For a moment, we here in Chicago are setting aside our pending athletic contest with Seattle this Sunday. That’s right: no urban football, NFL playoff rivalries here. For the next four minutes Chicago can get down with Seattle. Why? It’s David Bazan’s Pirate Radio session!
In a town rich with songwriters, David Bazan may be Seattle’s best. After fronting the band Pedro the Lion for a decade, Bazan went through a series of personal changes that deeply affected his music. One was his struggle with alcohol abuse; the other was converting to agnosticism.
Theology was always a core focus of Pedro the Lion, but in Bazan’s solo work the relationship with God seems to have soured. One of the songs he performed for his Pirate Radio session was “Please, Baby, Please,” a moving tale of alcoholic desperation.
Enjoy the sweet harmonies with band-mates Blake Wescott and Andy Fitts.
This performance is part of our Live Music Thursday podcast.
