A Famous Instrument Made in Elmhurst?!

Hey Elmhurst, did you know that one of the most iconic instruments in music history is headquartered right here in town? But, first, I'm Amara. I'm the one you normally see in front of camera.

And I'm Jeff. I'm the one you always you never see, because I'm behind the camera.

You always never see him.

And this is the Hey Elmhurst! Podcast.

Where we keep up on all things Elmhurst so you don't have to.

Today, we are recording from beautiful Zodiac Coffee in downtown Elmhurst.

Yes, this is by far one of my favorite coffee shops, I think across the country. We go everywhere all the time and I don't know, this is exactly the kind of coffee shop we've been waiting for in town and it's just, I don't know, it's one of our favorites, so.

Yeah, it's we're out here on the patio in the back, which is

It is so cute. If you haven't seen this patio, it actually is one of my favorites, like it's beautifully designed. Silvia's a designer by trade and it you can tell.

Interior design.

Yeah, and now exterior design.

For sure.

So, this week, I want to talk to you about a little instrument known as the Hammond organ, and not the state, Oregon. This is the organ. Have you ever heard of it before?

The Hammond organ? Yes. I Because we've talked about it, I have heard about it, but

Did you hear about it before we had talked about it?

So that, I'm not sure.

Okay. Well, good. Well, you may not have heard the actual name, but you've definitely heard the sound.

Famous musicians like Bob Dylan, one of my absolute favorites, Santana, Led Zeppelin, it's like Booker T, a whole laundry list of musicians have incorporated it into their music.

And fun enough, fun enough, more most interestingly, they are actually now headquartered here in Elmhurst. I want to start off, though, by saying this is not a place that you can visit, unfortunately. So do not go in person.

Yeah, it's

That's why I'm not going to give the address. You can find it, but just don't go in person. It is not a storefront.

It's not retail.

Yeah, it's not a retail space. It's not where you would buy them, but it is their manufacturing, right, I think?

Yeah, so it's not 100% certain if they are manufactured here in Elmhurst, but I'm assuming it is because it is more in a in a warehouse sort of area.

But it's just so cool that we have this. So you actually found this story and then you were just like, "Did you know?" and I was like, "Oh, my god!" Cuz it's just it is one of the most famous musical instruments of all time that isn't a guitar or anything.

So I was a big fan of it.

When I found it because we have a business directory. So, the Hey Elmhurst business directory on the website, heyelmhurst.com, that's where we have everything where we're trying to be the central hub for everything in town. So, all the businesses, all the events,

Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's right.

All the job listings. Speaking of, Zodiac has an opening right now for a barista. So, someone with experience, of course, not entry-level for this one.

Maybe not, of course, but this we're looking for

Yeah, like a skilled barista.

Yeah, so.

So, if you love coffee, if you love people, and if you want to work in probably one of the most beautiful spaces in Elmhurst, you should check it out. And you will probably see us all the time, so.

Actually, not probably, you will. We were just here yesterday.

So, we're going to step back a little bit to the history of the Hammond organ, if you will. This was invented all the way back in the mid-1930s, so it's almost 100 years old, by Laurens Hammond, hence the name Hammond organ. He actually, though, wasn't a musician.

He was a clockmaker.

So, what his company did was they started out making electric clocks, and then he built the first organ using clock motors and his own invention, the tonewheel.

He reportedly couldn't even read music and he built the whole thing on engineering, not playing, which I thought you would find that very interesting because you are more of a problem-solver, engineer kind of person.

Yeah.

So I thought that was very cool. The organ was actually originally designed as an affordable alternative for churches that couldn't fit or afford a pipe organ.

If you don't know what a pipe organ is, it is this massive like It's huge. Like it can take up an entire room, basically the whole back wall of a church, or a cathedral, or what have you.

So, this is a nice sort of maybe, I'm trying to even remember how big, maybe like 3 to 5 ft wide and then like a couple feet tall. Like it's not that big. It's almost like a writing desk, in a way, size-wise.

