With the burgeoning Chicago music scene being thrust into the national spotlight, many independent bands are gaining notoriety all across the nation. Rock outfit Ballroom Boxer, whose members include DePaul graduate Mike Altier alongside his brother Dave and friend Donnie, has found success in Chicago’s music scene.
The DePaulia had the opportunity to sit down with Mike and Dave Altier of Ballroom Boxer to discuss their time in Chicago, touring with Buckcherry and just where that catchy band name comes from.
DePaulia: So tell me about how you guys formed the band.
Dave: Mike and I played previously in the Whiskey Drifters—we’re brothers. We’ve played together for 13, 14 years. Recently I was in Nashville with our guitarist Donnie. So Mike came down and we all mesh really well.
Mike: We were always kind of a digital band in terms of that everyone was in different areas and we played in different areas. And then Ballroom Boxer started about a year ago then I flew down and met with them.
DP: And Mike, you went to DePaul. Do you have any special attachment to or influence from Chicago?
M: Yeah, totally. I think that for me going to DePaul was a way to get away, and by doing that I felt I found my social in. I discovered a lot of stuff through DePaul. I still have pretty big ties here. With DePaul it was nice to have kind of a second family.
DP: The music scenes of Akron, Chicago and Nashville heavily influence the band. Do you have a favorite music scene or sound you picked up along the way?
M: I can speak for the Akron and Chicago, you (Dave) can speak for Nashville. We’re from Akron, obviously where the Black Keys are from, so we were in the same scene as them and we were one of two bands in Akron, Ohio. They had a fuzzier sound, more blues-based while we had a fuzzier sound that was western-based. So it’s the same sound in the deal that we’re from “Rubber City,” where we kind of started, and then we moved to Nashville
D: Yeah I always like Ryan Adams-type stuff, alt-country type music, so Nashville is a really good scene for that type of music, so I kind of delved into that deeper when I moved down there.
M: When we play down there we get a twang in our voice, say y’all a lot [laughs]. But here it’s different. I think here in Chicago it’s a little faster, it’s a little more summer-y here. It’s all those different things melding here.
DP: You guys have headlined the Cleveland Music Festival and recorded with Jim Stewart (30 Seconds to Mars, Plain White T’s), huge milestones for the band. What do you see coming up next?
M: This year was a big year, even starting out. This year is gonna be a lot different. There are festivals we’re trying to play at. We’re really trying hard to play Chicago more.
We have a big fan-base in Nashville so we cater to them a lot; and Ohio because we’re from there, obviously. Playing the Beat Kitchen is nice, but we kind of ignore Chicago. We are looking forward to playing Wicker Park Fest, though.
D: Yeah, last year was our first year, and it hasn’t been a full year of being a band. We just want to have a concentration in Chicago and just really want to do well here.
DP: Would you give your college self any advice?
M: Well, when I was an undergrad at Kent State we had very big opportunities, we were opening for Velvet Revolver and Buckcherry and we totally screwed it all up because we were young and naïve and wanted to party more than we wanted to play. I would tell myself to look at the music industry as a whole and be a little smarter in trying to outthink whatever is given to me. And not following what everyone is doing in the industry or the scene. I feel like we do a good job now in being smart with things like that.
D: I came up to Chicago a lot when I lived in Nashville just to see this guy [points to Mike]. I kind of always wished I were here. I really like the music scene in Chicago. It’s an ever-changing thing, a fun thing to be a part of.
M: How does Chicago contrast with Nashville, since it’s ‘music city’?
D: Yeah it’s dubbed “Music City,” but I think the opportunities that are painted in Nashville are few and far between. In that case you have to really know a lot of people.
In terms of local bands there isn’t a very in-depth music scene; there’s really not a lot. I think Chicago has less of a pretentious feel, it’s definitely grittier and has a lot more going on.