Strung Out Episode 224. JOE LANASA AND THE FULTON STREET COLLECTIVE

In this episode of Strung Out, host Martin Laurence McCormack invites back singer-songwriter and artistic entrepreneur Joe Lanasa. Recorded in the great room of the Fulton Street Collective, Marty and Joe discuss the founding and evolution of the artist cooperative, the impact of creativity, and the vibrant community in the West Loop of Chicago. Joe shares the story of Fulton Street Collective's origins, its mission to incubate artists, and plans for future growth. The episode also features Joel performing two of his songs, followed by a conversation with visual artist Karen Parisian about her experience as one of the collective's founding members. Tune in for an inspiring look at the power of artistic collaboration and community.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer, and musician, Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty. Hey, great to have you with us and welcome to our second podcast with singer songwriter. And as I said, in the way of describing them in the first part podcast, an artistic entrepreneur, Joel Anassa, and, uh, As you can see from this wide angle shot that we are in the great room of the Fulton Street Collective and we're going to get to that.

[00:00:39] We're going to talk to the Joe about how he, uh, helped found, uh, found this, uh, Fulton Street Collective, which, uh, is not on Fulton Street, which always is kind of interesting. And so there's a story there too. But, uh, before we get to it, we always like to hear on the podcast, uh, you jump right in and play a song and you did three great songs on the last podcast.

[00:01:04] Can you give us another song right now? Uh, sure.

[00:01:28] You.

[00:01:35] The sweet, sweet lips that love me just the same. Wipe them out, that inattitude, that never let him down. Until a shipwreck caught up with him, he never made a sound. Inside me, a sharpened tongue, and I'm struck down in pain. Just like me, just like me.

[00:02:05] It's just memories playing tricks on me again. And I was playing guitar before I ever fell in love. You kissed me with your sweet, sweet lips like an angel from above. Every

[00:02:29] song I sing, I can hear you whispering now. On the chorus like an angel who has spread her wings. Hey! Hey! Every song I sing, I can hear your voice ringing out On a chorus like an angel who has spread her wings

[00:02:58] As he cries out I'm alone. I worry for you, she says. She doesn't know that I came home and saw what you did that night. Johnny still checks in on me, but he always acts surprised. He finds out that twenty years later Yeah, I think the first time that I tried it sure won't be the last cause each time brings back everyone that happened in the past.

[00:03:35] And I was playing guitar tonight. I'm fine.

[00:03:44] You kissed me with your sweet, sweet lips like an angel. Every song I sing, I can hear your voice ringing out on the chorus like an angel who has spread her wings. Every song I sing, I can hear your voice ringing out.

[00:04:18] The chorus like an angel has spread her wings.

[00:04:33] That's the title of that one. And, um, so we're in this space and not every artist has the kind of vision to decide. Oh, I'm just going to put together a big cooperative. I know of some artists that have done this, um, but not in this fashion. And, uh, I would like you to just tell us, you know, how, what happened here?

[00:05:01] Uh, what do you mean? Like you, you're asking like how it started. Yeah. What, what, what got you into this? This is a huge thing. Well, uh, thanks for asking. Um, should I be looking at the camera? You can look at me, you can look at the camera. Ha ha ha ha ha! Every so often look at them because they're the people that are gonna be buying your stuff.

[00:05:26] Go ahead. Alright, so the Fulton Street Collective started in 2002. Okay. And it started because my dear friend Anna Fermat It wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Anna. It was her idea. Um, I was right in there with it. You know, I was all for it. We used to, we're both singer songwriters in the Chicago area. We had the same, um, manager, this woman named Janine.

[00:05:52] Who, I don't know if you know her or not, but wonderful, wonderful person. We grew up with, yeah, switch back to Janine Porter as well. Yeah, Janine Porter, I love you, and I'll always be grateful to you. And, um And all the people back then. But anyway, we were managed by Janine. Janine gave us a corner space in her, uh, building, which is on Fulton Street, Fulton and Damon.