So, this is a perfect alternative for people, yeah, who don't have the space or the budget for an organ.

Especially back in the 1930s, if you think about sort of the economy at the time, it was the Great Depression, so this is like the perfect timing for this piece. But interestingly enough, musicians had other plans for this beautiful little instrument and gospel, jazz, and rock players turned it into the legendary instrument that it is today.

Fun fact that I also learned, when Henry Ford, the maker of Ford

Cars,

Automobiles, if you will. Yeah, the beep beeps, the beep boop boops. Or no, Hammond made the beep boop boops.

And the beep beeps.

Cut that part out.

But when Henry Ford caught wind of this invention, he actually allegedly bought six of them before they were even in production.

I don't know why, but apparently I guess he wanted to sort of know how it worked because, obviously, he was an engineer himself. So, going back to the musicians that have played this, just as a little wrap-up. You can basically hear

The organ in like gospel, jazz, reggae, rock, a bunch of different genres, basically. It spans all genres, which I think is what I love about it, too. It does get confused with a couple other instruments.

So, if you are wondering if you've heard it, just do a quick little Google search.

But just a couple of songs that you may have heard it on are Green Onions by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which is one of the most famous songs that has used it. Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan, Smoke on the Water, and A Whiter Shade of Pale.

If you have heard those, you have definitely heard the Hammond organ, and I'm pretty sure all of us have at least heard one of these songs, if not most of them, or all of them.

Well, at least one of the Beatles songs, too, cuz there's a photo that we used where Paul McCartney is playing it. Like it might not have been him playing it in the song, but there was a photo of him behind the

Yes.

Hammond organ in that instant.

I think it was during the Abbey Road sessions, too, which is even more legendary.

Something like that.

I want to say it was I forget what songs now, so quick Google search. It was during the Abbey Road Studio sessions. It was played during I Want to Be Your Man, Something, Let It Be, and In My Life.

So, I was going to say Let It Be, but I didn't want to like jump to it, cuz I'm like it's practically the only title that I know, so.

So, you kind of freaked I was going to ask you also.

It would have just been irony, but yeah.

Yeah, cuz you're not really a Beatles fan as much. I love the Beatles.

Yeah.

Also, I'm awful with song names.

Yeah.

I know him by sound, not by name.

Yeah. I know. You'll just be like, "Oh, I know this." We actually played a fun game while we were waiting at the airport for 9 hours the other night.

And we were Shazaming trying to figure out what the what the songs were and what the groups were.

Yeah, we weren't a fan of the music in the airport at

No.

In that Miami International Airport, however.

Yeah, it was a specific choice of music, however.

It was eclectic. It was everything across every range from Justin Timberlake to the '70s. Like it was a lot.

It spanned everything.

Even into the '60s, I think, actually.

It was a lot of random songs, but anyway.

But, it was a fun little game. So, if you're ever stuck in the airport for 9 hours, then I would suggest Shazam.

So, anyway, just to wrap the section up, roughly 2 million of these organs have been made. Next time you're you hear that unmistakable Hammond sound, remember that it actually now has roots here in Elmhurst. Just do not go visit because it is not a place where you can go visit, but you can drive by and have a look-see if you would like.

Yeah, it's more for history.

Yeah, it's more for music history nuts like myself. As soon as you said that, I was just like, "Oh, my god, I have to go pay my respects or something."

You're silly.

So, if you're a big music dork like I am, it's I don't know, it's just it's fun to see. It's fun to see these things where you're just like

Yeah, just a connection.

Yeah.

To I mean, there's another connection that we'll talk about in another episode that just went out in the email newsletter that is pretty bonkers and much more grand

Yes.

Than you would ever expect to be here.

Yeah.

In Elmhurst.

Whew.

So, we are outside and there seems to be someone opening gates and slamming metal, I don't know.

All right. So, next up is the community spotlight section. And this is where you can call in and leave us a voicemail to be featured on a future episode of the show.

You can go to call.show/heyelmhurst.

Yes.

