SOURCE: BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
AVONDALE — A stretch of Belmont Avenue in Avondale has been named after Steve Albini, the late Chicago rock icon and famed audio engineer.
Friends, family, neighbors and musicians from across the country gathered Monday afternoon at the corner of Belmont Avenue and Rockwell Street, steps away from Albini’s recording studio Electrical Audio, to commemorate him.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), who proposed the 2600-2700 block of West Belmont Avenue be named after Albini over the summer, spoke at the unveiling Monday.
“In my 10 years as alderperson, this is the honorary street designation that has received the most attendance,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “And that is a testament to Steve’s legacy and all the people who he impacted in a positive way during his time here on this planet.”
Albini moved to Chicago in 1980 to attend Northwestern University, and “although he was not born in Chicago, he was truly a Chicagoan, helping to put this city on the map in the music scene, in the artistic world, like so many before him,” Ramirez-Rosa said.
Albini’s legacy should continue to be honored not only with the street naming, but also with programs and funding from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and in public schools, the alderman said.
“We should remember Steve, we should remember his legacy, we should remember his contributions. Because music and art is so critical to our experience as human beings,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “I’m proud that our city is recognizing Steve in this way and I hope that it is something that we continue to do for many, many years and for many generations to come.”
Ramirez-Rosa worked alongside Albini’s wife, filmmaker Heather Whinna, who also spoke at the unveiling, to make the honorary street designation a reality.
Whinna hopes to create an organization called The Steve Albini Way, which would be an umbrella for both the recording studio and the couple’s nonprofit, Letters to Santa, she said.
“This is pretty amazing,” Whinna said Monday. “Steve would find this like, a joke or something. He would have been quite impressed with himself.”
Kim Deal, of the Breeders, the Pixies and Albini’s longtime best friend, was on hand to honor him. As was Greg Norman, Albini’s fellow engineer at Electrical Audio for nearly three decades.
After wrapping a press tour for her first solo album in Europe, Deal said people from countries like France, Germany and Ireland all shared stories about how much Albini meant to them.
“I just listened, a lot,” Deal said. “Everybody wanted to tell me about Steve. And they smiled the whole time they were talking to him, every journalist I talked to.”
Deal said she realized she’s “not the main character” in her life — Steve is.
“I figured it out … before the memorial,” Deal said. “I said, ‘Oh, look at this. All my friends.’ … All these people that I know, and I know all of them because of Steve. He’s enriched my life not only musically, but also by bringing all of us dear, dear people together.”
Norman, who started as an intern at Electrical Audio, remembered when the stretch of Belmont was surrounded by “a sea of warehouses.” During that time, he discovered the power of the Chicago independent music community, he said.
“I was a young 19-year-old, 20-year-old kid, who [Albini] offered a little bit of work. It was like a punk-rock barn raising. Everybody was a part of it and everybody felt a piece of it,” Norman said. “I was proud to be a part of that moment. I think that spoke volumes just to see all those people come out and help him build this studio [and] support this ecosystem that he helped build.”
Norman remembers Albini as “always a band’s greatest ally,” someone who would stand up and support his peers however he could, whether that was offering touring musicians a place to stay or loaning them equipment.
His generosity went beyond music, Norman said.
Albini, his wife and friends “worked tirelessly every holiday season on the Letters to Santa charity, fundraising and wrapping thousands of gifts after late sessions, delivered along with much-needed cash to families on Christmas morning,” Norman said.
“Steve fits perfectly in this city’s wild history,” Norman said. “How crazy this city is and how it sort of built itself up from ashes, I’m glad he’s getting some recognition for the mountains he moved here. Honestly, this is really weird and crazy. Thank you.