[00:06:14] And, uh, we rehearsed there. Then Janine and Don, her partner, decided to move away to the great Northwest, Washington state, right? Yeah. Neah Bay, uh, area. Yeah. I had never been there, unfortunately, but anyway, they went there. We had nothing but love for them. And they were kind of hippie type in that they left their existing print shop business to a bunch of other people.

[00:06:38] And my understanding was that those, those folks that they left it to kind of drove it into the ground. One day, Anna and I, who were the two people most often using this Corners studio, music studio space, were told that we were going to have to leave after the month. After the end of the month, because the, uh, the lease was up, or not the lease was up, but the business was just going out of business, and so we were going to have to leave.

[00:07:01] And we were like, what's going on here? So then we checked into it, we found out that Janine was getting stuck with this contract with the building. Oh wow. And, we were, we were going to lose our rehearsal space. Plus, that in combination with Anna and I are always talking about, you know, frustration about, you know, what you can do to make a difference in the world and everything.

[00:07:20] Yeah. And one thing we all agreed on was that it's pretty hopeless, like we're not gonna, neither of us is gonna want to be a politician and change the world in that way, but we agreed that creativity that's in everybody is something that makes a difference. Sure. We also believed in doing You know, being realistic and doing only what we thought we could do a lot, like everybody could do their part.

[00:07:46] And even though it seems like a really tiny part, if everybody in the world did what they could do, even though it's a tiny little part, then you can affect positive change. And so, we founded the Fulton Street Collective on that concept. And we just thought, We'll incubate artists and creative people.

[00:08:08] We'll create an incubator for artists. So we started out with just renting them space in the building that Janine and Don had there. And then we outgrew that because it was something that the community needed. We're here in the West Loop. Right where I'm speaking from now is only a block away from that, the original spot.

[00:08:26] And, um, you know, the neighborhood needs a Chicago. All the communities north, south, east, and west of us need an outlet for the creative expression. And so we expanded from the number of studios, we expanded to the third floor, and then we eventually moved to a different building, a more artist friendly building.

[00:08:46] And we expanded to become where it was more about the programming and the incubation of artists, more than just renting out studios. So did the artists, uh, find you in Anna? And, uh, by the way, uh, Anna Furman is a singer songwriter extraordinaire. Originally from the Racine, Kenosha area, but Chicago, Chicago for sure, and, uh, I think now in Portugal.

[00:09:11] So, uh, but unfortunate, um, she didn't give permission to use her name on this show reader, but, oh, I'm sure she won't mind. She'll be fine. , she serves the credit for it. She right, she was, it wouldn't exist without her. There you go, Anna. She then went to have, have children with her awesome husband, Wally, and, um, decided to get out of the business Ful Street Collective.

[00:09:32] So I, you know, you know, uh, bought her half of it and continued with the idea and the concept and still alive today, 20 something years later. So we're very happy about that and I believe we are accomplishing our mission, but we have a long way to go yet. Um, we feel like we're still just in one location in Chicago.

[00:09:50] Our dream is to make this a template for others and have other, more participation and incubate as many artists, crank out as many artists as we can. Okay. You, you say your, your dream and our mission, um, who's, who's sharing that, uh, dream and mission with you these days at the collective? Is there a board of directors?

[00:10:12] Is there a bunch of fellow, uh, or, or are you the big kahuna? Um, Right now I'm the only owner of the business, but I think that this dream is shared by many of the artists who are here, and certainly the staff that are here. My job is to make sure that the staff, and we have a, we have an ever growing staff, you know, there's people who coordinate the events and coordinate the membership.

[00:10:37] It's a membership based organization. And, We all have this dream, any one of them can tell you the story of our mission, which is to cultivate and incubate artists and creativity. And, uh, these artists, how did they, how did they find you? I mean, is it word of mouth? Is it, uh, Because you have, how many artists do you have now?

[00:11:02] You're talking visual artists, talking entertainers, right? Visual and performing arts. Any kind of art form at all is welcome here. Wow. You know, we have studios, and I think the most valuable thing that we have is our programming. You know, we have programming that gives artists a place to express themselves.

