West 34 stays close to ‘The Road’

Serious, top-secret government studies have shown that more kids would rather play guitar like Eric Clapton or Billy Gibbons than land on the moon

The studies are so secret, they can’t be proven.

Fred Gade, on the other hand, likes being a rock farmer.

Gade, who by his own admission first saw the light at a Mountain/Deep Purple concert in 1974, manages West 34, a Brookfield-based rock, pop and blues band that performs across the Chicago area and includes bandmates from La Grange.

The 51-year-old Gade is co-owner of Central Auto Rebuilders, where he also handles the management side of the body repair business. It’s headquarters for West 34, LLC, the management and publishing company for everything West 34.

The band is fronted by Brookfield’s Dave Johnson, vocals and guitar; Tim Majewski, rhythm and lead guitar, of La Grange; Westchester resident Tony Melnick, bass, keyboards; and Aaron Allan of Gardner, Illinois, on drums and vocals.

On June 11, Gade hosted Shop Jam 2011, a private event at the body shop featuring a band performance for friends, family and fans. Gade also invited representatives of the music industry who he said unfortunately did not turn out.

“We more or less billed it as a fan appreciation night,” he said. “It’s our way of giving back a little bit.”

West 34 all started when Johnson came into the body shop in 2007 looking for a job closer to home. He was hired as a fender and body man.

“Then I heard he was a musician, so I went to see him,” Gade said. “After I saw him perform and realized his talent level was tremendous, we talked about starting a band. He would take care of the creative aspect of the band, and I would be the business part of the partnership.”

Auditions began in spring 2007.

“The vision was to have a rock cover band,” Gade said. “We weren’t interested in doing Top-40 rock. We were interested in doing deep-cut covers, the fourth or fifth track on the albums.”

By late summer, the band was in place and on Nov. 30, 2007, West 34 did its first show, a midnight set, at the Penny Road Pub in South Barrington.

With more than 125 shows under their belt, the band members now perform 60 percent of original material. A full show generally lasts three hours. With shorter shows, the band reverts to mostly its own songs.

On Gade’s end, he solicits the clubs for jobs, books dates, does all the communication with band members and arranges recording sessions. He attends all the shows and serves as a go-between for the band and whatever venue members are playing.

“I also collect the money and pay the guys at the end of the night,” he said. “We typically hold a few bucks back that goes into a bank account. At this point, it’s all for fun for me. I don’t get paid. But there is a possibility of getting paid down the road, depending on how far the band goes.”

Gade, who is not a musician, said his involvement stems from a deeply rooted love of music.

“Basically, I’ve been a music lover since I was a little kid,” he said. “I started out listening to music on a transistor radio, then graduated to a stereo. I then saw my first concert, Mountain and Deep Purple, when I was 17. I’ve seen them all.”

As for the name of the band, it’s self-explanatory, Gade said.

“We all live really close to Route 34, Ogden Avenue, and the body shop’s on 34,” he said. “This band was born, and we all live very near ‘The Road.’”

'We plugged in'

Three of the four members of West 34 are local boys.

Johnson started playing piano and trumpet when he was 5, then took on the guitar at 12. His mother, Joyce, is a piano teacher and church organist. Unlike some rock musicians, Johnson, 40, can both read and write music.

The rest of the bandmates contribute to the lyrical side of their original compositions, while Johnson picks most of their cover tunes.

“I’m kind of like the musical director,” he said. “I think of something cool to do; if it doesn’t work, we throw it out. I’m more of a hard rocker by nature, but I’m also a horn player.

“Tim (Majewski) is more of a Hendrix, blues guy’ I’m more of a shredder. I’m definitely the too-many-notes guy in the band,” he continued.

Majewski, 26, started playing guitar two decades ago and honed his vocal skills in various choral groups at Lyons Township High School. By day, Majewski works in a landscape business that specializes in trade shows.

He’s the youngest member of West 34, and that works in his favor — his roots are in blues and soul, he said.

“Coming out of high school, I started playing guitar more and joined a band: The Southsiders, a Chicago-style blues band,” Majewski explained.

Melnick also played in that band. It was through a mutual friend Majewski was introduced to Johnson.

“I brought my guitar over to Dave’s one day with ‘Uncle Freddy’ and we just played,” Majewski said. “We plugged in and went to work. We hit it off right away. Everybody in the band has a great chemistry and they are all versatile players.”

Melnick, 45, started playing the clarinet at age 8, guitar at age 9 and moved on to bass guitar when he was 12 — an unusual choice for someone that age. Most kids want to become guitar slingers.

The Westchester resident said his tastes are eclectic.

“I have everything from Motorhead to Gregorian chants on my iPod,” he said. “If I have it on shuffle, it’s a crap shoot.”

Of the drummers who auditioned, Aaron Allen won the spot. He makes a 60-mile commute to practice from Gardner, located southwest of Joliet.

Melnick sees his role in the band as one who tries to keep things moving.

“Dave always has something new, something better than the last time. I try to reign him in and keep things on the path,” he said. “We do step out, don’t get me wrong, but I try to keep it within the realm of where we’re going. It’s a ying and yang thing.”