Arts & Entertainment

Niles West Rockers Go Viral With 'Morton's Groove'

Four local musicians rock out with a creative, quick-fire video featuring iconic Morton Grove places you'll probably recognize. 4,000 views and counting in a week.


Since local rock band Bubbles Erotica released the music video "Morton's Groove," filmed in iconic Morton Grove locations in rapid succession,  on Aug. 20, it has hit 4,000 views-- and counting.

That has bassist Colin Stone, 26, who grew up in Skokie and lives in Morton Grove, drummer Brad Springer, 22, who grew up in Niles, vocalist Phil Hasso, 26, and his guitarist brother Michael Hasso, 24, of Morton Grove, pretty stoked.

Their common link is that they all went to Niles West High School, which you won't see in the video, because it was all filmed in Morton Grove--from the Morton Grove Days carnival snippet to the hookah bar to the smoky shot in the alley behind Pequod's Pizza and dancing with bubbles over the expressway bridge.

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The song started with Michael Hasso writing a guitar riff, then the rest of the band members teasing it out musically until they had a full-fledged song going.

"Usually somebody brings in an idea--a guitar riff, or the structure of a song, and we take that and build on it," said Phil Hasso, describing their songwriting process. 

It didn't start that way. The musicians came together in the band--named for a lyric in a System of a Down song-- three years ago to do mostly covers, and evolved into writing their own music.

"We always used 'Morton's Groove' (the term, not the song) to describe our sound," Phil Hasso said. 

When Springer joined the band, they decided to use the name for a song paying tribute to their hometown. They filmed the video over the July Fourth weekend, which let them capture some shots of the carnival, the parade and the fireworks. Phil Hasso's girlfriend, Janet Krakowski of Debris Design, did the editing, and they recorded the music at Bricktop Studios in Chicago.

They're trying to get established as a band, and they've played Abbey Pub, Reggie's Rock House, Ultra Lounge and The Gallery Cabaret in the past. But with both Hasso brothers and Springer in college full time and Stone working full time and getting married in September, they're postponing gigs until November or so.

Still, they've got dreams.

"I want to play in this band as a career," Phil said. "Nothing gives me more of a thrill than performing onstage and writing songs. The goal is to go all the way with it."

So far, they've got a three-song demo on their Facebook page and plan to release a CD or EP during the winter. And there's no lack of material. 

"We have at least a dozen songs written," Phil Hasso said.


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