In The News

October 25, 2005 Joliet Herald

East bound and up
Joliet band hits the road for tour
By Annie Alleman
STAFF WRITER

John Condron is taking his show on the road.
Condron is a Joliet-based singer-songwriter and fronts the rock trio, John Condron and the Benefit. For the past few years, he's been building a loyal following in the Chicago area with steady appearances and a CD, "Down to Dorsey."

While he's thrilled with the fans he's garnered in the Midwest, he wants to spread the love and hopefully find some new fans on the East Coast.

That's why John Condron and the Benefit are heading east for a whirlwind tour with a kick-off concert tonight at the Chicago Street Pub, of which he is part-owner. The doors open at 5 p.m. for the all-ages show.

"It's been intense trying get this many shows together in this short amount of time, but it finally all came together," he said. "Now it's just show up and play."

They leave Monday and play in Philadelphia Tuesday. After that there's gigs in New York City and Boston, ending Nov. 13 at the Green Mill in Chicago.

"I was born raised and in Philadelphia — I moved out here after touring with a band from New York called Poets and Slaves eight years ago," he said. "The last time I played in Philly, my hometown, was in June of '95 with a band called J.C. Taxi. That was a joke about the rest of the band having to drive me around because I didn't have a car.

"I've been wanting to go back for a while and do some shows," he said. "It is difficult to set up a string of shows, because it is a long trip. We've been trying to get a number of shows — we have 11 in 13 days — and that makes a lot more sense. It's financially more sound, hitting as many places as possible while you're out there."

It's showcasing the musicians in his band that he's excited about — bassist Jeff Bella and drummer Barret Harvey.

"I wanted to come back with a band and play some places and put a show on," he said. "This present situation with the band — I'm real excited, I wanted to get back and showcase this incarnation. It's a phenomenal lineup, and it seemed the time to do it was now. At least before they forget about me completely."

All of his family is still out east, so he's really looking forward to his homecoming.

A lot of help
Condron says that the tour wouldn't have been a reality had it not been for Mark Eleveld, the band's right-hand man, who handles booking and PR, among other duties."None of this would've happened if it had been up to me," Condron said. "I had a couple ridiculous ideas and he kind of ran with them, so here we go.

"We've had help from a lot of people — a company called bizbox.com is sponsoring our vehicle, so we have a van to get out there," he said. "A couple of guys are going for support — they're like our road managers. The community has been great as far as supporting the idea. It's nice to be able to kick it off out here."

Fortunately, they won't have to resort to the "struggling musician adage" of sleeping in the van.

"Most of the trip will be home stays," he said. "Obviously, I have all kinds of family and friends in Philly looking forward to helping us and putting us up. My brother lives in New Jersey, and my drummer has friends in Boston. When I was younger, it was a lot of sleeping in vans and just getting out to play. It was great at the time, but we're getting older now. There's a lot more planning (for) going on the road than I've ever experienced. But it's the right time, the right people, and we're really looking forward to it."

He's hoping the tour will attract new fans to the John Condron fold.

"We just want to sell some CDs, spread the word, open some doors — with the thinking that it'll be a lot easier to get on the road next time," he said. "We want to expand everything we've got going on out here and take it out and grow the whole family. And then take over the world," he said, laughing.

"After all these years, we still have the childish belief we're doing what we're supposed to be doing and sooner or later a larger audience will catch on, and who knows what will happen from there."

Condron will occasionally play solo acoustic shows in the area, but he says that this tour will bring the noise.

"Most of the shows are full-band sets, full rock 'n' roll shows," he said. "There are a couple smaller-scale evenings with a couple poets ... it's going to be a different kind of a night. The poetry community has been very receptive to us. It's an honor as a writer ... to be included."

Live music
Condron said they'll be playing in everything from small poetry clubs on Bowery Avenue in New York City to mid-size rock clubs that can hold a couple hundred people."In any major city, there's live music seven nights a week," he said. "So we're doing a little bit of everything. Although we've decided to stay away from stadiums this time around."

They are playing at Grape Street in Philadelphia, "one of the nicer" clubs, he said. They'll play about five shows in New York City, including at a club called Sin-e (pronounced shin-ay), made famous by the late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley.

"He has 'Live From Sin-e'. I've always loved what he did, his voice, the whole story," Condron said. "It's neat to go there and play that place. Then we're playing a place called The Middle East in Boston. Some of bands I used to love and still do played The Middle East. It will be my first show ever in the city of Boston. A lot of great bands and music has come out of Boston."

He's not worried about playing for empty rooms.

"I really believe in what we're doing," he said. "I believe in the show we're putting on and in the music we're playing. I believe if we get a chance to get in front of people, we'll have a turnout. As long as there's a couple people who are into it, it doesn't matter to me. You may have the same amount of people moved — if you have 15 people in the audience and they all get it or you have 200 in audience and 15 get it — that's same amount. You've gotta do what you do, regardless."

John Condron and the Benefit will perform tonight at the Chicago Street Pub, 75 Chicago Street. Doors open at 5 p.m. Special guest Brendan Lowry opens the show at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 for the all-ages show.

10/23/05