Pieptone!

Pieptone! began as a master's thesis language-learning experiment: How to learn a foreign language -- in this case German -- through music, without textbooks and exams. Listening to the crackling far-end-of-the-radio-dial German language programs in Chicago, the band became addicted to a particular kind of German pop music called Schlager ("hits" in Deutsch). The pre-British Invasion 1950s and 60s music scene in Europe that we draw from was a linguistic gold mine, with bands and singers cutting records in two, three, or four languages to capitalize on the international youth market. Pieptone! resurrects these early chart hits and rarities and gives them a new spin for today's audiences, and throws a few rare Italian and French pop songs into the mix.

And you don't need to speak German to feel the Pieptone! beat: Die Sprache der Popmusik ist universal! (The language of pop music is international.)

Our set list has grown from a dozen songs to nearly forty, allowing us to play everything from a short 40-minute set to an entire evening's entertainment.

We love: Rex Gildo, Chubby Checker, Bossa Nova, Twist, Hully Gully, Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Gus Backus, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Alexander, Gitte, Pichi, Caterina Valente, Bill Ramsey, Beat, 45 rpm records, and foreign languages!