Toast & Jam

PRONOUNS: HE / HIM

Chris’s parents met at a club in St. Charles, Missouri. His dad played trombone and tuba in a band; his mom is an Elvis purist who would later lead family pilgrimages to Graceland every couple of years, so clearly music is in Chris’s DNA. He started writing songs as a kid and joined his first band in high school. He moved to Chicago to study film and art at Columbia College, and has since become an important contributor to our music community, playing with several bands, pursuing his own songwriting project Judson Claiborne, and most recently working on a podcast opera called The Fruit Stare, named for the foraging habits of orangutans (look it up). During the school year, Chris works as a teaching artist with CPS, helping third- through eighth-graders make theater and performance art about social issues they care about. During the summer months, he’s finding harmony working in his garden in Albany Park.

PRONOUNS: HE/HIM AND THEY/THEM

Growing up a hockey playing kid in the NW 'burbs of Chicago, Dave heard Nirvana on 120 Minutes and traded his skates for a guitar and dove headfirst into the Chicago punk scene. After finishing at Columbia College, he moved to NYC to start a band. He first DJed a psych night with a band mate and fell in love with it, leading to gigs spinning at bars and clubs all over NYC. Lover of all genres, Dave's sets run the gamut from funk to punk, soul to psych, hip-hop to whatever feels right. One night a couple who loved what he was playing asked if he'd DJ their wedding. He agreed, and had an absolute blast being a part of their special day. Originally an all vinyl DJ, he lost most of his collection in Superstorm Sandy, so he went digital and discovered a new means of expression. Now that Dave is back in Chicago, he's continuing his musical journey both behind the drums in the Bollywood rock band Do the Needful, behind the decks at bars and clubs all over town, and here at Toast and Jam, where he loves creating memorable musical experiences.

PRONOUNS: HE / HIM

If you’ve been to Chicago in the past two decades, you've probably seen or heard DJ Dustin somewhere -- be it DJing, hosting a radio show, or peddling records at local fairs and events. Obsessive record collecting as a teenager led him down the path of music journalism (Magnet, Dusted, MTV2, Stop Smiling), then to hosting a radio show and DJing. You can currently hear DJ Dustin at monthly gigs at Coles or the Whistler in Chicago. A veteran of the local record label scene, Dustin spends his days working at the archival reissue label The Numero Group. In 2015, he was nominated for a GRAMMY (Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package) an A2IM Award (Creative Packaging) and won an AIM award (UK) for his work on the Numero release, Cities of Darskcorch. As if all that weren't enough to keep him busy, he also runs/owns two boutique record labels, Addenda and Plustapes. In the few instances when he has free time, Dustin enjoys playing board games and indulges his more nerdy interests by collecting comic books and vintage synthesizers.

PRONOUNS: SHE / HER

Fallon started playing piano at the ripe old age of 4. But her musical talent would soon become a musical obsession or, more accurately, an obsession with musicals. Fallon first got bit by the Broadway bug in high school when she saw the Frank Sinatra musical “Come Fly With Me.” She’s since seen dozens more in both Chicago and New York, including Waitress, Mean Girls, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinky Boots, Carousel, Spam-A-Lot, Book of Mormon and Hamilton four times (including with Lin Manuel Miranda and the original cast). While she’d love to be a Broadway musician someday, for now she keeps very busy playing saxophone, clarinet, keys and bass as a freelance musician and with the band Impulsive Hearts. Fallon lives in Edgewater with her two pets Willow and Thea (who are CATS, obviously).

PRONOUNS: SHE / HER

Jenna was a Girl Scout as a kid and even though she hung up her sash back in high school, it seems she’s still racking up merit badges. Having been born in England, studied abroad in Japan, and traveled to Morocco, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Bulgaria, among others, Jenna’s solidly earned her International Relations badge. She got her Social Sciences badge with her BA from Gustavus Adolphus College and her Master’s from University of Chicago. In her job as a policy analyst at a non-profit think tank, Jenna studies the impact of government programs on children and families (that could count for a lot of badges but we’re leaning toward “Think Tank Badge”…because it sounds cool). When she’s not at her day job, Jenna utilizes her General Knowledge and Geography badges at pub trivia, her Team Sports badge playing in the Chicago Media 16-inch softball league, her Vinyl badge as a radio DJ and one of the organizers of the CHIRP Radio Record Fair, and of course her Badass DJ badge with Toast & Jam.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER AND THEY/THEM

Karissa is a polymath--artist, musician, DJ, record label maven, pet parent to Roo Roo the rescue pittie, and all-around human dynamo. Growing up in the verdant hills of west/central Massachusetts, she started collecting albums from age 13 and now has a vast library she loves to share, be it spinning wax at bars and turning folks onto music she's discovered, or crafting the perfect soundtrack for celebrations at Toast and Jam. Karissa’s a literal dyed in the wool artist, with a degree in textile design from the Art Institute of Chicago, where she had a radio show named Turn On Tune In Drop Out that specialized in psychedelic music throughout the ages. All this makes a lot of sense when you learn Karissa has the unusual and very cool gift of synesthesia. She can see music and taste colors! Rad! When she's not rocking the dancefloor, you can catch her rocking behind the drums in the band Les Strychnine.

