 2014 and 2015.