ON the AIR |

Rich Nelson and Jim Bartholomew were probably born to sing together. This is a classic case of two guys who clearly went to different schools together. Both spent a lot of their early years on the North side of Chicago, in the area around Milwaukee, North and Damen Avenues and each cut his musical teeth playing the folk music clubs on Lincoln Avenue. When Jim was getting started with Bartholomew and Douglas at clubs like the Bulls and Orphans, Rich was getting his schooling with the Dive Bombers in similar watering holes. Later, when the road led Jim, now with Cactus Jack, to the Country Music honky tonks, Rich was blasting out Elvis songs and leading that sweet and low life with the Rangers and other C’n’W outfits. The boys were officially introduced by a mutual friend, the legendary “Catfish” John Geer, when John brought his steel guitar and Rich out to an open stage that C Jack was hosting at Poor Richards, in Skokie. It took a few years, but that meeting led to a musical brotherhood that has lasted over four decades.

Jim and Rich’s different roads finally converged when some friends suggested Jim look into the recently vacated lead vocal seat with the White Saddle Band, and handed him Rich’s digits. The WSB was a rockin’ country band Rich had served as Leader/Bassist for and with the Classic Country (think Brooks and Dunn and Garth Brooks) scene flourishing, it seemed natural for them to join forces and do some serious shit-kicking. The band rode that wave through clubs like Feathers, the Sundance Saloon, No Bull, and Whiskey River until Jim left to “follow his Muse” in the early 90’s. Luckily, Rich kept the band going and they kept in touch.

The acoustic duo that is ON the AIR actually began when Jim was hosting a regular open mic in Arlington Heights at the Vail Street Café. Thinking it might be time to “double his pleasure”, Jim called Rich to see if he wanted to do some songs. The combination clicked and they kept that gig going for a couple of years, trying out songs, burning some weed, making many musical friends and generally having a whole lot of fun. Along the way they discovered that the combination of their two voices held some magic that worked in many genres and styles, and that produced a lot of enjoyment both for them and their audience. They knew that they could take almost any old song and make it into something special. Mostly the songs had either been on the radio or that they thought deserved to be on the radio. That’s where they got their name, and that’s where they developed what has become a guiding philosophy:
“Music on the radio has formed the backdrop for most of the big events in each of our lifetimes. Live Music – broadcast on the air and straight across the airwaves, into a million radio sets – has provided the shared experiences that made us a nation. We all remember the song that was playing the very first time. . . we did just about anything. ON the AIR plays those songs – the ones linked to the memories that we will always carry with us.”

In the time since those humble beginnings Rich and Jim have rarely not played together. They’ve each had their own projects, but have always come together to light the lamp and do some harmonizing. They spent about a decade playing regularly at Vine Tastings, a ground-breaking wine bar in Roselle run by an old and great friend of Jim’s, Darryl Cooper and his wife Jan, a space where on any night you could see some of the best Blues, Jazz, Rock, Country and Folk music in the Northwest suburbs. Rich brought the White Saddle Band in and Jim formed the MojoSkillet there, in between ON the AIR appearances, and they once again hosted a very popular open-mic night. Their open mic provided young and old artists a chance for “Fifteen minutes of Fame” (as long as it didn’t involve recorded tracks and backgrounds). ON the AIR’s latest residency (going into a 6^th year) is at the Copper Fiddle in Lake Zurich, where they have been every Wednesday for any audience, or to entertain each other, and where they recently re-constituted the White Saddle Band to – once again – rock the Country! But that’s a story for another page…

So, to cop a quote from the official ON the AIR promo sheet:
“ON the AIR you’ll find songs that make you dance, laugh, and sing along with words you didn’t even know you knew. Don’t forget to bring your requests. From time to time what you hear On the Air may even surprise you. No matter how you feel before you tune in, you’ll feel better after you’ve heard what’s On the Air.”

Or, as Jim or Rich has been known to observe: “Call now, operators are standing by (because we won’t let them sit…)”