St. Baldrick’s Fundraising Event is at Gaynor’s Restaurant and Irish Pub on March 20th.  The St. Baldrick’s Foundation supports childhood cancer research.  During the event, volunteers have their heads shaved in return for pledges of financial support.  We will also be having a silent auction and raffles. Visit www.stbaldricks.org for details.

No Chicago, it isn’t just something of Bill Swerski legend. According to an article in the NY Times, big games such as the Superbowl have shown to increase the number of cardiovascular shutdowns due to the high stress situations, beer, and excessive greasy food.

A study in LA studied the number of heart attacks reported in California on the day of the Superbowl for several years. In 1980, the Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and more than a few fans reacted “harshly”. Compared to other years, the number of patients admitted with heart complications spiked the day of the game and for two weeks afterwards. Then in ‘84, when the Raiders beat the Redskins mortality fell.

So, there you have it. This should be especially important for members of the Colts and Saints. Just remember, when you hit the field Sunday night, this isn’t just win or lose… it could very well be a matter of life or death for residents of New Orleans and Indianapolis.

Last year was a huge one for music. With huge JACK artists like Pearl Jam, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, and Bruce Springsteen releasing new records that rocked the top of the charts (and more than a few Chicago stadiums) over the course of ‘09.

Well, 2010 is looking like a similar landscape of massive releases by some of our favorite artists. So here’s a preview of what you will be listening to between now and December.

Stone Temple Pilots

Title TBD

April 2010

The band that brought you ’90s rock anthems like “Interstate Love Song”, “Sex Type Thing”, and “Plush” is back with a much-anticipated record due out this spring. If you feel like it has been a while since you’ve heard anything new by Stone Temple Pilots you’re not alone… their last release was in 2001. The band broke up in 2003 after lead singer Scott Weiland and guitarist Dean DeLeo almost got in a fistfight on stage. They have since settled their differences, Weiland went to rehab, and now the band has a new album with a massive tour to follow this summer. The band members have said it has more of a “’60s vibe” (whatever that means). Chances are pretty good Chicago is a stop on their tour this summer… possibly at Lollapalooza 2010.

U2

Songs of Ascent

June 2010

When it comes to U2, you should expect whatever they’re going to do is going to be big. Bono has apparently told reporters a few of these songs are “potential thoroughbreds”. The Edge has also said that the song “Kingdom of Love”, which those of you who caught the 360-Tour this past summer might remember as the intro song, is a strong contender to find a spot on the new album. And for those of you who didn’t catch the tour, you’ll get another chance when it rolls back into Chicago’s Soldier Field this summer. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s hard to argue with a band that holds the second highest grossing tour record of the past decade just behind The Rolling Stones.

Kid Rock

American Circus

Spring 2010

Robert James Ritchie (aka Kid Rock) has lived a career that necessitates a stage name including “rock”. He has a couple #1 hits, five Grammy nods, and a short marriage to Pamela Anderson. All of these are prerequisites for the Rock-lifestyle. And following his hugely popular Rock N Roll Jesus, his new album is apparently “even better”. The 3-disc album will come with one CD of Rock songs, one of Hip-Hop influenced tracks, and one with Country songs. How does he plan to do all this? Guest appearances of course. BIG Guests. Already confirmed are rappers Lil Wayne and T.I., George Strait, Lenny Kravitz, Bob Seger, James Hetfield, and possible Jon Bon Jovi.

Slash

Slash

March/April 2010

Speaking of Kid Rock, he is just one of the big name artists that will appear on the solo album by Guns ‘N Roses Guitar God Slash. You might recognize some of the other names too: Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Adam Levine, Meat Loaf, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, and Alice Cooper. Slash even has a song with Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie. The album will consist of 13 tracks and also feature all of the guys from Guns ‘N Roses (except Axl Rose). Something tells us this one is gonna be epic.

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My City of Ruins (Benefiting Artists for Peace and Justice Haiti Relief) [Live from the Kennedy Center Honors] – Single
Eddie Vedder

21 Guns EP
Green Day

Europe (2009)
Dave Matthews Band

NOW That’s What I Call the 90’s (Deluxe Edition)
Various Artists, including Blind Melon, Spin Doctors, The Gin Blossoms and more.

(Getty Images)

Happy Groundhog Day from all of us at 104.3 JACK FM. Your present? Six more weeks of winter. It shouldn’t be all that surprising as we wake up today and see snow falling and covering the ground. Looking out our window we predict a 3 hours plus commute getting home – if your drive is normally 30 minutes.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, good ol’ Punxsutawney Phil indeed saw his shadow early this morning. We’re not really sure how this works considering the sun wasn’t even up yet, but, we know that thousands of people flocked to Gobbler’s Knob again this year for this momentus occasion.

One thing we do know is that Groundhog Day to JACK means marathons of Bill Murray,  Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot reliving every moment of 1993 over and over again. Don’t worry we’ll get to spring by May.