Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Thirsty Whale

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep‎. in light of the new sources found and the comments of the nominator. Editors are urged to integrate these sources into the article being discussed. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 00:48, 8 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Thirsty Whale[edit]

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Complete original research with no indication of notability that has absolutely no sources. I found one source that although it mentions the venue in the title, doesn't say much else about it. Most other Google search results are fan and nostalgia oriented. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 17:49, 30 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Music and Illinois. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 17:49, 30 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Comment I added the source you found to the article, and I found one more source, but my searches are complicated by the fact that there is a lot of coverage of two different bars by the same name in Maine and Florida (this one was in Illinois). Those two are still operational, and this one went out of business in 1998. I'm leaning towards thinking this is likely notable just based on the source I found that indicates it was recognized by the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum's hall of fame. However, as it stands the article is almost entierly unsourced, and likely original research. ~ ONUnicorn^{(Talk|Contribs)}problem solving 21:14, 30 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.
1. "Bands get chance to try out talent". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Associated Press. 1992-08-23. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  The article notes: "Aspiring musicians tired of playing to imaginary audiences in the exile of their parents' garages can turn up the volume and let it rip at The Thirsty Whale. The suburban Chicago club holds an open sign-up night once monthly that gives garage bands a chance to test their talents. ... Many of the bands are drawn from the Chicago suburbs, where teens are looking for a way to escape suburban boredom."
2. Reger, Rick (1996-05-31). "Heavy metal drought forces closure of the last headbanger hangout". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  The article notes: " For the past 15 years, the Thirsty Whale in River Grove has been the prime venue for up-and-coming and national metal bands. But after this weekend, the club closes its doors, leaving the city without a certifiable headbanger hangout. It's an unmistakable sign that metal is commercially kaput. ... admits Thirsty Whale owner Jim DeCanio. ... DeCanio purchased the club in 1981 and began luring metal bands to it just as the genre was rising to a huge commercial crescendo. ... The Thirsty Whale's final weekend will feature shows Friday and Saturday by local pop-metal maestros Enuff Z'Nuff, whose new record "Tweaked" throws the Beatles, the blues and other classic rock touchstones into its hard-rock cauldron. Radakka closes things out on Sunday."
3. Vitello, Barbara (1996-01-05). "Experience it - It's hard, heavy, head-banging, thrashing rock. Just like the - good ol' days". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "Even the Thirsty Whale, one of Chicagoland's few remaining hard rock/heavy metal venues, has felt the pinch. Former competitors like Chances R. and Stay Out West have closed or switched formats, but The Thirsty Whale endures. ... Over 100 bands a month played The Thirsty Whale when the north suburban club featured music five nights a week. ... A show at the Whale is still a bargain (five or six bands for $6) but it can be a hit or miss proposition. Not every band is as finely tuned as it might be. But it's a place for young bands to get their first break and their first taste of the live local scene."
4. DeRogatis, Jim (2009-10-14). "The Thirsty Whale Reunion". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "But from the early '80s through the mid-'90s, that lovably grungy dive was known as the Thirsty Whale, and it was the epicenter of the regional hard-rock and heavy-metal scenes, host to thousands of hopeful up-and-comers as well as national acts such as Extreme, Foghat, Survivor, Cheap Trick and Enuff Z'nuff. ... Indeed they are, and because of the enduring popularity of these genres -- the "Rock Band" video game can take much of the credit for that -- as well as the fact that many of the musicians and fans who cut their teeth at the Thirsty Whale have never found another place that quite measured up, they will gather to celebrate the legacy at two shows this weekend, organized as a labor of love by the man most know as Tony Shark."
5. Shields, Todd (1996-03-27). "Mayor responds to teen center plea". River Grove Messenger. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "The closing of the Thirsty Whale rock 'n' roll club has prompted a request to River Grove officials for a teen center to take its place. Scheduled for demolition in spring, the Thirsty Whale at River Road and Grand Avenue provided entertainment for young teen-agers for many years, said Rita Louis, a resident who said she believes the club provided a gathering place."
6. Shields, Todd (1996-06-05). "DeCanio's club ends whale of a run". River Grove Messenger. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "In the dank reaches of The Cave, John the bartender tells another patron he has no farewell T-shirts or jackets for sale to commemorate the last weekend of the Thirsty Whale. The man, hair far below his shoulders, is about 35 years old or more, shrugs, says thanks, and exits into bright afternoon sunshine, perhaps reconciled he'll never again see the rock 'n' roll groups he witnessed in this raucous, hard-nosed club that has hosted the country's best traveling bar bands since 1981."
7. Shields, Todd (1996-05-22). "Thirsty Whale to sell "everything" after closing". Elm Leaves. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "Fittingly, but not planned that way, one of the last rock 'n' roll bands to play at the soon-to-close Thirsty Whale in River Grove will be Enuff 'Z' Nuff. ... After the final performances, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m June 3-6, before the building is demolished on June 10, an all-out sale of the club's bar equipment, furniture and hanging pictures will be offered to the public."
8. Miner, Lisa Friedman (2010-03-31). "Thirsty Whale hoping to make a splash in Algonquin". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "Everyone asks owner Niko Kanakaris whether the new Thirsty Whale Bar & Grill in Algonquin is related to the famous River Grove rock club of the 1980s and ’90s. It’s not. But that doesn’t mean he’s not enjoying the name recognition. ... Overall: With a name like Thirsty Whale, you may harbor certain expectations walking through the door — especially if you’re hoping to re-create your old rock-venue days in River Grove. This Whale is a whole different species, but one that could be a nice place to dock for a cold beer and garlicky chicken wings."
9. Shields, Todd (1996-03-13). "Amoco/McDonald's to beach "Whale"". River Grove Messenger. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "River Grove officials announced last week that the Thirsty Whale rock 'n' roll club, on the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and River Road, is scheduled to be demolished in favor of a gas station/fast-food restaurant. ... Tarpey said he believes the Thirsty Whale has been open since the early or mid-1970s. Before then, he said three restaurants occupied the building, which was built in the 1930s."
10. Arnston, Guy C. (2009-09-30). "Thirsty Whale Reunion". Illinois Entertainer. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  The article notes: "It was more than 20 years ago that I last set foot inside the Thirsty Whale. The band was Holland, on the eve of their Atlantic Records release, Little Monsters. ... That’s what the Thirsty Whale was all about, loud rock music for the party people. Owner Jimmy DeCanio took his experience running the old Rusty Nail and the High Society disco on Belmont in Chicago and put it to good use at the corner of Grand and River Road in River Grove. What used to be the Red Steer, complete with oversized bull head outside, became the Thirsty Whale, home to live rock music from the era of Jerico, Pezband, and Sherwin Spector And Sparkle, to Cheap Trick, Survivor, and Off Broadway, and on to Holland, Paradoxx, Hammeron, Cuttlass, O’Dette, and Diamond Rexx, and then to the harder rock of the ’90s like Zoetrope and Trouble. Following a weekend of Enuff Z’Nuff, the last show at the Whale featured Radakka and Stonehenge on Sunday, June 2nd, 1996."
There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow The Thirsty Whale to pass Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)#Primary criteria, which requires "significant coverage in multiple reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject".
Cunard (talk) 22:20, 3 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: Relisting to assess newly found sources.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 19:31, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Keep: certainly a significant amount of sources to support notability, but it may need to be rewritten or at least tagged with "sources exist" StartOkayStop (talk) 19:48, 6 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - as the nominator, based on the sources found above, I have no problem if this AFD is closed now as a Keep. But, as noted above, the article should be rewritten to include them. Jauerback^dude?/_dude. 17:01, 7 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.