“So how did five musicians end up living in one house in Lansing?” I
ask.
The question prompts silence and sideways glances among Chris
Hall, Paul Dlameter, Steve Loomis, Zach Dilday and Tyler Hardy-Ionia.
“Well. . . . “ starts Loomis, a bass guitarist, graduate of
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and employee at
Pearson Education.
“There are people—like these guy—that add credibility to what I love to
do. I could be in a bigger city like Detroit. But Lansing has that
environment where a lot of good relationships for music can be made.”
The house is on Clemens Street on Lansing's Eastside. The roommates' various bands walk the spectral road of styles, ranging from blues to melodic folk, alternative to old-fashioned rock n’ roll.
And their packed-in presence in Lansing suggests some surprising things about the local music scene.
Flocking Together“It’s one big musical family,” says Tyler Hardy-Ionia, a business student at
Michigan State University, drum instructor at Lansing's
Marshall Music, and drummer in two local bands:
Ambush of Tigers and Black Fawn. “Instead of dividing everything up specifically, we just rearrange people to have a fresh thing every time.”
The five roommate musicians—most from various parts of Michigan, and ranging in age from ages range from 21 to 32—collaborate with six different Lansing-based bands: Ambush of Tigers, Black Fawn,
Dirt Road Logic,
The Hallows,
Sidestreet Getaway and The Equestrianauts, along with other side and solo projects.
“We probably don’t look like the conventional roommates,” says Hall, who works at
Magdalena's Tea House, attends
Lansing Community College and plays guitar in Ambush of Tigers and The Equestrianauts.
"But it works out, because we have one obviously big interest in common: our bands and playing music.”
“And
PBR,” Dlameter chimes in sarcastically, referencing the iconic beer while simultaneously lighting a Winston cigarette.
Surround Sound Somewhere amid the classic musical vices of alcohol and tobacco, all five roommates still find time to hold down other jobs and walk the fine line of work and musical envelopment.
Dlameter has a master’s degree in geography from MSU; he’s working towards his doctorate while playing lead guitar for Dirt Road Logic and pedal steel for The Hallows.
These two bands embody the different roads these five musicians travel by living with a motley crew of musical tastes.
Dirt Road Logic, or DRL, is an alt-country, southern-style foursome playing gritty American rock n’ roll reminiscent of bands like the
Drive-By Truckers and
Backyard Tire Fire. Together for about four years, they’re about to drop their highly anticipated sophomore album—recorded at
Rust Belt Studios in Royal Oak—later this summer.
The Hallows, by contrast, is a six-piece, folk-pop outfit hosting three of the five roommates: Dlameter on pedal steel, Loomis on bass guitar, and Dilday on acoustic guitar and vocals.
They
recently opened for the indie band,
Matt Pond P.A. at Lansing's popular music venue,
Mac’s Bar, and have recorded their own album.
“DRL is obviously harder rock; and then, in the Hallows, I play pedal steel and we have a violin and cello, which is way more melodic,” explains Dlameter. “Living with these guys has been great for me musically.”
“I think what attracts me to this area is my band members and roommates,” says Dilday, who balances school and work while providing vocals and guitar for both Sidestreet Getaway and The Hallows.
“I mean, we can sit down in the family room, pick up instruments and start jamming.”
Live Music LowdownWith the closing of the Temple Club in 2006, Lansing lost a sanctuary for local and national bands. Mac’s is one of only a handful of local venues where bigger acts play six nights a week.
The Green Door, Magdalena’s Tea House, and
Rendezvous on the Grand are other venues the local musicians have played in the past.
But what the city lacks in large venues, it makes up for in location. And location matters: booking all your gigs in a single city can be a daunting task; having several viable cities nearby provides options to make money and spread the word.
“The thing about Lansing is that it has a good location,” says Loomis. “Five different cities with smaller venues, and bar scenes for bands like us to play, are within an hour and a half.”
Lansing also provides a large college scene. In July, Small Planet, a premier East Lansing venue and club that booked bands like Weezer and Kid Rock and closed in 2000, will reopen in the student-centered area north of East Lansing around Chandler’s Crossing.
And newer venues like
Michigan Homegrown Music and
Scene Metrospace have given artists and musicians a place to explore all avenues of music. Homegrown has a recording studio and open mic nights.
“Lansing has really been trying to expand the scene recently, and the local support is starting to catch on more,” Dilday observes. “I think people are getting more and more conscious of not only supporting local music, but the idea of supporting everything local, really.”
Teamwork TalentTheir house is a musical annex where the roommates host weekend jam sessions for various house parties. Admission is free, the atmosphere is comfortable, the music is raging and audience participation is encouraged.
Side projects—like the Equestrianauts—are another way for the roommates to experiment with different sounds and ideas.
“We just had three mics going into a PA [system] with [recording software]
Pro Tools, four or five time signature changes,” says Hall. “Zach put down the melody; Steve wrote the chorus; Tyler laid drums; we mixed it all and put it on
box.net, and we decided to call ourselves The Equestrianauts.”
Living with other musicians “enables you to make music all the time and feed off other people’s juice,” he says.
With all of this local music, Lansing fans can stay local and celebrate the summer soundtrack.
Just remember that, like Dlameter, you can use Sunday afternoons for recovering.
“We played all weekend. I drank waa-ay too much,” he says, rubbing his eyes and adding, with ambivalent anticipation: “And next weekend doesn’t look to be any different.”
Joshua Marino is an urban cowboy living on Lansing's Eastside with a dog named Mr. Jerkface Jack(straw) McCrackerson. Marino enjoys bullfighting and Boggle.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos: An evening practice at the house
Three of the roommates, (l-r) Zach Dilday, Chris Hall and Steve Loomis
Zach Dilday (r) and Steve Loomis
Chris Hall (r) and Kate Luce of the Hollows
Zach Dilday
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie