Living in Illinois, one generally has to travel to Chicago to access exceptional tiers of entertainment. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to let loose with fellow electronica enthusiasts and enjoy a well organized and produced presentation outside the city. Generally, you find yourself at a friend’s house listening to playlists and chilling. Better case, if you’re lucky, one of the homies has got a basement and some decks for mixing tracks and a TV or projector + screen for displaying visual elements. Both these can be fun, but it’s not the same as adventuring out among the EDM community and enjoying DJs and producers expertly displaying their craft.
Thankfully, Josh Denson and the factions he represents through Suburban Sound Syndicate have heard the people’s cries, answering with a number of excellent experiences held at locations in the Northwest suburbs. One such event, Syndicate Sound Sessions 005, drew my attention almost immediately with a stacked lineup of talent. This was a production I wasn’t going to miss, and it was virtually only a town away.
I was right to be excited. Held on July 27, 2024, at Rookies Rochaus in West Dundee, IL, this lineup boasted a bevy of talent. Alejo and BoggDogg are well recognized within the EDM sphere, and I’d soon come to find out, every other performer from this night is a star in their own right. Every single performance built on the one before, adding to an ardent atmosphere that was a truly incredible spectacle. Plus I didn’t have to wade through over an hour’s commute and traffic. For this occasion, I was blessed with less than half-an-hour’s drive, and parking was easy to find. Without a doubt, I enjoyed every aspect of this concert. Tons of thought and preparation went into making sure everything was up to code and all aspects were executed with poise and aplomb.
Before I describe the performers, let me depict the layout of this location, first. Rookie’s Rochaus is a beautiful place to host an engagement. The musical presentations offered through this venue span a wide gamut, country and rock are staples, and knowing they also support our eccentric electronic community is a blessing. There are restaurants and ice cream parlors within walking distance, and an arcade sits right across the street. Literally, you can plan an entire day of festivities around a concert. A bridge spans the Fox River, offering a beautiful vista to accompany a walk should you need a breather. Adjacent to the building is a shared parking lot, and another one sits across the street behind the arcade.
The entrance to Rookie’s Rochaus is marked by a theater facade advertising upcoming concerts, events, and shows. Entering tonight, I was greeted by two friendly faces handling admission. Beside them sat a table manned by representatives, and friends of mine, Cody and Taylor Puch, for harm reduction organization Live4Lali. Across from their station, one can grab a refreshing beverage at the bar from pleasant and polite bartenders. Adjacent the bar were stationed visual maestros, laser and visual jockeys, along with a couple of cushy chairs for chilling. Two stairwells on either side lead down to the main chamber for congregating and dancing in front of the stage.
The stage is the main attraction. Both flanks of this communal space were populated with live painters. Dakota Rogers and Alyssa Alyona painted along the right side wall. Tom Loranz and The Whimsical Libra worked the left side. The stage was equipped with every professional aspect you’d expect an elite presentation to have. A top tier Funktion-One sound system provided by Sub Valley Sound, and joined by Soundsystem Cultures LLC. Add in an expansive screen for displaying visual elements along with Laser tech from Deep Frequency Corp, and industry standard Pioneer CDJ3000s courtesy of Slow Burn and Taylor Aesthetics. I’m fairly confident Floating Sea brought his own setup of keyboards, synthesizers and midi controllers for his innovative performance, and it goes to show the depth and scope of everything that was considered for this show. Lining the front of the stage were a variety of plants, to which I contributed my own. Tonight would be a jungle of sound we’re all blessed to attest. The scenery was set to reflect that. A set of double doors to the right of the stage leads outside to a smoking area, and a couple of food and beverage vendors. Here, I met Jesse Albuquerque, owner of Jesse’s Gelato, and enjoyed a serving of some of the best damn gelato I’ve ever tasted in my life!
This is only the first floor of entertainment. From time to time, I look upwards towards ceilings and skies. As my eyes gazed at the pavilion above, I noticed a balcony space. Krush Turtle happened to be standing right next to me, so I inquired what was up there, and whether I was allowed to explore. He not only told me that I was permitted to investigate, but that it was my journalistic duty to report my findings. Well played, Krush! A ramp to the left of the bar provided access to bathrooms and a stairwell to upper floors. Noice, I’m headed to the next level!
Midway to the top of the staircase, an inlet to the left led to a balcony space hosting vendors and some comfy seating, complete with a hammock and stand. This would become one of my favorite spaces to sit and write, throughout the night. It offers an exceptional view of the action and stage below. Its’ ceiling was decorated with string, and adorned with 3D printed mushroom lights. Myself and Deep Frequency Corp, aka Jerry Snackman, relaxed in comfortable leather chairs and couches as we caught up a bit.
Before long, we were approached by an energetic and intelligent young man, Josh Melfi, whose conduct and demeanor was nothing short of pleasant and polite. Josh is the owner and operator of one of the vendors set up along the far left wall. His businesses name is WeMakeThings3D, and he is a man full of innovative ideas. As we chatted, he exhibited to us some of his unique 3D printed creations. Fashioned to his person were enthralling items, Shenron the Dragon upon his shoulder attached using magnets, and a reptillian tail hanging from his backside connected via a 3D printed system he designed himself. Stellar. I asked about the decoration of the floor we currently inhabited and Josh contributed that he was the curator of this exceptional space. Wonderful! I let him know I was going to jot down a few notes in my journal concerning the night thus far, and he provided for me one of his 3D printed mushroom lights, of which I would purchase later on along with an exclusively made for this event item, a Suburband Sound Syndicate fan. We ended up chatting for a bit towards the end of the night, and I’m going to present excerpts from our conversation, after I share this entry I made into my journal while Floating Sea played in the background.
“Writing by mushlight, I found an enchanting second level. Would you like to play a game? The rules are fair and simple, so let’s add complexity. Floating Sea synthesizes an ocean of sound. An inventor shows his creations before me and has curated a beautiful space. Lights of various shapes on display. Mushrooms, diamonds, tetrahedron, hexa, octa, dodecah, icosah, and there’s even a bear tangled in string hanging from the ceiling. Is that a reflection of myself? Of course, I love a top-down view. Third-person action adventure, Uncharted, too, the best. This is a professional event. There is no doubt about it. Herr Denson hath called out to spirit warriors, and we have come to reinforce. Gently. Floating Sea tells me the same set has never been played twice, by his hands. Remarkable talent, all about. This comfortable chair and welcoming space chases away any need to shout. Dragon tamer Josh innovates.”
Now, let me share some quotations from my conversation with Josh Melfi. I started by asking him when he got into 3D printing.
“Freshman year of high school, I took engineering classes at Niles West. I got into technical drafting. Second semester, we got our hands on a 3D printer, and I fell in love with it. It was the coolest technology that I had seen. As a kid I used to play with Legos and loved to build stuff. Now, I finally had the ability to design something on a computer and then actually have a machine make it! In 2013, before I even had a car, I bought a printer, which my mom was not happy about. I still have that printer to this day. Some of the mushroom stems that you saw hanging were actually made on that machine, this week.”
We got to talking about some of the first items he ever printed. Josh has a big heart, you can tell he cares about the people he spends time around. He shared this story about how he helped a coworker kick a bad habit.
“The first practical design I ever made was the Single Cigarette Stasher, the SCS, and that was because one of my coworker smoked, like a whole pack of cigarettes a day, and I didn’t want him to die. He was like, ‘That’s a cute idea, but I need a couple more than that.’ How about three? He said, ‘Fine, we’ll do three.’ So I made a triple version of it that had a sliding cap on top. I gave it to him. Now [he] can only bring three cigarettes a day. Two weeks later, he’s down to one cigarette a day. Six months later, he had quit after being a habitual smoker for over a decade.”
After Josh contributed this heartwarming story, I began to sense he envisions creating 3D printed solutions to solve pitfalls. Can we alleviate human suffering with this technology? Through a focused community commited to tackling global issues, it’s possible. I asked if these ideas were central to his focus.
“One hundred percent. I want to get more people involved. Why not have people who make designs create a conglomerate where we can all share ideas, sell ideas, and improve on those ideas? I would love to have my ideas sent around the world and help other people. If I can design a valve that can be 3D printed in Rwanda to help them move water, why not make that technology available for everyone to download and use instead of printing it here, and shipping it halfway across the world. I’d rather have someone in Africa printing those parts, really quickly. I actually taught a kid in Belgium how to use AutoCAD over the course of three days, and maybe fifteen hours total. AutoCAD is the program that I use, and that Halloween, he was making Minecraft related prints and selling them. The first thing we made together was a coaster for his parents that said, ‘It’s the universal language of love.’ His parents are deaf, and the first thing he made was an ‘I Love You’ coaster.”
His motivations, as well as his actions really touched me. As this was an event that was populated and produced by many who are part of Josh Denson’s closely assembled company, I asked Josh Melfi how he came to be part of this syndicate.
“I went to high school with this guy named Ricky Havensek. He runs The III (third) Studios. He is friends with Josh Denson, who threw this event around this time last year. