A city that encompasses bands as disparate as Jack Scratch and Bucket No. 6, Green and Godspeaks, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Otis Clay is doing something right.
And just when all the local possibilities seem exhausted, one stumbles onto a performance by Maestro Subgum and the Whole.
The initial impression is of a `60s Be-In as directed by Fellini. Eight performers, attired in Salvation Army chic, crowd the stage.
The ponytailed Lefty Fizzle plays musical master of ceremonies, spouting street-corner jive. Bobby Ray Wowus` trumpet carries the tunes, while Micky Da Lip`s piano, Blare T. Thomas` guitar and the drums of Red Ned, the Flame-Haired Messenger of Love, anchor the rhythm. Jenny Magnifying Glass, Sister Kate, Bumpin D. Nite and Fizzle wail like a reconstructed Jefferson Airplane. Jenny and Kate drift into the audience and lightly touch people on the shoulder or hand while singing ”Jane Says.”
Hand out before me, I push people`s chests through
and enter into, bigger than they can hold!
This is no Diana Ross ”Reach Out and Touch Somebody`s Hand” star turn. This is Maestro`s idea of making explicit the human threads that bind music.
The effect is liberating. People in the audience are laughing and smiling. The band glows.
”It`s amazing what an effect a simple, sweet gesture like that can have on an audience,” said Jenny Magnus, real-life alter ego of Jenny Magnifying Glass. ”It`s a way of making everyone feel included in the performance.”
The blurring of lines between performance and reality is intentional, because most of Maestro also is involved in cutting-edge Chicago theatrical productions.
Maestro`s two husband-and-wife teams, Magnus and Beau ”Lefty Fizzle”
O`Reilly and Michael ”Micky Da Lip” Greenberg and Kate ”Sister Kate”
O`Reilly, also perform in the Curious Theater branch of the group.
Blare T. Thomas has his own puppet theater, and Bob ”Bobby Ray Wowus”
Jacobson participates in Theater Oobleck.
As a result, many of the band`s songs tell a story, as evidenced on two recently released cassettes, ”Hot Ol` Wadda” and ”Stormin` and a Fever”
(to order, call 312-278-8407 or 312-278-3783).
”It goes back to Bob Dylan, who would say, `I have this huge, rambling story to tell and it`s gonna take 10 minutes, but I`m gonna tell it,` ” said Beau O`Reilly.
Added Greenberg, ”We let language determine the structure of the music, rather than imposing musical structure on language.”
The band has gone through numerous incarnations since Beau O`Reilly organized Maestro as a trio in 1978.
”The name reflects those three original personalities,” he said. ”The pianist had that maestro quality of excellence in her playing. Subgum, which is diced or mixed vegetables, refers to the fact that we were all foaming vegetarian at the time.
”And the `whole` aspect allowed for anything to happen; it meant that the band could change shape.”
The current octet has been in business for a year, and has already written about 100 songs. Although day jobs intrude on the Maestro carnival, a bohemian spirit generally prevails.
”Our house in Wicker Park is Maestro Central,” Greenberg said. ”People are coming and going all the time. Playing music, rehearsing. I love this life.”
Maestro Subgum and the Whole performs Wednesdays at the Elbo Room, 2871 N. Lincoln Ave., and Fridays at Club Lower Links, 954 W. Newport, through July.
– He`s the drummer for a promising new band, the editor of one of the best rock `n` roll fanzines in the country, and he loves Chicago music.
What`s not to admire about Jack Rabid?
The bread and butter of the 28-year-old New York City native for the last decade has been The Big Takeover, a twice-a-year fanzine that he writes, edits and designs virtually by himself.
His recently published 10th anniversary issue is typical: 116 pages of the life of Rabid as seen through the prism of alternative rock, including interviews with the likes of Ian McCulloch and That Petrol Emotion`s Damian O`Neill; record and concert reviews; and long, densely reasoned, passionately worded editorials on the death of songwriting and other societal afflictions. For Rabid, rock isn`t merely entertainment, but the lifeblood of cultural exchange.
”I had a talk with (the Clash`s) Joe Strummer once and he said that the guy next to him at a club back in `78 might have a toilet seat on his head, but at least they were talking,” Rabid said. ”The home entertainment revolution has diminished the opportunities for music to change our lives, but it`s still the best way I know for exchanging culture among ourselves.”
Rabid left the suburbs for Manhattan 10 years ago and never looked back.
”The world I saw at CBGB`s and Maxwell`s was so completely different, such a culture shock, that it opened up my mind,” he said. ”Back home I was hanging around guys who were smoking pot, lamenting their pimples and waiting for school to end. In New York, people were getting things done, forming bands, reading poetry, writing songs.
”I hope my publication will similarly inspire people to get off their behinds and see what`s out there.”
Rabid is a champion of Chicago music, especially seminal bands such as the Effigies and Naked Raygun.
”It`s a remarkable music scene,” he said. ”It`s a small cast of about 30 or 40 people, but they`ve inspired people all over the country.”
Rabid`s passion translates to his own music as well. His band, Springhouse, recently released a single, ”Menagerie Keeper,” on Bob Mould`s SOL label. A six-song Springhouse EP also is available.
To exchange some culture with Rabid, write him at 249 Eldridge St., No. 14, New York, N.Y. 10002, or call 212-533-6057.
– Hot tips for this weekend: A rare performance by local popsters Shoes at Cubby Bear on Saturday, whose fine ”Stolen Wishes” (Black Vinyl) album has topped 20,000 sales.
Also, a splendid triple bill of Victoria Williams, Michael Penn and Lloyd Cole on Friday at the Vic Theatre. Cole has surpassed his critically acclaimed former band, the Commotions, with his self-titled solo album, and his touring band includes Robert Quine, whose guitar work helped defined the New York punk scene in the `70s.