[00:11:19] There's shows, there's a show up on the wall here. This is a show for, big show. There will probably be hundreds of people coming through this space tomorrow. Um, which is, you know, I miss, I say it, is, is October, Friday, October 4th. Well, this will air afterwards, but, uh, what is the website of the Fulton Street Collective?

[00:11:40] It's spelled out all the way, Fultonstreetcollective. com. Dot com. So, by the time you're watching this, uh, this, this exhibit will be gone, but there'll be other ones coming through. And there's also performances all the time here. Constantly. Um. Um, three, four, five nights a week there are musical performances, but they're all combination, um, different media.

[00:12:04] So, while a band is playing, and we're world, literally world famous for our jazz performances, thanks to, um, Chris Anderson, our, our, uh, jazz, um, event coordinator. Um, While there's a, a, a performing artist show going on, there's always a visual artist show on the walls, and there's always one or two artists who are actually painting the, the performance live.

[00:12:30] Oh wow! So that way, all members, so every, everyone's a member, and if you're a member of the Film Street Collective, you have all those opportunities. To perform and to express your creativity. When a person joins a collective, is, uh, is there some sort of, uh, work involved as far as like, do you have to work for the collective?

[00:12:52] Do you have rent to pay? Uh, just describe briefly just the, the nuts and bolts of running a collective. Because, This is, this is pretty phenomenal. You have a space, you have all this art, you have a staff, you have a bunch of artists, visual and performing, you know, how does this thing run? This is, you know, how's it financed?

[00:13:15] If you don't mind my asking. Well, it's not easy, I'll say that. First, first let me explain from the artist's perspective, from the member's perspective. Okay. Again, if we're, we're consciously set up as a membership model, So the members, in theory, the members pay for the, the collective to be here. Um, you can be a member for as little as 25 a month.

[00:13:39] And, um, it's, you sign up, just go to our website, it's all online, you just sign up and, you know, and you're a member. And for 25 a month you can participate in all of our programming. Um, other people pay more to have a physical space, a physical studio. You know, so, and those are always. Limited physical limitations are, are, are our biggest limitation, but that's what it's like for the member, for the artist perspective.

[00:14:06] To be a part of, of this programming, all these things, and literally we do at least four performing, um, shows per week. Um, we do the shows that are on the walls, the artistic shows like this, we do one or two of those per month. You know, and you have to be a member to, to participate. And, um, Those are open to these.

[00:14:26] I'm talking about performances that are open to the public. So you'll get to your work exposed. And then we also have our website. You have the ability to have your own work in your own private space on the website, and you can sell your work through that as well as, you know, all your other outlets, you know, like Etsy and all that stuff.

[00:14:43] But, uh, we're developing those, those, those benefits all the time and trying to make them more valuable so that it's more valuable to be a member because our goal is to make. You know, to, to, to crank out as many artists as we can. We want it to be worldwide, you know, we want, we think that that can change the world.

[00:15:03] We believe that it can change the world. We believe that it's what we can do. It's our part. And so, you know, that's what our dream is. One of the things I've always kind of felt about Chicago is that, uh, it's, it's a big town, uh, artists themselves, uh, kind of run in different circles and like, so It sounds like what you've done is you've created kind of a unifying center to bring in different kind of artists.

[00:15:31] Are you finding people coming to Chicago to be part of the collective? I would say that that is true about the jazz performers, that they hear about us because our shows are, um, select ones are broadcast live and other ones are just recorded and they're all on our YouTube channel, the Folklore Collective YouTube channel.

[00:15:52] So they see us there, you see the level of performers, world class, they're some of the best musicians in the world who play there. So, other people want to be here and perform here for that reason. And then you have the visual artists who want to be a part of that scene, because it really is cool. I mean, looking around you can see it's a pretty cool place.

[00:16:10] And, our idea is to set this location as a template, and then have more locations so that a membership gives you access to all of those physical locations. so much. What I don't hear you saying, which I find kind of refreshing in a way, is that you're not looking for some sort of grant or city handout or something.

