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Thursday, May 16, 2024
Lincoln Hall
$140K fundraised - a Law Rocks Chicago record!

Overall Winner and Judges’ Choice Award: The Thornes of Illinois Court of Claims; Monterrosa Law Group; and Schneck Law Offices for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Chicago
Hustle & Heart Award : Fauxly of Foley & Lardner for Boys & Girls Club of Chicago
Music Matters Recipient: The People’s Music School

After a stellar stop in San Francisco, we were ready to head to Chi-town for the Third Annual Law Rocks. And Chicago did not mess around, breaking the city record and raising more than twice the 2023 total with a whopping $140K raised! It was a night to remember with eight talented bands lighting up the Lincoln Hall stage, rocking and raising funds for deserving local nonprofits.

What a way to start the night! True to their name, La Fete Du Funk knows how to party, and they brought the 70s (and sexy) back with a stellar set of vintage tunes from “Barracuda” to “Higher Ground”. Decked out in swoon-worthy looks, the trio of lead singers had the voices, the moves, and the charisma as they got the crowd dancing and singing along to “Take Me to the River” and more.

Law Rocks newcomers Risky Tingles opened their set with a crowd-pleasing cover of “Lawyers, Guns & Money”. The band played a strong set of unique 60’s and 70’s rock classics from Van Morrison to the Band. While the five core members of the band rocked custom tee shirts designed by the drummer, their special guest, all-lawyer horn trio represented Chicago well in their Blues Brothers ensemble.

The Thornes continued on the theme of late 60’s-early 70’s rock with a set full of sultry classics. The band took us on a ride as we grooved to the blues and rocked out to high-energy shredding guitar solos. Their set highlighted soulful vocals from the lead singer on songs like “White Room” by Cream and “10th Avenue Freezout” by The Boss.

Defending Law Rocks Chicago champs Flood Bros. proved that bigger doesn’t mean better! The talented trio delivered a strong set that belied their 20+ years together. Everyone in the crowd bopped along to a rousing cover of Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America,” but it was an unexpected cover of Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” that proved the band’s true versatility.

Fauxly brought us into the 90s with a high-energy set of modern day rock classics, and the audience was all about it. Buoyed by the enthusiastic fan base cheering them on, the all-attorney band tore through hits like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Welcome to Paradise”, and a rousing cover of “Inside Out” by Eve 6 with skill and zeal.

Up next was Flood Waters making waves in their Law Rocks debut! Not only did the band jam to rock standards from Yes and The Who, but they made an impression by starting their set strong with grungy pop classic “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morisette. The whole set list highlighted the strength of their alternating female vocalists, and the audience cheered on the shredding guitar player as he solo’ed to the crowd.

Another Law Rock’s newcomer, ICY BEE immediately got the crowd dancing with their magnetic rendition of “You Really Got Me”. Holding the audience captive with their talent and swagger, the band featured top-notch guitar solos and a gifted vocalist who interacted with the audience. Another highlight was their rendition of hometown hit “Jesus Left Chicago”.

Good Colour won the audience’s heart with iconic pop songs by Maroon 5 and Britney Spears. Despite holding the latest time slot, the band had stage presence and energy to spare. From their first song, a top shelf rendition of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” all the way to their very own original tune, the band captured the crowd with their talent and spirit.

Law Rocks wouldn't exist without the support of all the bands and firms - major thanks to every participating band! Many thanks to the Lincoln Hall team; the Rock Panel of Judges: Sean O’Keefe, Miriam Owens, and Rickey Rainbow; our host Valerie Ojeda; and our nonprofit guests. The evening was made possible thanks to our tour sponsor Secretariat; top sponsors McGuireWoods; Foley & Lardner; Simon McClosky; Tomasik Kotin Kasserman; Tully & Associates; and additional sponsors Bartlit Beck; Advocus National Title Insurance Company; Cavanagh Sorich Law Group; Cooley; Forde & O’Meara; Guaranteed Rate; Ivy Hall Cannabis Dispensary; Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association; FYZICAL; Hart McLaughlin and Eldridge; Preferred Med Network; Tepconic; and Williams, Bax & Saltzman. We are thankful for each and every one of you!

