Company of Thieves makes first appearance at Varsity

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By Kaiya Morrison

One ordinary day in Chicago, a young girl named Genevieve Schatz boarded a train without any reason to believe this day would be any different then the prior day. But on this particular day in 2006, rather than riding quietly while independently listening to her iPod, she ended up chatting with a young man named Marc Walloch, whom she had met in passing through a mutual friend.

"We started talking and hit it off immediately," Schatz recalled. "We bonded over the fact that it was hard to be an independent musician in a city as big as Chicago, and how it was hard to find people on the same page to play music with."

A simple conversation inspired a deep friendship, which then became the foundations for the indie rock band, Company of Thieves, who will be performing at the Varsity Theatre on Thursday, July 2.

"We became friends, and one day we had invited some friends over to Marc's apartment," Schatz continued to lament. "One of our friends and I had wrote a song together, so we played it for everyone, and I guess that's when Marc realized I had more potential than he had originally thought. From then on he kept inviting me over and would ask what I thought about things he would write. We sat in this little studio apartment and wrote, and he really helped me add a lot of coloration to the music."

Eventually, the two set out to see if what worked in the apartment would also work on a crowd. They debuted their music in the most simple of fashion.

"I mustered up the courage to play, and we performed at an open mic night at a local coffee shop," Schatz said with a chuckle. "We won them over and also won the tip jar, which was a whole $13, so we ran out after and got ice cream with our big winnings. From then on we just decided to keep doing it."

With the addition of Mike Ortiz on drums, Company of Thieves was born. By fall of 2008, the band signed with the independent label, Windup Records, and have been touring the country ever since in support of their debut album, Ordinary Riches.

"We met so many different labels and then we met the people that were working for them [Windup] and they just really spoke to us because they were truly like a family," Schatz said when explaining why they chose to sign with Windup. "Everyone there has their own personality and are in it for the love of music. They were really open-minded to expanding the types of music on their roster and very real and no bullshit. I can call the owner of the label and he will actually pick up the phone and talk to you. It makes you feel like you have a net underneath you."

Prior to signing with Windup, Company of Thieves had already recorded and self-released Ordinary Riches. Although all of the members had minor experiences with recording in past projects, Schatz said they all learned a great deal.

"We had all messed around with little four-track recorders as a kids, and then worked in little crappy studios before, but this time we learned so much when we went into the studio," she said about the recording process. "I listen back to the album now and it's beautiful because it was a little moment-in-time for me, and it preserves that moment, but vocally, I have learned and grown so much since then. I wish I would have taken more risks then. I do that all the time now with the live shows."

While they continue to grow and experiment through the live show, the album seems to mark a new moment-in-time for Company of Thieves. Finding their way along the seemingly bizarre journey that is being a rock band is mirrored through the underlying theme of the album.

"The whole album is like a mix bag," Schatz explained. "You have songs that have a lot of jazz and blues, and then you have the pop elements. You have rock and soul. It digs into a lot of different areas, musically. Overall, lyrically, I would say it's an array of different feelings. It does feel like a consistent coming of age message."

Company of Thieves will be making their debut performance at the Varsity Theatre in support of The Plain White T's. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show will begin at 9 p.m. Also performing that night will be Days Difference. Tickets to the show are $15.

For more information about Company of Thieves, visit online at CompanyofThieves.net.

Originally Published: Issue 806 - July 1, 2009

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