THIS JUST IN 5.21.14:
There's a brand new video for Barbeat in our Fortnight Features section on the home page HERE. Check it out to find out all the best stuff to do for Easter Weekend this year!

Starbeat - Barbeat
presents "what's happening!"

This bit started on Johnny B's show before being featured on radio stations coast-to-coast and was a direct parody of a commercial that was airing on The LOOP at the time.  Also called Starbeat Presents What's Happening!, a DJ/commercial producer named Steve Cronen would get bars who couldn't afford full-up advertising on their own to pool their money and he'd add them each to his run-down of what was happening in and around Chicago on any given weekend. At least that's what it souded like to us. Our parody aired for quite some time before he asked us to cease and desist.

We weren't making fun of Steve really, just the reality of the kinds of bars we had actually seen around Chicago, so we changed the bit's name to "Barbeat" and the DJ's name to "Steve Groanin" and kept right on going. After all it was funny, and you don't stop the funny when it's "happening."

Bob Odenkirk was the first to play "Steve Groanin," replaced by Dave-id when Bob left for Saturday Night Live.  These were originally written by Jim, with Walter taking the reigns as Jim burnt out (they were really tough to write over and over... and over!) Bob and Tim each wrote one as well. 

Here are just 10 of the many, many Starbeat-Barbeat bits that we recorded. We'll be adding the rest somewhere down the way so eventually you can listen to them... all night long! (That is, if you've got nuthin' better to do.)