Just like Jay Gatsby (the literary version, not the current Luhrmann fiasco), Chicago’s new music scene is something of a mystery to the rest of the world. And yet, according to Andrew Tham, one of Chicago’s most passionate new music entrepreneurs (and an ICIYL contributing editor), “it’s something that everyone’s been talking about.” Tham is a tall, lanky man in his 20s, and he’s dressed in a black lace dress with a shawl covering his forehead, like Lorca’s Bernarda Alba with a sunny disposition. His theatricality doesn’t stand out, however, in view of the evening’s other spectacles. On Thursday, May 16, 2013, in Chicago’s Logan Square, four young new music enthusiasts presented The Guilty Party, a murder mystery event cum concert announcing the arrival of their joint ambition: Parlour Tapes+, the Midwest’s newest new music label, and perhaps the first of its kind. (Ed.: for more background, read our recent 5 Questions to… interview.)
Composer, soprano, and Parlour Tapes+ co-founder Jenna Lyle (photo credit: parlourtapes.com)
Despite their, perhaps, quirky ambition to release music on cassette tapes (as well as digital media), “we decided we wanted this to be more than just a tape label,” said Ellen McSweeney, one of Tham’s business partners. Already they have two releases planned for later this year, a web magazine in the works, and a plethora of ideas for events. “There are different ways of building community around contemporary music,” said McSweeney. Each member of the label, in addition to being a musician, comes from a different background and offers something different to the group. McSweeney, for instance, is a writer, and Tham is an arts administrator. Both were late-comers onto the Parlour project, which began as an idea in the mind of their third collaborator Kyle Vegter, on “one of those days when you just say, ‘[Screw] it, I’m going to the MCA.’”
After spending the day at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, observing and reflecting, he rode the bus home wearing an orange vest. “And I was thinking that there needs to be an exporter of what Chicago is doing,” said Vegter. “If a thing happens in New York, the whole world knows about it. If something happens in Chicago, then, maybe, Chicago knows about it.”
It’s unfortunate that Chicago new music has managed to avoid the limelight — surprising in a city where the symphony orchestra holds both international respect and a prominence in the community. Every summer, the stadium-sized Millennium Park fills to the concrete walls with all kinds of people flocking to hear world-class classical music for free. The Grant Park Music Festival (which begins next month) represents the sort of commitment to the arts that civic pride should be based on. Yet the millions of dollars spent on the Festival have only recently started to give credence to the rich new music scene that thrives here.
What Thursday night proved is that you don’t need to spend a million dollars to give your audience a good show. The Parlour Tapes team spent weeks hyping the event, sending email updates and releasing mysterious videos on their Tumblr to tell the story of the mystery: David Skidmore, a member of Third Coast Percussion, had (fake) died mysteriously during a filming of a YouTube instructional video on how to play the tambourine. (Many of the videos, Tham told me, were edited on iMovie a day before the event.) Once the party got started, there was an open bar and hors d’oeuvres accompanied by clues whispered into guest’s ears, such as “Be careful what you eat,” and, “If you continue to steal a cookie from a mouse, the mouse will freak out on you.” Less in keeping with the theme (but no less ridiculous and fun) were the five professional poets volunteering to spend the night seated at classic typewriters composing personalized Dadaist poetry for a mere $5.
Percussionist and confessed (fake) murderer Doug Perkins (photo credit: Ben Johansen)
And let’s not forget the music performances, all of which occurred delightfully out of their element. Tim Munro of eighth blackbird played his flute whilst being hoisted offstage by the MC. Percussionist Doug Perkins, of Perkins/Meehan Duo, prefaced his solo performance with a tongue-in-cheek demonstration on how to play the snare drum. The Spektral Quartet’s performance of Thomas Adès’s “Tango Mortale” (which I’ve heard live now at least six times) felt completely at home against the backdrop of a shoddy red curtain that was likely tacked up just for the occasion.
It was impressive how funny a group of untrained comedians can be when they share a common interest. Jenna Lyle, the fourth co-founder of Parlour Tapes, spent most of the evening burlesquing the audience and redirecting their attention to whatever video clue came next. Her energetic sense of humor is exemplary of the potential this label has for making an impression on the music world. The only people they have to impress now are the many people who aren’t yet in on the joke.
In the end, Skidmore’s (fake) murderer turned out to be none other than fellow percussionist Perkins, who had lashed out in a fit of professional jealousy. In a dramatic, 11th hour “confession,” Perkins claimed it was all a big misunderstanding over those instructional videos. He thought a little mouse poison on the tambourine would only make Skidmore sick (not kill him), enabling Perkins to take his place in the video shoot.
Composers and Parlour Tapes+ co-founders Kyle Vegter and Andrew Tham (photo credit: parlourtapes.com)
This was, after all, a fundraising event. The event’s proceeds have yet to be announced, but it’s almost certain that the four members of Parlour Tapes will have to exercise a different kind of creativity if they hope to attract the attention of Chicago’s big-dollar donors. If nothing else, last night was a rare joy shared by a coterie of the culturally engaged. The moments of spontaneity were deftly orchestrated and the food was surprisingly good. It was, cards on the table, just the kind of party Jay Gatsby might have thrown.