Please consider making a contribution to support Law Rocks World Tour and ensure we keep rocking the globe for years to come!

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Featured

Fauxly

Featuring legal talent from Foley & Lardner
Rocking for Boys And Girls Club

With roots across the nation, and a home base in Chicago, Fauxly is an all-attorney, all-Foley, no compromise rock band. As your 2023 Law Rocks Hustle and Heart Award winners, Fauxly are back with another set of modern classics from the 1990’s and 2000’s that will get you off your feet and on the floor. Individually, Fauxly’s members have honed their talents on a variety of stages across the world; from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, to the House of Blues in Chicago, to the German variety show “Wetten Das,” Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and countless bars, basements, and backyards in between.

Fauxly features:

• Chris Ward (Labor & Employment) – Vocals and Guitar
• Mike Noonan (Land Use & Zoning) – Bass
• Chris Rasmussen (Transactions) – Drums
• Zack Sikora – Guitar

We’re ready to let what’s left of our hair down and rock out for a great cause. The money we’re raising goes to the Boys and Girls Club of America, but the spirits we’re raising will be yours!

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Flood Bros.

Featuring legal talent from Circuit Court of Cook County
Rocking for Digs with Dignity

The Floods: 20+ years of Classic Rock, New Wave, and many, many curveballs - from Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom to all the now-shuttered bars and clubs on the Northside - Jim - Steve - John

Flood Waters

Featuring legal talent from McGuireWoods; Astellas
Rocking for Kovler Diabetes Center

Straight out of Elmhurst, Flood Waters has been rocking the Chicago area since 2014. The band initially joined forces in School of Rock’s “Adult Program” and quickly decided to go out on their own to perform across the Chicago area. The band has played at venues as diverse as the legendary Double Door, City Winery, Lincoln Hall, and Aurora’s RiverEdge Park along with numerous venues in their hometown. Flood Waters performs a great cross-section of the classics from the 1970s to today, including The Cars, The Pretenders, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and more.

Flood Waters showcases the talents of two attorneys: Amy Manning (vocals, partner at McGuire Woods) and Morgan Moran (bass, Senior Director at Astella Pharma). Rounding out the band are Amy McConnell (vocals), Joe Spedale (guitar), Michael Stavridis (guitar), Brian Mehta (drums), and Andy DeMotte (keys).

Flood Waters regularly takes part in local philanthropic activities, including several appearances at the Chicago Bar Association’s annual “Lawyers Rock” benefit as well as ongoing events hosted by the American Diabetes Association.

Good Colour

Featuring legal talent from Bell Kearns
Rocking for Rebuilding Exchange

What do you get when you combine a country vocalist, neo-soul guitarist, funk pianist, jazz bassist, and classically-trained drummer? You get a creative mix of music not quite like anything you've heard before – you get Good Colour.

Started in 2022 in downtown Chicago by a couple of friends, the original goal of Good Colour was to jam on street corners and play some covers. But before long we started writing some BANGERS. Once we realized our potential, we focused on becoming an original-focused band with big aspirations.

Inspired by an eclectic mix of genres old and new, from Chris Stapleton to James Brown to Maroon 5, Good Colour delivers its very own brand of unique and soulful music. We want our audience to feel good vibes, dance, and enjoy life, and our music reflects those themes. We hope you get down with us!

La Fete Du Funk

Featuring legal talent from Lindsey Lund Law, LLC; Confluence Orthopedic Growth Strategies; Lake County State's Attorney
Rocking for Uniting Voices Chicago

Like most, the members of La Fete Du Funk share a collective belief: that the 1970s represent the pinnacle of music. For our money, rock and roll and disco reign supreme - in sound, style, attitude, and the sheer ability to make you move. La Fete sets out to combine the singular qualities of these two unruly genres - the electric racket, feel-it-in-your-chest bass and drums, and loud and unflinching style - in a disco-rock cocktail that gets your head stirred and hips shaken. So if you want a show, hit the theater. If you want a party, welcome to La Fete du Funk.