PRONOUNS: SHE / HER

DJ Kate cut her DJ teeth spinning records at the Rollerworld Roller Rink in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and she spent more than ten years in radio as a DJ on WIDR in Kalamazoo and WPHS in Detroit. She was the longtime co-host of Kate & Rachel's Old Style Show on WLUW in Chicago. Although Kate has a particular passion for punk, soul, and psych, her depth of knowledge and deep down love of music make her DJ sessions pop. Kate is also an avid pinball enthusiast. She plays in local leagues and tournaments and even has her own collection of machines at home. She’s also one of the founding memebers of the Chicago chapter of Belles and Chimes, a women-only league. On the rare occasion that she isn't DJing or pinballing, she enjoys playing hockey.

PRONOUNS: THEY / THEM

Marjorie grew up in Central Florida roaming the world’s largest covered flea market (where their dad ran a shop) and hanging out with snakes and gators at small swimming holes. With a childhood spent around old stuff and reptiles, it’s no surprise that they developed a tiny obsession with dinosaurs in their adulthood. During a five-month road trip around the country, Marjorie visited multiple dinosaur attractions in the American West, including more than four vintage dinosaur parks in South Dakota alone. Their grown-up gap year also took them through other natural wonders including a solar eclipse in Southern Illinois, the Great Smoky Mountains, the leaves changing in Maine, and California’s Pacific coast, among others. After returning from their car voyage of self-discovery, Marjorie, a stand-up comedian, started High Tea Variety Hour, a monthly show featuring POC, LGBTQIA and female comedy acts, burlesque performers and music. They currently live in Portage Park with their Australian Shepherd mix Storm and their cat Rizzo.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER

Multi-instrumentalist and gifted chef, DJ Maureen is as comfortable behind the decks blending songs into a harmonious set as she is working the line blending flavors into a harmonious dish. While cooking is her bread and butter, music is her toast and jam (ha!). Descended from generations of music teachers, she's a classically trained pianist who can also play the bassoon, French horn, trombone, flute, guitar--and is working on the sax. Coming up in the DIY scene in Athens, Ohio, Maureen helped start the collective Young Camelot that booked bands and threw awesome parties; hospitality and music are constants in her life to this day. While raging dance floors are a thrill for her, nothing touches her quite like watching an old couple share a slow dance.

PRONOUNS: HE/HIM

DJ Mike is ten years a Chicagoan by way of New York and Florida, and carries with him all the trappings of living in several of the strangest places in the US. As a reformed art school graduate, he's run bars and restaurants, worked as a freelance writer, had a brief stint in motorsports, and currently moonlights as a craft brewer at one of the country's best craft breweries (Hint: it's in Chicago). Mike DJs all over town, honing his skills playing vinyl-only sets at bars and clubs (Ludlow, Slippery Slope, The Owl, Sportsman's), and using them to bring flavor and style to weddings and private parties. Ask him about his favorite record stores, recent finds, and what he can play for you!

PRONOUNS: SHE / HER

DJ Rachel's musical expertise ranges from opera to reggae, but she got a soft spot for the 60s and 70s jams she spins as co-host on Kate & Rachel's Old Style Show, a popular late night program on Chicago's WLUW 88.7FM. She also enjoys spinning her vintage vinyl at places such as The Whistler and Beauty Bar. Rachel earned her Bachelor's of Music Degree in vocal performance, and dawn-lights as a cantor in Chicago and Wilmette. Rachel has been with Toast & Jam for over a decade and adores her job as a dance-floor connoisseur. Never one to limit herself creatively, Rachel has wrestled for KPOWW (Kalamazoo Precinct of Women's Wrestlers) and helped to choreograph the Miss Kalamazoo County Beauty Pageant. When she is not spending money on records, dancing her pants off, or playing guitar in her band Squish, Rachel enjoys racquetball, chicken-raising, and dessert.

PRONOUNS: SHE / HER

DJ Tabitha loves music. But she doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk. Literally - she played tuba for competitive marching bands in high school and college. Born in Iowa Falls, Iowa, Tabitha taught herself to play piano on an old upright that her mom, who grew up on a farm, had traded a cow for decades earlier (true story!). Tabitha studied Music Education at Illinois State University before transferring to Columbia College, where she received a degree in Music Business. Today she works for the Steans Music Institute at Ravinia and for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also plays in The Reading Band and loves going to hear music at Grant Park, The Gallery Cabaret and La Villa Italian Restaurant, where every Friday they have a guy who covers pop songs on his accordion (awesome).