Since they were featured in these pages
almost 10 months ago, The Chronics have
been busy building their following both
within Fort Wayne and beyond, covering
an ever-growing territory, a region they
have every intention of expanding as
1997 continues.
Although The Chronics have been together
in their current form for almost five
years, the band’s members — bassist
Rose Lazoff, guitarist Jane Palajac and
drummer Jerry Miller — have known each
other personally for well over a decade.
That partnership, and the resulting
commitment to each other, has allowed
the band to pursue their dream of making
original music together.
Having been members of an 80s touring
band, one that performed primarily
covers of other people’s material, the
three determined upon their formation in
1992 that they weren’t interested in
repeating that grind, preferring instead
to write and perform music together that
reflected their own diverse musical
tastes. The first product of that
effort, their self-titled debut CD, was
released in 1995.
Since then, the band has been busy
performing through the Midwest,
cultivating a devoted following and
expanding upon a repertoire that will
ultimately result in a follow-up CD.
While The Chronics have had their share
of successes in the past couple of
years, one of the more interesting
occurred last September when they found
themselves opening for Joan Jett and the
Blackhearts at Piere’s.
“That was a great experience,” says
Palajac. “Mostly being able to play with
a really huge sound system and to be
able to play in front of that many
people was just really fun. We loved
that. And, of course, meeting Joan was
cool.”
The band members have also found
themselves being received well in front
of crowds outside the Fort Wayne area,
playing in Toledo, Bloomington and
Madison, Wisconsin this past spring. All
have provided them with satisfying
experiences, but the recent show in
Wisconsin seems to be the closest to
their hearts.
“That was really fun,” says Palajac. “It
was fun to play in front of an audience
that we did not know, but they were real
open to original stuff, and we felt like
they really liked us. We felt we did a
good show, and we had a lot of fun.
We’re working on a return trip in the
fall.”
As a matter of fact, they’re looking to
revisit all of those places and more in
the fall, hoping to expand their
horizons in the process. But, while they
will be playing some area dates this
summer — including an appearance on
Saturday, June 21 in Auburn, a M.O.M.S.
performance on July 1 at Columbia Street
West and a possible appearance with
Strut Train during the Three Rivers
Festival — on the whole, The Chronics
are looking for some down time, allowing
them to build their stamina for the
later part of this year.
“People are just taking it easy,” says
Palajac. “We’re hoping to enjoy the
summer a little bit, have some vacation
time, do a lot of jammin’, just have
some fun. And then we’ll get ready for
the fall, and then hit it really hard
again.”
Aside from their possible touring plans,
The Chronics are working on material
that will probably yield them their
second CD, one that they’re hoping to
record in the near future.
“We’re ready to start recording,” says
Palajac. “The problem, of course, comes
down to money. If there are any
eccentric millionaires out there who
want to throw some money our way, they
can contact us through WhatzUp or our
P.O. box.
“But we’re anxious to get that going. We
have some new material that’s been
tested live for awhile as well as some
that no one’s heard.”
Their studio work, while capturing their
sound, doesn’t always capture their
spirit, which has led to talk of a
possible live video or CD. The video is
being discussed seriously, with a few
aborted efforts already under their
belts. The CD might also have to wait
awhile.
“The live CD is still getting talked
about,” says Palajac, “just because we
do a particular thing when we’re live,
that whole improvisational-jones is
going on at that time, and a lot of
people would like to hear that from us,
we’ve been told. But I think we’re
probably going to stick to a studio
recording instead of a live thing. But a
live CD isn’t out of the question.”
After all of these years together,
building a team that works on a personal
level and a professional one, you might
wonder what makes this partnership last,
both onstage and off.
“That’s a good question,” says Palajac.
“We’re all so different. One thing is
that we all get bored pretty easily so
we all three are looking for things that
excite us musically on a continual
basis. People who come to hear us
realize that a lot of the songs that we
do, that maybe they’ve heard on the CD,
we change them around. We love to jam
and create as we go, so I think that’s
something that keeps us together.
“I think we just … I don’t know. I
don’t know what it is. You know somebody
so long, you go through everything with
them. We traveled on the road together
in a road band, and you see everybody at
their worst and at their very best. And
so I guess if a problem arises, we know
how to deal with it; we know how to let
things go.”
They also know how to maintain the
commitment to each other, their
friendship and their future as a band,
As Palajac notes, aside from their
families and friends, this is their most
important endeavor.
“We’re really dedicated. This is what
the three of us like the most. This is
our main focus. It’s the thing we love
the most, so we make it work.