Chi-Tone Records

Chi-Tone Records Chicago based recording label and creative media outlet

06/17/2026

Discover the iconic Gretsch White Falcon, a guitar born from custom shop dreams. Its unique history and striking design make it a legend among musicians.

06/16/2026

"Lies" on Spotify, and everywhere now... Check it out.
LIES is a hard-hitting rock anthem that shines a spotlight on the everyday deceptions people tell to protect their image, their secrets, and their ambitions. From fake success stories and hidden debts to broken promises and betrayal, LIES explores the dark humor and painful consequences of living behind a mask. Driven by gritty guitars, a relentless groove, and a sing-along chorus, The BuzzHounds deliver a raw, unapologetic look at the lies we tell others—and ourselves.
Now available on Spotify and all streaming platforms.
https://open.spotify.com/album/65y3n2PZbQdntGxGo6PRE6?si=tR2vh9uBRhmVSZXVScQw7w
FollowThe BuzzHounds
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/buzzhounds
Follow Chi-Tone Records
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/ChiToneRecords
Follow Related Projects
📘 JefftheBuzzhound: https://facebook.com/JeffTheBuzzHound
The BuzzHounds and Chi-Tone Records continue to release original rock, blues, and Americana-inspired music from Chicago and beyond. Follow for new releases, videos, behind-the-scenes content, and live show announcements.

06/16/2026

Brian Setzer's "Stray Cat" Gretsch Stephen Stern Custom Shop 6120- is featured in this live performance of "Go Chicago Go" by The BuzzHounds at Chicago's legendary Beat Kitchen i
This model faithfully recreates Setzer's iconic 1959 Stray Cats guitar—complete with TV Jones Filter'Trons, Bigsby vibrato, trestle bracing, and vintage-correct details throughout.
A guitar built for rockabilly royalty... now tearing up a Chicago stage.
🎥 Full video: https://youtu.be/BmRjmjprXu0?si=2031V0ew97DFrZNS

06/15/2026

"Lies" on Apple Music, and everywhere now... Check it out.
LIES is a hard-hitting rock anthem that shines a spotlight on the everyday deceptions people tell to protect their image, their secrets, and their ambitions. From fake success stories and hidden debts to broken promises and betrayal, LIES explores the dark humor and painful consequences of living behind a mask. Driven by gritty guitars, a relentless groove, and a sing-along chorus, The BuzzHounds deliver a raw, unapologetic look at the lies we tell others—and ourselves.
Now available on all streaming platforms.
FollowThe BuzzHounds
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/buzzhounds
Follow Chi-Tone Records
📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/ChiToneRecords
Follow Related Projects
📘 JefftheBuzzhound: https://facebook.com/JeffTheBuzzHound
The BuzzHounds and Chi-Tone Records continue to release original rock, blues, and Americana-inspired music from Chicago and beyond. Follow for new releases, videos, behind-the-scenes content, and live show announcements.

06/15/2026

🔥 Brian Setzer's "Stray Cat" Gretsch 6120 + The BuzzHounds = Go Chicago Go-Live in Chicago🔥
Shot live in Chicago's legendary Beat Kitchen in Lakeview—where countless bands have sweated through their shirts, blown out their amps, and questioned their life choices after loading gear up the stairs.
Featured in this clip is a serious piece of rockabilly royalty: a 2007 Gretsch Custom Shop G6120SSC Brian Setzer Tribute, hand-built by master builder Stephen Stern. Widely regarded as one of the finest Gretsch craftsmen of the modern era, Stern painstakingly recreated Setzer's iconic Stray Cats guitar down to the smallest detail. If rock 'n' roll had a holy grail, this thing would be in the conversation.
As for The BuzzHounds? We're just a bunch of Chicago rock 'n' rollers trying to keep vintage guitars out of museums and back where they belong—on loud stages in front of cold beer and questionable decisions.
🎥 Check out the full "Go Chicago Go" video here:
https://youtu.be/BmRjmjprXu0?si=2031V0ew97DFrZNS
Turn it up. Chicago deserves it.
🎸🔥🤘🍺

06/09/2026

🎸 The Sonic Blue Billy Gibbons ES-295 🎸
This might be the coolest Gibson you've never heard of.
Built by the Gibson Custom Shop in 1997 as a special artist accommodation for Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top during the Rhythmeen era, this one-of-a-kind Sonic Blue ES-295 was created specifically for the Reverend Willie G.
The crazy part?
Billy owned it for only a short time before trading it away for a damaged 1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.
Years later, after passing through collectors and Nashville's Carter Vintage Guitars, it found a new home at Chi-Tone Records.
And despite being built for Billy, research confirmed it was never played on stage by Gibbons. Instead, it finally got its moment in the spotlight decades later in The BuzzHounds' "Go Chicago Go" video.
Sometimes the best guitar stories aren't about the shows they played...
They're about the journey.
🎥 Full video:
https://youtu.be/BmRjmjprXu0?si=2031V0ew97DFrZNS

06/02/2026

This footage was captured during the recording of "Not The Only One" at Rax Trax Chicago.
I've been going through these old sessions since the passing of our friend and brother, Shade Reed. Watching them now, what stands out isn't the recording process or even the song itself—it's seeing Shade behind the drums, and Eric playing bass, doing what they loved.
Shade passed away on May 21, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with MSA. He was a founding member of The Buzzhounds, a great musician, and an even better friend. He will be deeply missed. These videos have taken on a different meaning now. They capture moments that seemed ordinary at the time but have recently become priceless.
They also capture Eric Alvarez, who passed away in 2021. Eric was one of the most talented musicians I have ever, met... so creative. Seeing both of them here together, creating music with me... I never imagined it would become a tribute.

Shade had requested before he passed, that we hold an online service in his remembrance, allowing everyone he loved to gather no matter the distance. The link to the service, to be held on Thursday, June 25th 2026 at 6:30pm central time is below.

Online Memorial: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=aaJT4khSVE6bZ7duOoYiIB0MqqRwdOxDvjE0fPEySylUM1pWQzVBTUlYNE5ETzMxWTRVVUYzVDJDSy4u&origin=QRCode&route=shorturl

05/22/2026

This is a cool clip of Shade and Eric— take 5(ish) of “Not The Only One” at Rax Trax Chicago. We finally fell into the grove and got the drums on this take. No click fixes, no editing tricks, just two musicians, my late friends locked in together. it was just another late night in the studio. Now it feels like a snapshot of something irreplaceable.
Miss them both.

05/22/2026

🦵💀 DROP DEAD LEGS : Van Wailin: June 2026 Shows 💀🦵
June is full-on Drop Dead Legs mode : We're bringin' enough swagger to make your Camaro start on its own. 😎🔥
📍 Jamo’s — June 6
📍 The Thirsty Beaver — June 13
📍 Cantigny Sounds of Summer — June 20

Three nights of chaos in June, dive-bar aerobics, face-melting solos, and people yelling “PLAY PANAMA” before we even finish the first song. Summer starts NOW. 🤘

05/22/2026

Yesterday we lost Shade Reed, the original drummer of The Buzzhounds.
I’ve been going through old footage from the “Weapons of Mass Seduction” sessions at Rax Trax Chicago with Shade, Eric Alvarez, Mike Tholan, and me working on a song called “Not The Only One.” For years I thought these videos were too raw, too personal, and too unpolished to share.
Now they mean something completely different.
What’s on these tapes is real — friends creating music together, laughing, arguing over parts, chasing songs, and living moments none of us knew would become memories. Both Shade and Eric are gone now, and I’m grateful these moments were captured at all.
This one’s for Shade.
Rest easy, brother.

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