Cassette Store Day is a slightly ridiculous concept (ever been to a cassette store?), but its list of U.S. releases includes a substantial Chicago contingent—reflecting the healthy interest that local labels and fans have in the format. This year it falls on Saturday, October 8, and several Chicago imprints that regularly issue tapes—Girlsville, Dumpster Tapes, Grabbing Clouds Records & Tapes—have put together special releases. Among them is long-running reggae, ska, and rocksteady label Jump Up Records, which is releasing a handful of full-lengths—including a compilation from defunct local ska group Rude Guest, Lost Chicago Ska 1982-1993. Rude Guest only ever put out music on tape during their original run, so the occasion fits. “My brother used to joke that we’re totally dedicated to the cassette format,” says Paul Schroeder, who formed the band with brother Kurt in 1982.
Paul says the original members of Rude Guest each brought something different to the table, which allowed the group to bring something different to ska. Front man Kurt was the pop songwriter; lead guitarist Darrell Pennell, who also played in Pzazz, had a southern-rock style; bassist Fran Kondorf loved the blues; horn player Michael Levin, who went to Oak Park High School with the Schroeder brothers, cut his teeth on jazz; Paul, the group’s drummer, grew up on a fusion of rock styles. “You get these five guys in a room with different things—you can hear a little country twang in the guitar,” Paul says. “You can hear some of the jazz stuff in the sax.” Jump Up founder Chuck Wren wrote a band bio for the Rude Guest release where he explains that few folks understood what the band were going for when they started in the early 80s. Paul says they struggled with bookers, and recalls a time that Rude Guest were added to the bill of a country show. “My brother would just go off on that stuff,” he says. “He’s like, ‘These people are just total idiots—let’s book it ourselves!’” As Rude Guest found their legs, a couple members would camp out at Paul’s office during work hours and try to promote the band. “We would just sit there and pump the phone,” Paul says. “We got a listing of every college within 500 miles, and we just sent them a cassette and bio.” The band not only performed at schools throughout the midwest but also got chummy with local clubs, which helped them get gigs at Tuts, Metro, Park West, and the Vic, among others.
Jump Up Records hosts a Cassette Store Day party at Logan Hardware on Saturday, October 8. Vic Ruggiero & Jesse Wagner will perform an acoustic set, and King Tony and Chuck Wren will DJ with cassettes. Reader contributor Chema Skandal will exhibit posters and paint on cassettes.
