Mark Messing is one of the few people fortunate enough to have his dreams come true. However, very few people dream of forming a punk-rock marching band.
Mucca Pazza, named after the Italian phrase meaning “mad cow,” is an eccentric herd of musicians who – though sometimes labeled by others as “nerdcore” – officially describe themselves as an “Astounding Circus Punk Marching Band.” With more brass than a ska band and more rock than a horn ensemble, the Chicago-based group strives to be more fun than either of the two on their own.
The band came to life in the spring of 2004 as a handful of musicians who knew each other through Messing’s production company and shared a comMonday, albeit unorthodox, interest. Elanor Leskiw, a 27-year-old trombone player who now handles most of the band’s management tasks, recalls when the original group of eight or nine would gather each week in a parking lot for brunch and march around playing original music. Less than two years later, Mucca Pazza has grown into a band with 26 members from a variety of backgrounds, including professional musicians, teachers, carpenters, waitresses and painters.
“We have a wonderful group of diverse personalities,” Leskiw says. “Everyone’s a character, and we have lots of fun together.”
So is this just another elaborate attempt at a gimmick band? Maybe, if all they did was throw in a violin, a couple accordions and a guitar player wearing a battery-powered speaker on top of a hockey helmet. But with an array of marching brass, woodwind and percussion instrumentation on top of this, Mucca Pazza also seeks to create a serious dimension of quality musical performance.
As music director, Messing composes many of the bands original songs, with styles ranging from Eastern European to surf tunes. The band also performs a variety of covers, as well as a spoof on the theme from Mr. Magoo.
“I personally find it difficult to place us as a genre,” Leskiw says. “Musically, we just want to play good music, and make the world a little happier.”
Even the nerdy image – in which Mucca Pazza takes much pride – is no easy task to maintain. The group has received the help of a designer in creating their hats and spicing up their mismatched marching uniforms, most of which they picked up at thrift stores. They’ve also worked with choreographers to help coordinate their theatrical onstage movements.
In short, the band does whatever it can to get its audience up and dancing, even if it includes having their own small group of cheerleaders.
“They’re not about sex,” Leskiw says of the ladies who take part in performances when they’re available. “They’re part of the fun, to reinforce the band. As a marching band, we wanted cheerleaders. The football teams get them, so we wanted ours too.”
The band also has been working on its first album, scheduled for release next spring, although Leskiw suggests it would not compare to the experience of watching the band in a live performance.
“What explains it best is the instrumentation and the costumes,” she says. “You just have to see it.”
Curious fans have the opportunity to see Mucca Pazza for themselves Feb. 19 at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., where the group performs almost every month. This next show takes place as part of Chicago’s first annual Hawk Winter Musical Festival, a three-day event that celebrates lesser-known independent venues across the city.4
Medill sophomore Anton Galang is a PLAY writer. He can be reached at [email protected].