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ICY BEE

Featuring legal talent from Castaneda Law Office; Katz, Friedman; Law Office of James M. Bailey II
Rocking for Alzheimer's Association

The ICY BEE is a rock band of 5 guys who realized their musical talents could merge to create a wall of sound. With Jim (Bailes) Bailey II on lead vocals, Vitas Mockaitis on lead guitar and vocals, Craig (Mate) Griffin on Bass and the Castaneda Duo of John J Castaneda on acoustic and rhythm guitars and Joey Castaneda on drums and vocals, this lawyer led band (Jim, Vitas and John) energizes their audience.

Risky Tingles

Featuring legal talent from Cooley; U.S. Attorneys Office, ND Ill.
Rocking for Music & Potlucks

Formed in the wake of the pandemic to fill an acute entertainment need at a Chicago block party, the five 40-something men of Risky Tingles soon realized they had something—or just enjoyed getting together in a basement steps away from the revered Lincoln Hall to make music. The core Tingles repertoire is defined by the non-obvious upbeat songs sung by the classic groups you love—the Beatles, Stones, Band, Petty, Dylan, Van the Man, and more—usually with something of an Americana flair and a harmony or two. We can’t wait to take the stage at Lincoln Hall and get the audience moving on behalf of Music & Potlucks, a great Oak Park-based organization that builds community through musical gatherings and raises funds to support providers of essential services on the west side of Chicago.

Featuring legal talent from Cooley LLP and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Featuring Illegal talent from Group One Trading and the Chicago Public Schools

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The Thornes

Featuring legal talent from Illinois Court of Claims; Schneck Law Offices; Monterrosa Law Group
Rocking for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Chicago

The Thornes began as a group of fathers whose children attended Hawthorne Academy, a Chicago Public Magnet School located in the shadow of Wrigley Field. The dads were all accomplished musicians. We were first approached to start a band to support fundraising at the school (at one time we had 13 kids attending the school). The shows were a success drawing crowds from the community (Our motto is " We don't suck as bad as you think we will!") Over time we began receiving requests to perform at other fundraising events.

Over the years, The Thornes have raised well over $100,000 for local charities. We have performed with "Big "Head" Todd and Nicholas Tremulis. We also performed as the opening act for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. We have we won several "Lawyers Rock" battle of the bands competitions over the years.

Band members include: Peter Birnbaum, Chief Justice of the Illinois Court of Claims and President of Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund. Joe Gagliardo, a judge on the Illinois Court of Claims. Sean O'Brien, a human rights lawyer. Louie Kritikos, Broker at Dream Town Realty and Bob Barnett, managing director of Wexford Capital. Steve Schneck, highly regarded civil rights trial lawyer and beloved local jazz musician.

Law Rocks is thrilled to be extending our Music Matters grant into 2024! This grant, established in 2023, is presented in each of our US tour cities to benefit a local organization that supports music education. We are pleased to present our 2024 Chicago Music Matters grant to The People’s Music School (TPMS)! TPMS is the largest completely tuition-free music school serving Chicago metropolitan area children, focusing on removing barriers to access for students who otherwise would not have the opportunity of intensive music instruction.

Click through to read our blog about The People’s Music School, including an interview with President & CEO, Miriam Owens.

We are proud the Third Annual Law Rocks Chicago 2024 bands raised funds for the following organizations.

Featured

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Featured

Host - Valerie Ojeda

This proud "CHI-TOWN" girl is best known for her vocal versatility, boundless energy & magnetic charisma on stage. During the week, Valerie Ojeda travels the country, working as an On-Camera Host, Event Emcee, Trade Show Presenter and Automotive Product Specialist, representing top companies like Panasonic, Microsoft, 3M, Sony, Epson, Honda and Bosch, just to name a few.

On weekends, she fronts the wildly successful National cover band, “Anthem Road,” playing nightclubs, casinos, conventions, country clubs, wineries, private parties and outdoor festivals, all over the country. Over the years Anthem Road has opened for the iconic 80’s bands Berlin and Warrant, as well as some of the top tribute bands in the country. Valerie’s favorite musical moments to date were meeting Pat Benatar, Kip Winger, Jerry Dixon and Billy Ocean, as well as singing with Terri Nunn at The Canyon Club and singing the National Anthem before a Slaughter concert.

For Valerie, being of service is the highest form of consciousness, so being able to give back to the local community by being a part of Law Rocks LA, is an absolute dream come true.

Rock Judge - Sean O'Keefe

Sean O’Keefe is a multi-platinum/Grammy nominated producer, mixer and engineer from Chicago. He got his start playing drums in bands throughout highschool while becoming interested in the recording process.

He continued this pursuit after high school and went on to produce his first gold record by the age of 23 for the band Fall Out Boy. From there he went on to produce and mix many other artists such as Less Than Jake, Company of Thieves, This Is Me Smiling and many others.

He then earned his third gold record in 2007 for co-producing and mixing The Plain White T’s hit song “Hey There Delilah” which reached #1 on US Billboard Hot AC/Top 40 charts and earned him 2 Grammy nominations including "Best Song of The Year”. Later Rolling stone would rank the record he produced for Fall Out Boy as #5 of 50 greatest Pop-Punk Albums.

Currently Sean is producing and mixing records out of his private studio in Evanston for Beach Bunny, Motion City Soundtrack and many other artists.

Rock Judge - Miriam Owens

Miriam Goldberg Owens, President & Chief Executive Officer, has served on the organization’s leadership team since August 2021, joining as Chief Operating Officer. She became Chief of Development and Operations in April 2022, expanding the organization’s fundraising footprint while driving operational improvements.

Owens entered her current role with a wealth of senior leadership experience in the social and private sectors. Her career roots are in driving equitable outcomes in public education: she was a 5th grade science teacher in Brooklyn with Teach for America and a Program Manager at Raise Your Hand Texas, an education advocacy organization. Prior to joining The People’s Music School, Owens was a consultant at McKinsey and Company for eight years, where she was an Associate Partner. A leader in the firm’s Organization practice, Owens served clients in areas including strategic planning, large-scale reorganization, talent management transformations, and inclusion and diversity.

A native Texan and proud Latina, Owens is also a lifelong musician. She studied piano from grades K-12, and at Harvard spent four years in the women’s a cappella group The Radcliffe Pitches, serving as Music Director and Stage Manager. She is currently the lead singer in the rock cover band Model-J. She holds an AB from Harvard University, an MS in Education from Teacher U at Hunter College (now Relay Graduate School of Education), and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Rock Judge - Rickey Rainbow

Rickey Rainbow has been a singer, songwriter, producer and businessman for the past twenty-five years. Music was a significant part of his life growing up watching his cousins, The Staple Singers. Additionally, Bob Marley and the Wailers and Cameo were managed by his uncle, which gave further direction for him to learn about the entertainment world. He attended the (Institute for New Cinema Artist) in Chicago where he learned the details of the music business and record production. He has since lived in London where he produced numerous top ten hits to become a respected name in the music business. Rickey has written for, recorded and advised many artists both new and established. He has worked with Mark Morrison( Return of the Mack), R. Kelly, Alliah, Right Said Fred (I'm to Sexy), Jocelyn Brown, Michelle Gayle, Ant and Deck, Ultimate Kaos, 2 Unlimited, Maxi Priest, Big Tyme and Hercules, and Willie Clayton, to name a few.

Most notably, Rickey was nominated for a Grammy for producing and co-writing “Big Up” with Aswad, a well regarded reggae band. Rickey was also considered as a choice for a key A&R position in the past from major labels such as Sony, Polygram, and MCA.Rickey has also helped start up and run several independent labels in Canada and England. During Rickey’s vast recording career, he has landed several publishing deals with companies like Polygram/Polydor and Chrysalis Music.Rickey has managed to create a great rapport with top position players at many major record companies across the globe. This also adds to his insider ability to make things happen.