They feed off each other, they inspire each other, and they enjoy making music together. The three friends who make up the local band Paper Parlor may be young, but already have their goals set high.
This week, Paper Parlor, which consists of Kirdan Wenger, 19; Wilson Johnson, 18; and Judah Chezick, 21, will be taking the stage twice: tonight during the teen dance at the International House of Bowling and Friday at The Sanford Center in Bemidji to kick off the Bemidji State University men’s hockey season.
While playing local shows like tonight’s is something the group always intends to do, Wenger said traveling out of town for a gig is always exciting.
“We’re pretty excited to play the hockey opener,” he said of Friday’s show. “Judah goes to BSU, so he’s been really influential in that area, adding to the fan base and promoting the show. We also have a friend who put some of our music on the radio down there. The crowd at BSU can expect a pretty energetic show from us. Real, straightforward music.”
Paper Parlor merged into the local music scene in the spring of 2010 when Wenger and Johnson began writing acoustic music. In January of 2011, the two friends recorded their first studio song and released it later in April.
“When we decided to start playing more shows that summer, we asked Judah to join us on drums, and he’s been with the group since,” Wenger said.
Wenger, who does vocals and plays guitar and piano for the group, said naming the band Paper Parlor came out of a brainstorm from himself and Johnson, who plays bass guitar.
“We were kind of just digging through different words,” he said. “Wilson liked ‘paper,’ and I liked ‘parlor.’”
He explained that putting the two words together represents what the group does with their music — the freedom to write and speak what comes to mind.
Paper Parlor plays a mixture of genres.
“When we started playing it was really chill, folky kinds of music — all on acoustic guitars,” Wenger told The Journal. “We still play some of that, but we’ve definitely acquired an indie-rock vibe. A lot of our new music is far more up beat than music you’ll hear from our first recordings.”
Like most bands starting out, Paper Parlor says one of its biggest struggles has been booking appearances. Wenger said his friendship with Coffee Landing owner Stephanie Heinle has helped with playing shows at the cafe, but “it was pretty difficult to get any other gigs,” he said.
And even though the band went without pay at a few summer music festivals last year, Wenger said the experience was “absolutely worth it.”
For now, Paper Parlor keeps its future goals pretty simple at continuing to make music. Wenger said the band is working on releasing a new single which will be available in January.
“In the future we’d like to extend our fan base, get our music out to a broader audience,” he added. “If the time comes where that would mean signing a record deal, we’d probably go that direction if it were the right step. For now, we’re plugging away, and it’s working pretty well.”
As for their friendship, Wenger said the three musicians have grown as friends and as a group.
“I think we’re all closer friends than before, which is great,” he said. “We’ve shared some crazy experiences together, I think it’s the kind of stuff you tell your kids about when you’re older. Musically, we’ve grown a lot. Our songs are far more polished and dynamic than when we started. I think we’re all really enjoying seeing our music move forward.”
To listen to Paper Parlor’s latest single, “Eyes,” visit www.purevolume.com/paperparlor.
