In person
WLUW Record Fair at Pulaski Park Fieldhouse
April 14 - 15
with Leaves, Mucca Pazza, Pit er Pat, and more...
About the band
Members
Jeremiah Chiu
Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar, Sampler, Percussion
Christopher Schreck
Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar, Organ, Percussion
Mike Rataj
Drums, Percussion
Cameron Brand
Synths, Vocals, Percussion
Biography
Attempting to satisfy their experimental inclinations without sacrificing melodicism and accessibility, the Brown Party’s fusion of 60’s pop, jazz, psychedelia, classical minimalism, Afro-beat and Krautrock styles stands as a unique approach to experimental pop music. Chiu and Schreck met in 2002 at DePaul University, where they each studied fine arts (they continue to design, print, and package all of their own releases and promotional materials) and worked at the university’s art “museum”. Within days of meeting, they began performing improvised works, the success of which soon lead to a formal decision to work together under the guise of the Brown Party, a name which Chiu had been using for his own artistic endeavors for nearly two years. Bringing on drummer Rataj, they began sporadically performing live while focusing on writing and self-recording the songs that would eventually make up their first album. They have since gone through a few incarnations, with shifts in approach coinciding with lineup changes and the constant addition of new interests and influences.
The songs offered on the Brown Party’s eponymous debut are best described, structurally, as mini-suites: sectional songs, texturally complex and with constantly-shifting arrangements, featuring lyrics that are understated, oftentimes playful musings on subjects such as flying, nature, space, time, and seasonal changes. Sweet, interlocking vocal melodies harmonize and float over jazzy, dance-inspired drumming, thick bass, subtle programmed beats, angular guitars, and a mélange (!) of keyboards and synthesizers. With a strong commitment to expanding their sonic palette, the band also textures its recordings with an eclectic range of instruments, such as sitar, saxophone, strings, banjo, glockenspiel and elaborate percussion. They also bring this multi-instrumental mindset to their live performances, which sees each member setting up in an individual “station,” surrounding himself with an assortment of instruments from which to pick and choose. They have also habitually used auxiliary performers, including members of House Theatre of Chicago as well as local ensembles like Chandeliers and the Killer Whales.
The Brown Party: boys singing like girls while their avant-garde interests and pop sensibilities hold hands. Hummus yummus!