[00:16:31] You sound pretty independent. Is that true or are you looking for government help? Well, it is true. We have never, we have hardly ever received grants or anything from the government. Um, it's not an avenue we necessarily want to take. Uh, are seeking and not that there's anything wrong with that for organizations that do.

[00:16:54] We have not, we do accept donations at everything. Donation, uh, um, um, you know, uh. Tip chart? Yeah, the tip chart. I thought I saw a donation thing. Tip charts have been replaced by QR codes. QR codes, okay. They're everywhere on the walls. Everywhere. So you can always donate. Every performance and everything.

[00:17:15] But, um, right now we're, we're still, we need, we have a lot of things to do that we need to improve. And one of them is being, you know, Um, somehow forming a relationship with the philanthropic community so that we do get that kind of help because we, we are not a profitable company. You know, we, we, we generally break even or lose money and we need to do a better job.

[00:17:40] Are you a 5013C or is that? We're not yet. We're always thinking about it, but we always thought that we wanted to maintain independence and not be dependent upon donations. And so, did not ever do that. We may in the future, but we do need to do a better job of just connecting with people who want to support the arts.

[00:18:02] And we're, we just need help. We're all people, all of us are people who have other jobs and who, you know, work really hard. Doing this because we love it. Nobody's doing this to make money, and nobody is making money. Well, you're keeping in the, uh, the tradition that, uh, really, uh, Don and Janine, uh, the Hammerquist, uh, you know, uh, uh, Don Hammerquist, Janine Porter, instilled in a lot of us, uh, back in the day of, of, uh, just do it, kind of, and, you know, and don't rely on the system.

[00:18:36] I think that's a very, I was going to say that's a very Chicago thing, but I really think in some ways it was a very Don and Janine thing. They're kind of, uh, part of that 1960s anarchist kind of, uh, you know, down with the man kind of thing. So I think, uh, I always loved that about her. And, uh, I want you to think of a song to play, and then what we're going to do is we're going to, uh, We're going to talk to one of the artists that's working here in her studio.

[00:19:03] We'll walk the camera over there and bug her and then, uh, and then we'll come up and wrap up this with, uh, Joe playing one more song. So do you have a, do you have another song in the vast arsenal of La Nasa music? Sure. Okay. What do you, what do you want to play for us? Um, not sure which would be most appropriate.

[00:19:23] Anything inspired by the collective. Everything is kind of, uh, aligned with the mission of the collective. Okay. So, maybe I'll sing something that's inspired by Uh, or as a tip of the hat to Marty Robbins. We started in the last podcast, talked about one of my childhood influences when I was five years old, going to a Marty Robbins concert.

[00:19:46] So I can think of a song where I kind of do an homage thing subtly, which no one else in the world would frickin know. But, uh, That's great. You might realize if you knew Marty Robbins. Oh, well, I love Marty Robbins. And I just, I just think I love the fact that you have that connection to Marty Robbins. So let's listen.

[00:20:05] What's the name of this, this Marty Robbins homage. That song is called friendship. Never dies. Friendship. Never dies. Joe Lanasa.

[00:21:07] I don't know about tomorrow, but tonight's the yawn. Oh yeah, it can't be. Business got no time for romance, it's heartbreak. So if I could

[00:21:42] fuck a man in

[00:21:50] Pull up to the fortress of a house in everything style. It's all around me, but the devil's close behind. Second city music on my mind. I got my band, my boys beside me, And I love that I never die.

[00:22:25] Nitrogeny flashing before my eyes Suddenly I see FBI looking on me Johnny takes a bow, but just with one shot Air explodes, gunfire, I hear sirens and I see stars

[00:22:59] And I'm pain in my chest As a bullet drips my heart Angels all around me And the devil's close behind Second city music on my mind

[00:23:25] Years then I heard You're bleeding bad man, I think I've heard Johnny whispers, cause he fell across my chest Brothers we are forever, we are together as he died But never were we ever more alive We are forever

[00:23:56] We are together as we die, ever we evermore.

