Band makes a joyful noise

BY DAVID JAKUBIAK | CONTRIBUTOR

For more than a decade, World Class Noise has been rocking Chicago-area venues with a blend of original songs and classics that lead singer Marc Pulido calls "rock 'n' soul."

"It's not rock 'n' roll, it's not R&B and soul," he explained. "It's definitely groove-oriented material, but (it has) the edginess of a lead rock guitar."

Pulido offers Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star," as an example of the type of song his band creates by exploiting the magnitude of sound created by nine players on one stage. The band will bring that sound to the Taste of Grayslake festival at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Every member of the band is needed, Pulido said. Rock 'n' soul requires male and female lead vocals to harmonize with lush background vocals while rhythm and horn sections whip listeners into a bouncing frenzy.

Mission statement

"It's music that's not over-orchestrated by means of synthesizers or overdubbing, but by the actual musicians doing their part, and audibly giving you a nine-piece human mosaic," Pulido says.

The band's full name is World Class Noise Chicago's Finest Soul Band Featuring the Tough Love Horns and Nicki G., which is a testament not only to their size, but also to their mission.

The band was founded in the early '90s with a recipe with parts of the Alan Parker film "The Commitments," a splash of the Blues Brother, and a pinch of Tower of Power and Steely Dan. Since their inception, they've released eight CDs, while building their reputation throughout the Midwest.

But there is sacrifice involved, Pulido said. "The money does not go as far as the acts that are five to seven people. But the common denominator is the love of doing this kind of music a particular way, and our music a particular way."

Living the life

It also requires absolute dedication. The band plays 60 shows a year, and Pulido and his mates require that each one be as well done as possible.

"These are not just guys that do this as a part-time thing. They live this life, we all do. This is our primary means of earning a living. So it means a little bit more to us to get it right than to bands that are just doing it on the weekend."

This type of drive is not for every musician. "We get rid of half of this band almost every year," Pulido said.

But he's always able to rebuild.

Fervor to play

"I go through tons of auditions to find who I want for this band and I don't always go with the obvious choice. This year I went with Dean Anbar, a kid from DePaul University, who was a complete rookie, he'd never played in a big band in his life, he'd never played out. But I can see who's imbued with talent and who is not, I can tell in a heartbeat, and this kid has got it."

Age doesn't matter to Pulido, he said. Neither is where the players are from. The members of World Class Noise range from 19 to 43 years old and they live all over the Chicago area.

But they all have fervor to play.

"The smartest thing about our guys is that we know we're nobody and that's fine with us. That's what keeps us working hard, that's what keeps us hungry and we're going to keep approaching it that way. We'd approach it that way if we had a million dollars in the bank."

Cult following

For their listeners, this means uncompromising rock 'n' soul.

"When you see a World Class Noise show you get not only our music, but you get the idea behind where we started our songs : Earth, Wind & Fire, Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan. ... We write what we write. If other people like it, great. But you can't please everybody. We're not trying to be on "American Idol" or please the middle, mass market of America. The people who buy our records like what we do and we have a nice little cult following."

It's also, he added, pretty fun.

"We have a blast on stage. We laugh, we kid around while we're working. It's like working with all of your best friends from high school that you hoped it could be that great with."

For more information, visit www.worldclassnoise.com.