Bands on the Run

It’s close to midnight on a recent Thursday evening, and the show has just ended at Modern Formations, a gallery and performance space in the Penn Avenue Arts District.  A few fans linger about, finishing their drinks and talking about the music.  Everyday Parade  and Jack, the two bands who have co-headlined the show, are packing up guitars, drums, and assorted cables.  It’s been a good night, but it’s getting late, and tomorrow’s another working day.

When you think of the prototypical American rock band, you probably picture a group of moppy-haired guys in their twenties, living on the road for months at a time, perhaps making ends meet by stringing together a series of part-time jobs.   In most ways, Everyday Parade and Jack defy these stereotypes – all in their 30s and 40s, the members of these bands include several college professors, two robotics engineers, and a social worker.

But while they may not have conventional rock-n-roll “day jobs,” these are not just hobbyists who enjoy getting together to strum guitars and play old Dylan covers for a few friends.  Both groups have completed professionally recorded CDs consisting of original compositions; they’ve received radio airplay and coverage in the local press.  Both bands maintain websites and active email lists of fans; they sell albums at shows and on-line.  In short, they do all the things that “real” bands do, they just do them while also managing commitments to families and demanding careers.

So, does that make them “professional” musicians?  According to conventional wisdom, doing something professionally means you get paid for it, but Stacy Mates, who sings and plays guitar in the band Jack, sees it a bit more broadly.  “Although we have no interest in ‘making it’ per se, I think of our group as professional—or at least perfectionist—amateurs. We work hard during rehearsals and care a lot about the quality of our music, songwriting, and performances.”

Stacy’s bandmate David LaRose, also a singer-guitarist in Jack, sees it a bit differently.  “I'm definitely amateur.  I love music and I try to fit as much of it as possible into my life, but I let a lot of other things preempt it.”  Jack drummer Kimberly Jones says, “The line between professional and amateur seems much more blurred to me than it used to—I like that.”  For Patti Spinner, singer and songwriter for Everyday Parade, the amateur/professional question is sort of beside the point.  “I think of it as a social thing.  I've never had a ton of ambition for the band, but the times that I've been playing music with friends have been some of the best of my life.”

Easier in Pittsburgh

One thing all of them agree on is that Pittsburgh is a good place for musicians—or artists of any stripe—who want to make good art while also making a good life for themselves.  In larger cities like New York, Chicago, or Boston, it can be close to impossible to make even a ripple in the local music scene, which makes getting gigs or radio play or fans all the more difficult.  In Pittsburgh, it’s easier for new bands to get some traction, even when they begin in utter obscurity, as most bands do.  Put a few musicians together, think up a band name, write and rehearse a set of songs, and you’re ready to go.

With a little bit of legwork, it’s not difficult to find places to play, and while there’s no lack of healthy competition among bands, there’s not much of a “dog-eat-dog” attitude.  Musicians tend to share resources and support each other.  In both the popular arts (rock bands) and the fine arts—and in many other fields—Pittsburgh seems to attract people who have big city talent but not a big city ego (perhaps our city’s best kept secret).   

A number of local venues cater to bands playing original music.  Everyday Parade has played shows at Garfield Artworks, located a few doors down from Modern Formations, as well as the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, 31st Street Pub (in the Strip District), and PD’s Pub, located in Squirrel Hill (a convenient walk for most of the band members, who live in the neighborhood).  Jack has performed at a number of larger clubs, including the Rex Theater and Club Café, both located on the Southside—the epicenter of live music in Pittsburgh.

Aside from the varied joys of being part of a working rock band, musical moonlighting also helps these musicians with their “day jobs” in interesting ways.  As the Urban Agricultural Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Food Bank,  Mates works with very different groups of people, including farmers, low-income children, and coworkers from various backgrounds.  “I hear a lot of powerful stories,” she says, “and I try to understand them by turning them into songs.”

Greg Marchetti, keyboardist for Everyday Parade and a professor in the Rangos School of Health Sciences at Duquesne University, says that performing music helps him in another performance-based discipline – teaching.  “There are so many common elements: being able to read an audience, showing enthusiasm, being prepared for the show, communicating that you really care about the experience of the listener.”  He also notes, however, that there are ways in which the two activities are quite different:  “No matter what happens during a class, I can be reasonably sure no one will throw an empty alcohol container at me.”

One of the fabled crossroads of American life is the decision to follow one’s passion or to “settle” for a life of stability and security.  As the members of these bands know, this is often a false choice.  It can be possible to commit to a secure “day job” – or, more accurately, to follow passions which lead to stable, if conventional, career paths – while still pursuing art and other passions in a serious way.  This is especially true in a city like Pittsburgh, where the possibilities for artists and art-lovers alike are plentiful, varied, and inviting.

---

Writer Jon Ritz was recently a member of the band until he moved to Lansing for a position at Michigan State University. His writing and his music will be missed.

---

Captions:

Members of Jack, the band, walking to their rehearsal space

Guitars

Modern Formations, in the Penn Ave Arts District

Stacy Mates and George Kantor, of Jack

Kimberley Jones, of Jack

George Marchetti, of Everyday Parade, playing keyboards

All photographs copyright © Jonathan Greene