[00:24:23] Hello, this is Polly Chase presenting artwork by Martin McCormick. This painting, titled Dude, features a mountain range that holds a special place in Marty's heart. On the canvas, which measures 20 by 24, we see the Tetons rising in the hazy distance of a view from an abandoned dude ranch just outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

[00:24:48] Near Marty's parents old place, the cool blues and violets of the background complement the buttery yellow foreground. These colors pass the viewer's attention back and forth along the horizontal plane, while the decaying Model T sinks into that scrubby landscape from which the majestic peaks punch upward along the vertical plane.

[00:25:14] It's a quiet yet very moving scene, both artistically and visually. and emotionally. It pulls the imagination into a human story waiting to be told, one witnessed by rock that is millions of years old. To explore this painting and more of Marty's artwork, go to martinmccormick. com. Hey, we're back and,

[00:25:42] uh, I'm strung out and I am a visual artist here at Karen Parisian. And thank you so much for being on this, uh, yeah, the last minute. Nothing like spontaneity. Nothing like spontaneity. Tell, tell us a little bit, uh, how long have you been here at the Collective? How did you get into it? And what do you think about it?

[00:26:02] Yeah, well, how long? A really long time ago, like, one of the founding members. Um, a friend of mine, Molly Maru from India was looking for a studio mate in a studio. I knew Anna Furman, who was one of the original founders with Joe and sort of happened into it. And honestly, like it over time, the concept was to create an incubator for artists.

[00:26:28] Is that what you say? Um, and the evolution of time. So I didn't answer your question. I don't even know how many years ago. Well, we started in 2002, so 22 years ago. So 22 years ago. Yeah, and Kevin was one of the absolute first members, I think. Yeah. And you were the first, like, two members. Yeah, yeah. First few, and when, when Anna was still part of the collective.

[00:26:52] Yeah. Well, that's, you know, and you, you followed it from over on Golden Street over to here and Correct. Yeah. Took a little short leave to another space, but ended up back here. Joe was gracious enough to have me come back and happen to have an extra space. But the whole concept was really to give artists a starting point in a space and a place to collaborate but also to be able to, you know, work our trade and be creative.

[00:27:22] And, um, over the 22 years my art career, and I can actually say career at this point, it wasn't really considered a career when I first started. I'm also an art therapist. So that was more my bread and butter. Uh, but over the years I've sort of tapered, I'm still doing art therapy, I have a private practice, but I've tapered off of the art therapy and I'm focusing more on my own creative process and have been doing great.

[00:27:49] I have made some new connections and galleries and I, um, show my work at the South Loop Block and I've had a lot of great Um, momentum there with both their partnership and just being able to create here. And what's the advantage of being in a co op? That's right. Is it that you're out of your house, you have like this?

[00:28:13] Yes. Okay. Yes, for sure. Out of the house because there's so many distractions and then in the studio, it's great to have alone time and just sort of focus in on what you need to in terms of So just tuning into your own process, but then also like we can get too much in our head. And so having other artists around to help reflect and be like, you know, Hey, what do you think?

[00:28:35] And just giving some critique and interaction and just feeling the camaraderie of other creatives is really what we're just created for.

[00:28:48] Interaction and support. Tell me a little bit about your art. It looks like you're dealing with a timer. You've got the same timer I have. Um, you deal with acrylics. It looks like a lot of abstract, right? Yeah, so I tend to start with sort of this figurative element and then break it down. Um, shapes, lines, and sort of pushing some color variations.

[00:29:15] Now, um, I add a lot of texture. I usually put a ground down first of like some sort of compound. Mm-Hmm , whether it's like a plaster compound or mixing sand into the geso to give it some grit and sort of a rawness to it. Fun. And then build up from there. Play around with color. A lot of iterations, you know, my studio mate's not here, but she will contest, she'll walk in the next day and be like, is that the same painting?

[00:29:41] It's like, yeah, it is, or not, it's not the same thing, but it's the same process. It's the same starting point. So, a lot of just, um, being in it and sort of trusting the process, which can be a challenge at times, you just sort of want to have. Our head and know what's happening and oftentimes we don't well, how can people, uh, how can people buy your art?

