Ode to the Chicago Rat Hole
Whenever we would roll into Chicago to play a gig, it was tradition to make our way to Roscoe Village to pay our respects to a fallen comrade, forever enshrined in concrete along a sidewalk off West Roscoe Street. We would leave tokens of our love and appreciation in the rat shaped hole and it would never fail that we would be blessed with an amazing show!
In April of this year, the city of Chicago removed the shine after continued complaints from local residents and business owners regarding the traffic to the site and the ephemera left behind which had grown in recent months after comedian and writer, Winslow Dumaine posted about it on social media.
The slab of concrete was removed intact but as of this posting, no one is quite sure what has happened to it and what the future holds for the Chicago Rat Hole.
To memorialize the shrine that provided so much happiness and good mojo to visitors, Janky recorded “Chicago Rat Hole Blues” for fans to download. Just click on the image below.
You can also get your very own Chicago Rat Hole Blues T-shirt and merchandise here.
