The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Spare Parts: Redefining their roots

Mike Bruno is driving down the I-94 in Chicago on his way to pick up Spare Parts trumpeter and vocalist, Shane Jonas. An incessant ambulance siren is screaming in the background.

"Man you can really tell we're in Chicago," Bruno said into his cell phone as the ambulance's crescendo fainted. "It'll be nice to get back down to Carbondale."

Spare Parts, one of the most successful and well-known bands to play in Carbondale the last few years, has gone through some changes since its members graduated from SIU.

Troy Brenningmeyer, the band's former guitar player, has parted ways with the other members of the group, but still stays in touch with them. He's moved on to St. Louis and started his own web design company, Troy Tone productions. One of his first projects was designing the band's website (www.sparepartsmusic.com). Brenningmeyer also played at Spare Part's most recent in show in Carbondale at Hangar 9.

The other original bandmates (Kevin Kozol on keyboard and Collin Scott on bass) have all moved to Chicago and are living in Lincoln Park, right next to Depaul University, where they attend graduate school. Even though they have changed locations and schools, playing is still their top priority.

"School is just something to hold us over," Bruno said. "Ultimately, we want to play music."

And they sure have been playing. The band has headlined a lot of gigs up and down the state of Illinois and in Chicago. Some of the Chi-town venues they have played include the Elbo Room, Boulevard Café, the Double Door, Subterranian, Gunther Murphy's and Wise Fool's Pub, which the band frequents the most.

But the members are adamant when they say there is no place to play like Carbondale.

"The crowd is obviously the biggest difference," Bruno said. "Carbondale is our home town and it's always a good turnout. There's always a lot of energy and excited people dancing."

The biggest change in the group was the emergence of the band's new front man, Shane Jonas, who recently had his first trip to SIU country.

"The last time [Jonas] was in Carbondale, he passed out on our friend's porch," Bruno said.

Jonas brings something very new to the band. He runs his trumpet through a multi FX guitar pedal, which can create over 200 sounds including the regular reverb, delay and distortion, but also creates sounds that seem out of this world.

"Usually I try to find something that fits the best with that particular song," Jonas said. "But sometimes I try to find the weirdest sound possible or something that no one has ever heard before. We're all using futuristic sounds."

Jonas has lived in Chicago for three years and currently teaches in the Kellman Corporate Community, an inner city school on the south side of Chicago. He said his love for the kids is the main reason he teaches at the school, but he also enjoys the freedom the job allows him to have.

"When I leave at 3:30, I'm done with school and I have time to concentrate on music with the band," Jonas said.

Still, Jonas uses his work at the school for inspiration.

"I find it really satisfying to know that these kids can build the skills that I did, and enjoy them for a lifetime," he said. "To get the kids to see this is something they can do as a hobby, or job, or a way to pay through college is important."

This was pretty much what Bruno and the other members of Spare Parts did while in Carbondale. Bruno said that in Chicago, the money doesn't even come close to what they pulled in when playing shows during their undergraduate days.

"The money is shit in Chicago," Bruno said. "In Carbondale, the crowd is always huge, and we always get taken care of. In Chicago, all of our friends end up paying us for playing, and even then, the bar skims money off the top. The Bouncers aren't our buddies."

But according to the band, they are building a larger following from Salukis living in Chicago. Many of those fans are wondering when a new album is in the works, but the group is still in the process of recording.

"We have enough for about two CDs right now," Bruno said. "We just have to find the funds and select which tracks we want to put down. We're just recording in our basement and filtering out what we like and what we don't."

For Bruno and Jonas, as well as the future is looking bright, even among the countless bands playing in Chicago. For now, the guys will take any kind of praise they can, and with the addition of Jonas smooth lyrics they have come across some pretty nice praise.

" A lot of musicians try to stay artistically focused, and write for themselves," Bruno said.

"But sometimes you have to write songs for the ladies, because they're a large part of our show."

No matter who is in the crowd, Spare Parts is going to rock their worlds.

"We're just going to keep playing," Bruno said. "And our stay in Chicago in neither indefinite or permanent. We're going to make it somewhere."

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