[00:30:04] Do you have a website? I do. Can you, can you, uh, you know, be shameless and tell me? Absolutely. Um, karenparisian. com. Um, and I'm also on Instagram as kparisianstudio. And, um, we have an open house tomorrow night. Right. Right. Those are always wonderful. Just people in and out and great other creatives coming and going.

[00:30:30] I'll ask you just two more quick questions. The first question is, as an artist that does visual myself, how do you know when it's done? Never. Ha ha ha ha ha! That's an honest answer. And then, uh, if you hit it to, Do this all over again. Would you be a member of a co op and, you know, what, why, what is the biggest thing you've come away with from this thing?

[00:31:00] Yeah, I mean, yes, easy answer there too. I mean, just, it's so easy to get isolated and just get in our own headspace. And we just having those interactions, I think are vital to. Humanity, really, you know, we need other people. We need that friendship and that creative vibe and vitality to really keep things going.

[00:31:26] Being an artist can be very lonely. Yes, I do. I think, you know, that's probably the hardest thing is wondering, do I matter in this world, right? Yeah. So, I'm assuming being part of a cooperative, at least you can see everybody else in the same struggle you're in. Absolutely. We are a small army. Yes, normalizes the struggle.

[00:31:49] It's like, I'm not the only one who, you know. It's getting stuck or it needs a little interaction to figure it out. Well, Karen, I'm going to let you get back to your art. Thank you. And I want to so much. Well, actually, I think it's done. Speaking of. It is done. It is finished. What are you calling this one?

[00:32:08] Today, it's done. What is the name of this piece? Um, I haven't titled it yet. Well, good job, man. You guys like, you know, I don't know what the name of this song is, but maybe that's a, maybe you guys are onto something. What do you think when you look at it? Um. Um. Boy, I don't know. I, um, I don't know. I think those, that's one of those things where I have to sit with it for a while, you know?

[00:32:31] But, uh, if you know anybody, you can always, uh, contact us through Strung Out and we will let, we'll let Karen know. So, uh, great. We're running out of time so quickly on this, uh, podcast talking about the Fulton Street Collective. We'll have to come back and do, uh, another follow up as time permits. Thanks, bud.

[00:32:51] There's always time for one more song, Joe, and so what do you got? Um, all right, I'll play a kind of a love song.

[00:33:00] What's it called? I'll tell you at the end of the song. I'll tell you at the end of the song. No, that's not the title. Go, Joe Larraza. When I watch you sleep sometimes I hear you Make me scream sometimes I hear you call my name And I see you smile

[00:33:22] While I watch you sleep, sometimes I hear you call my name. Sometimes I hear you call my name, then I hear you smile.

[00:33:37] I've got no secrets worth keeping from you. You've told me everything, don't pay for the truth. Now I'll never want another one but you.

[00:34:07] When I hold your hand, I'm no ordinary man. There are no problems you and I can overcome.

[00:34:20] When I kiss your lips, I feel like one with the universe. I feel a lifting of the curses of my birth. I feel a lifting of the curses of my birth.

[00:34:34] I've got no secrets worth keeping from you. You've told me everything, though painful the truth. Now I'll never love another one but you.

[00:35:04] Whenever we're apart, I feel this burden in my heart. I want cry out in the dark baby. Please come on.

[00:35:17] My body's ours. One. You hold me deeply as we come and our eyes connect our souls full more.

[00:35:31] I've got no secrets working from you. You told me everything. No painful truth. Now I'll never love another one but you.

[00:36:04] Saving your best song for the last. What a, what a real musician. Hey man, I want to thank you so much and thank you for what you're doing for the art community as a whole. And, uh, you're, you're, you're amazing. You're living, you're a living example of what it means to be a true artist. And I want to thank you folks, and uh, hopefully you're inspired by Joe, and what he's doing, and uh, till next week.

[00:36:31] We'll see you guys later, okay? Bye bye. Thank you. Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit martin mccormack.com. While there, sign up for our newsletter. See you next time on Strung Out.

[00:36:53] So thing we feel makes no sense at all. The Swan song, what's a part of the deal was no good Call. Giving Out Choice, giving out that.