And it's just a big red button. You hit record. You can record your message and we will feature you in a future episode.

Yes, and I love getting to hear from everybody, so please do, cuz, I don't know, it just It fills my heart with glee and it's a fun way to get your events and your things out in the open. In the open? You know what I mean.

Yeah.

All right. So, we have a message from Nick.

Hey Elmhurst, this is Nick Blauw and the Blauw family sharing with you an invitation to join us on September 12th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. At 93 Octane for free food, free drinks, and a free live concert with three different performers.

Celebrating music and, more importantly, raising money for and to combat Alzheimer's disease. It is severely impacting our family and an increasing number of families in all communities. Ours is no different.

So, we'd like to convene everybody around music and community, because one of the few things that those who are dehumanized by Alzheimer's retain until the end is the patterns of music that they have loved throughout their life.

And so we want to celebrate that and bring some fundraising and resources to combat this disease and support those who suffer.

Yeah, thank you so much, Nick. That sounds like such a great event and such a special event. Like I feel like all of us have

Yeah.

Had family members or know of people who have suffered from Alzheimer's or dementia. I know it's specifically Alzheimer's, but like

But, it's a broad category. There's a there's a category of ailments that

Yeah.

We all can feel for when people are suffering through that or

Yeah.

Yeah, just dealing with the issues.

Yeah, like a close family member of mine went through it, unfortunately, and it's just it's not I don't know. It's not an easy thing to go through, so yeah, this event sounds amazing. 93 Octane is a great space.

They have It's just absolutely stunning inside and it's fun. You get drinks, and music, and I don't know, you get to support a worthy cause.

And we love the Blauw family, so thank you so much, Nick, and Erica by proxy, for calling in. So, yes, that is September 12th, which is tomorrow, actually.

Yeah, when this comes out, it'll be tomorrow.

So, tomorrow, 93 Octane, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., go have a fun time and support a worthy cause, like it's the best of both worlds.

Yeah, I think that's perfect. And again, if you want to spotlight anything on a future episode, it is call.show/heyelmhurst or go to the link in the description.

Thank you, Blauw family. So, now, we have some exciting news. We have a couple different openings and something coming soon.

So, this week, we have noticed that WOK Plus has now opened. They took over the old Aunt Tina's Kitchen space at 582 North Lake.

I believe it was 582. Yes, 582. West Lake, excuse me.

I was thinking, I was like, off the top of your head, you just know the numbers. That's crazy.

I did. I talk about it all the time, so.

Well, yeah, you do a lot of research, and writing, and scripting, and speaking, and.

All of it. Yeah. I know too many things now.

Yeah, you know a lot of things.

I am the archivist of Elmhurst. But, yeah, it's 582 West Lake Street, so I messed up the directionals, I'm so sorry. That does make a big difference.

Oh, okay.

So it's right next to the Powermart. This is promising to be a fast, casual, build-your-own-plate Asian concept, true to their tag- tagline Wok'd Your Way, which I thought was very cute.

So, how it works, how I've seen, is you start by picking your base. So you can do white rice, egg fried rice, or lo mein, and then you choose two entrées to go on top of it. They have a bunch of different options.

I'm not going to rattle them off. You just have to go in and find them yourself.

Find them, see them yourself. Go find them.

They also have sides and extras like egg rolls, crab rangoons, and bubble tea, which sounds really fun. I don't know how gluten-free it is, just for my other gluten-free friends out there. It looks like it is probably not going to be gluten-free, so just, FYI, just so you can sort of curb expectations and things like that.

So, go check them out. They are new to town. So then next up, Jayne just opened.

They opened at 124 North York. They carry women's clothing, shoes, jewelry. They have locations all across the Chicagoland suburbs.

It so boutique chain, it's been around since 2013. You can find them in Glen Ellyn, La Grange, Oak Park, Forest Park, and Geneva, plus even in Wisconsin. Fun fact.

So, go check them out if you want to do some fall shopping in downtown.

