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BY TIM SHELLBERG
Times Correspondent | Friday, August 13, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
For many budding regional bands, getting a chance to play to audiences in the Windy City is a sign of moving upward on the musical ladder.
Chicago rockers Green Light look forward to the opportunity to leave the city for a night to perform in Northwest Indiana.
"The big thing for us is that Chicago doesn't have a lot of all-ages venues," said band bassist-singer John Hauppa.
"The kids get into the music more than people in their late 20s and early 30s who have seen it all before. And in Northwest Indiana, we get the opportunity to play to all ages."
Scheduled to perform Saturday at Crown Point's Pop Culture Coffee House, Hauppa, who did time in numerous Chicagoland-based outfits prior to forming Green Light was acquainted with drummer Tom O'Shea for nearly a decade. The band's lineup was cemented two years ago when the West Loop-based duo met guitarist and singer Shannon Buckman.
Not only did Buckman make Green Light a fully functioning unit, but she provided the band with its moniker while riding in Hauppa's car.
"In Chicago, there's lots of stop lights, and Shannon would always say that I took too long to accelerate for green lights," he said. "She would always yell 'green light' at me when the light would change. It's not a very deep story, I know. But that's where the name came from."
Compared in the past to post-punk and new wave stalwarts such as Joy Division, New Order and Devo, Hauppa -- the band's primary songwriter -- likens his band's sonic stylings to a hybrid of art, punk and old-fashioned garage rock.
For Hauppa, the "less is more" philosophy suits his outfit to a tee.
"We make spry, simple music," he said. "We can definitely play more complex things. But rhythm and melody are the basis of everything that we do. We want every song to be wrapped around simple ideas."
Since forming two years ago, Green Light has graced several popular Chicago stages for up-and-coming bands including the Wise Fools Pub, Elbo Room and Beat Kitchen. It also has recorded a small handful of demos and has a handful of tracks available on its Web site at www.greenlightband.net. It also has a three-song live set, "The Wednesday Night Sessions," available for purchase on the site.
It also currently is laboring on what will be its first EP. Expected to feature six or seven original compositions, Hauppa said the band hopes to have the songs that will make up their first official release in the can within the next several weeks.
"What we're shooting for right now is something that sounds professional," he said. "But because of the type of music that we play, and the fact that we don' t use lots of effects and just a few instruments and vocals, it should be pretty easy for us to record."
Later in the month, Green Light will return to its Windy City home base with scheduled performances Aug. 23 at Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., and Aug. 27 at Cal's, 400 S. Wells St.
Also scheduled to perform at Pop Culture tonight are regional favorites Jeff's Solo Band, Arrange for Use and Sad Hannah.
onstage
Green Light, Jeff's Solo Band, Arrange for Use, Sad Hannah
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Pop Culture Coffee House, 107 N. Main St., Suite C, Crown Point
Cost: $3
For more info: (219) 661-8540 or visit www.popculturecoffeehouse.com
onstage
Green Light, Jeff's Solo Band, Arrange for Use, Sad Hannah
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Pop Culture Coffee House, 107 N. Main St., Suite C, Crown Point
Cost: $3
For more info: (219) 661-8540 or visit www.popculturecoffeehouse.com
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