A decade ago, Chicago played home to some of the most exciting bands to break out of the insurgent “emo” scene — including Fall Out Boy, which went from a beloved local act to a chart-topper in the span of an album. The success of these bands helped pave the way for emo — the sound of punk, stripped of its toughness and infused with sensitive lyrics, sharp edges burnished by pop hooks — to become ubiquitous in the mainstream as well as the underground. A generation of bands later, emo has mutated into a less-codified genre and now boasts a heavy influence of ’80s rock and new wave, though it can still be typified by a particular young energy and boyish purview.
Enter California Wives. The group began as a post-collegiate side project of friends Joe O’ Connor, Hans Michel and Dan Zima, who’d been together in bands since their days as high schoolers in Oak Park.
“We got out of college, and were looking for jobs, and this is just what we did for fun,” explains Zima. The trio added Jayson Kramer early on, and he proved to be a valuable addition.
“The only really intentional thing we had going into this was that we really wanted to use a synth,” says Zima. “We got one, but we didn’t really know how to use a keyboard — but Jay knew what he was doing. The first year and a half of the band was learning how to write around it.”
The quartet found inspiration in ’80’s bands with dark, understated sounds like New Order and The Cure in which keyboards play as heavy a role as guitar. Zima also says that the contemporary pop charts at the time the band was being founded helped them realize what was possible sonically.
“The Killers and similar bands were top 40, and so having a synth in a rock band seemed really reasonable,” says Zima. “If it was the ’90s, that wouldn’t have been possible. We would have probably just had to be a grunge band,” he adds, laughing.
While the members of California Wives are in it for the fun, Zima admits that as the band has become more hyped and in-demand, things have begun to change.
“We’re much more businesslike now: a straight practice schedule; we consider what and where and when we will play. We used to play anything, everything we were offered, no matter where it was or what night of the week. Now we are much more selective.”
The band’s growing fan base and reputation have made it easier to say no, while also affording California Wives a lot of opportunities. This summer the band is playing Taste of Chicago, North Coast Music Festival and Wicker Park Fest — as well as next week’s gig in Millennium Park. Certainly some of that activity can be chalked up to the fact that there are more than 100 festivals in Chicago each summer. That the band is on the bills of some of the biggest ones speaks to the broadness of its appeal.
Twitter @ChiTribEnt
When: Noon Thursday
Where: Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St.
Tickets: Free (all-ages); 312-742-1168 or millenniumpark.org