And then finally, we have Q-BBQ. They are coming to town. Now, we love barbecue, personally.

We are huge barbecue fans. Wherever we go, it's just, I don't know, it's a safer bet, typically, when you're gluten-free if you don't do the sauces, so we're always just like, "Meat, sounds good."

Well, yeah, and a lot of places do gluten-free sauces and we have Golden Boy in town, which is amazing and it's

Yeah.

A local locally-owned and operated, and everything, which is always fun. It's always that special adds that little special something to it. And the space that it's in is really remarkable, because it used to be a What is it, a greenhouse at one point?

So, it is a remarkable experience. But, that's on more the south side of town, more what?

Yeah, green It was a greenhouse.

Yeah.

Not Spring Road, Vallette.

Vallette and York.

Vallette and York. But having Q right in downtown, or uptown as some people say,

Yes.

Is going to be a nice second or additional option.

Yeah, now we sort of have a couple of different barbecue spots across town, cuz then Firewater's just around the corner, too.

I don't I almost forgot that. That's why I said second. I was like, oh no, it's not second.

Yeah. I know, it's we're trying to bring up our catalogs just in our head. So, Q-BBQ is coming to town.

They're going to be at 158 and 160 North York. They are combining two storefronts into one, though.

So, it's going to be a little bit before they open. We've heard maybe early next year,

At some point.

They are also a chain across the suburbs. It's basically just fast-casual barbecue spot. I You said we've been there before together, I don't know if we have.

I'm pretty sure we went to the Naperville location or maybe La Grange.

That was like 100 years ago.

But, it was yeah, a long time ago. But they have one in La Grange. They have one in Naperville.

Sort of coincidentally, the La Grange location is right by the historic theater, the Classic Cinemas theater,

Okay.

Oh, it is?

And now we have ours in town right by York, Classic Cinemas.

And, I think, yeah, they're both owned by Classic Cinemas. That's interesting, though.

Yeah.

Yeah, I thought that was kind of interesting.

Barbecue and a movie deal.

Yeah, I want I almost wonder if that might be part of the draw, too, because we do have reasons to come to town that are special, maybe Q chooses somewhat based on that, as well.

Yeah.

Yeah, so something else to look forward to that is coming up early next year.

It's in the queue

Of new businesses.

You heard it here first, folks.

All right. So, we're just going to round out this episode with our events this week. So, obviously, Rock the Block is happening today and tomorrow.

If you have never been, or if you're new to town, it's basically just a whole street fest. They take over a couple blocks on York, just the main city center area.

And just in case you were watching or listening to this later, that is today, September 11th, and tomorrow, September 12th.

Yes, basically just a street fest with vendor booths, live music. New this year, though, which is exciting, they're going to have a cocktail lounge with a signature cocktail. I believe I saw that it's going to be called Rock the Block Punch.

Not entirely sure. They're going to have a couple different drinks and things like that. If you do not drink, like us anymore We don't drink anymore.

They do have mocktails, it looks like, also, which is really fun, cuz normally just your only option is like a Sprite or like an iced tea and that's fine,

But, I don't know, it's fun to have like a fun drink, especially since this is sort of the end of summer wrap party, if you will.

So that is happening this weekend, today and tomorrow, or September 11th and 12th.

And then also on September 12th, like we just heard in the voicemail, is the Covers for a Cause event hosted by the Blauw family. Like we already heard, live music, great food, and raising money for Alzheimer's research. That is 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

At 93 Octane.

And then on September 13th, there are two events. First, in the morning is the Elmhurst Children's Business Fair. This is a showcase of young entrepreneurs in town, and we have learned that there are so many young entrepreneurs in town, which is amazing.

That's cool.

So kids ages 9 to 17 get the opportunity to bring their creative endeavors to life.

So, yeah, it's from 9:00 to noon at Wilder Park, and it sounds awesome. Like this actually sounds so freaking cool. One of our good friends, Adam from F&S, you should check out his watches if you haven't, he let us know.

I mean, yeah, he's an Elmhurst watch company.

Yeah, resident and watch company. But he was just telling us about it and it sounds so cool. Like I love getting to let kids explore their creativity and also turn things into businesses, and have creative endeavors that could become something so much more in the future.

Yeah, the experience is huge. What Adam was saying was it's the kids have to do all of it, so like he's there supporting his kid, but

It's very cool.

Yes, which I love.

They can't defer to the parents. They can't do anything to try and like Yeah, to take the ownership from them. There is nothing to take the ownership from them.

It's all up to them.

Which I love. So, yeah, if you want to stump some kids this weekend

But yeah, if you want to go support like the new generation of entrepreneurs in town, definitely go check it out. On the 13th, 9:00 a.m. To noon at Wilder Park.

And then to round out the weekend, there's A Walk Toward Healing, so another amazing fundraiser. It is a 1-mile walk to support survivors of gun violence.

They will also have free cotton candy, snow cones, yard games, and family fun. I love the family fun.

And that'll be at 2:00 p.m. At The Hub at Berens Park. So, we have so many great causes and things happening this weekend.

It's just, I don't know, I love it.

Yeah, and if you go to Berens Park, you can also see the progress on the Wagner Center, which is a massive structure. Like when we saw it recently, it was shocking. It is It is a substantial upgrade, if nothing else, size alone.

It is wild.

It's truly massive. Yeah.

Yeah, if you remember the previous Wagner Center at all, it was it looks like a pebble compared to this boulder. Like it is massive. So, when you see the plans for what the new Wagner Center is going to be, it truly

It doesn't even do justice to it. You like go up to it and you're like, "Oh, yeah, this is pretty big."

Yeah.

So, it's going to be quite a quite a thing. Choo, choo! Recommendation Station!

So, this week, I actually have a recommendation literally from here at Zodiac. I'm currently on the hunt for all pumpkin spice, fall flavors. It's my favorite flavor time of the year.

I don't like letting summer, accepting that summer comes to a close. So, I'm always disappointed when you want pumpkin spice when we're still in the August

I know.

Sort of time period. But, when September hits, I can I can resign to the fact that summer is coming to a close.

So, we have a household rule. His birthday just happened, September 4th, so I wait until the day after his birthday to start having pumpkin spice.

I like the household rule. I don't that's not It's just something you've decided. Just

Well, yes, out of respect for you and your love of summer, I waited. I do love summer, too.

I have two favorite seasons.

I know, summer and football,

And my birthday.

Yeah, and they overlap right now, so.

Yes, I also love summer. However, I do love a good fall flavor. So, something I need to recommend, I'm currently working on a video of all the fall flavors around town because I just love them.

So, if you have any things that you know around town, or if you and your business have things, definitely let me know, because I need the best list possible.

I have a couple places already, and one of them, as I teased, is here at Zodiac. Silvia has made overnight oats with pumpkin. So, it's like a pumpkin flavoring, and then apples on top, and it looks like pumpkin seeds.

Like it looks amazing. It looks so good.

Well, and it's pumpkin puree, too. It's not even just flavoring.

Yes. Or yeah, that's what I meant. A pumpkin sauce.

So, it's like pumpkin puree and all the yummy things. They're also going to have a pumpkin coffee with foam, so, I don't know, I'm just very excited. I love all the fall flavors.

I can't wait. So, that is my recommendation for this week. Well, that'll do it for this week's episode of the Hey Elmhurst! Podcast.

Make sure you're subscribed to the Hey Elmhurst newsletter, just like Jeff said earlier, to get details about basically everything that's happening, and some fun stories.

And I'll pretend I said it earlier, cuz I said nothing about our newsletter. Just the website, but yeah, heyelmhurst.com.

You did, though, about the secret story that I posted about this week.

So, you can check out the newsletter at heyelmhurst.com. And if there's something happening around town that you think we should cover, send us a message at call.show/heyelmhurst, and we will play it on a future episode. So, I think that about does it for this week.

We'll see you next time.

Bye!

Ta-ta!