One of the Chicago area`s finest songwriters, Ralph Covert, will play with his band the Bad Examples on Friday at South Side Johnny`s, 110 Main St., Crystal Lake.
Covert, a South Dakota native, moved to Chicago in 1984 to pursue the ambition he had fostered since he was 8. ”One summer, my camp counselor played Side 1 of the Beatles` `Sergeant Pepper` album for two weeks straight,” he said. ”When I got home, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: write songs.”
The influence of the Beatles, along with Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Elvis Costello, can be heard in Covert`s hard rocking, melodic songs. The Bad Examples-which includes bassist Pickles Piekarski, guitarist John Duich and Terry Wathen on drums-will perform material from their ”Bad Is Beautiful”
LP, set for a spring release on Waterdog Records. The show starts around 10 p.m. Cover charge is $3. Call 815-459-7766.