Chicago Feature- Virginian Pilot

Robert Lamm believes that his brain is wired differently than most other people’s. How else to explain the near constant hum of music playing in his head?

 “Even as I speak to you now I hear a melody in the background,” said the founding member of the band, Chicago. 

 As the songwriter for such classic rock hits as “Saturday in the Park,” “25 or 6 to 4”and “Beginnings,” this ever steady soundtrack has been mostly a good thing. After all, Chicago has produced five number one albums and twenty one top ten singles over the course of their celebrated career.  But sometimes the tune spinning inside Lamm’s head is unwelcome.

 “It’s not much fun when it’s a jingle from some dog food commercial,” he laughed.
 Such are the occupational hazards involved with five decades of music making.  Chicago, who play tonight at Farm Bureau Live in Virginia Beach with the Doobie Brothers, has been churning out their horn fueled rock and roll for 45 years now. Still, suggest that the band has provided the soundtrack to people’s lives and Lamm is gracious but mostly indifferent.

“I don’t like to focus on the past,” said the keyboard player and vocalist. “We’re all about moving forward.” Fans of Chicago’s 80’s power ballad years may be unaware that the band’s early output was very different.

When Peter Cetera, the de facto leader of that era left the band, Chicago returned to their earlier adventurous mind-set. By 1994, love songs gave way to experimental fare including psychedelic jams and even a rap song for what was meant to be Chicago’s 22^nd album.

Considering their storied career up to that point, it seemed as though Chicago had earned the right to follow their artistic vision. “Well you would have thought that would have been the case,” said Lamm of the project. Instead, “Stone of Sisyphus” was deemed unmarketable by Chicago’s record company. Even so, the album gained legendary status among fans and was heavily bootlegged until it was finally self- released in 2008.

With four original members now in their sixties, Chicago could easily coast on their back catalog but instead are busily crafting new music for a CD they expect to release in 2013. Lamm says his compositions reflect the direction taken in his solo efforts.

“My interests move toward world music and electronic music. The great thing about Chicago is that there’s never been a lot of resistance to pushing boundaries.”

 A prime example of that mentality is the viral sensation “Forget Saturday,” a mash-up of Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park,” with Cee-Lo Green’s Grammy winning song, “Forget You.” The track, produced by a Lamm collaborator melds the two songs seamlessly.

“I spoke with Cee-Lo and he just laughed and threw his hands up in a humorous way when we talked about the similarities in the songs,” said Lamm. “I look at it as a compliment.”

But that wasn’t the first time Chicago’s music has served as an inspiration.

I’ve had a lot of requests over the years for permission to sample Chicago songs,” said Lamm, who’s given consent to artists ranging from R&B superstar Chris Brown to the European hip-hop collective Cookin’ Soul. 

“A lot of today’s current music makers have a certain reverence for 70’s music,” he said. “For them, it’s where it’s at right now. They think it sounds cool.”

 

Royal Teeth-Virginian Pilot

Royal Teeth is having a moment.
Not only did the quirky indie pop band deliver a buzzworthy performance at this year's annual South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, but the sextet's synth savvy music is getting modern rock radio play, featured in TV shows such as "90210" and HBO's hit series "Girls," and even showcased in a Canadian Buick commercial.

"Things are happening really fast. We haven't really fully processed it yet," guitarist/vocalist Gary Larsen said of the band's rapid rise.

"We all just quit our day jobs in May," added vocalist Nora Patterson by phone from the band's home base in Lafayette, La. "It's a little scary, but it's worked out really well so far."
It almost didn't happen. At least, it might not have happened.

Last fall Royal Teeth was invited to perform in the hipster-approved CMJ Music Festival in New York City, and considered turning down the offer.

"Our manager was a little hesitant to have us play because he wasn't sure we had enough experience," explained Larsen.

At the time the current lineup had only been together for a year.

"There was some talk about whether we should take a little bit more time before we threw ourselves out there and risk getting eaten alive," Larsen said.

Royal Teeth took the chance.

Bolstered by the vocal interplay of Larsen and Patterson, the festival's response to Royal Teeth was almost as exuberant as the group's catchy melodies.

The band, which plays The Jewish Mother in Norfolk on tonight, evokes the golden age of new wave with its swooping choruses and electronic dance beats.

On "Wild," the lead track off its debut EP "Act Naturally," Royal Teeth delivers an epic ode to chasing dreams.

"It's about making a real commitment and going for something you really want," Larsen said.
That "go for it" philosophy struck a chord. "The song is really connecting with people," Larsen said. "It's kind of weird but it's a really good weird."

"We didn't think it would become this anthem when we wrote it," Patterson added. "That's pretty awesome."

The band's live show isn't so bad, either. Royal Teeth tries to connect with its audiences by using simple, but effective, techniques like shooting balloons or confetti into the crowd.
"Our main goal is to be really fun live," Larsen said. "We really want it to feel like an experience. I like to jump in the crowd and play, literally, in your face. I'll take your phone and snap pictures, anything we can do to make the show memorable."

And that takes practice.

"It's actually something we work on," Patterson said of developing the band's stage show. "We want to be different, so we try to come up with new ways to make the show more interactive.

"We put everything we have into it so we can make it really worth the money you're spending to come and see us."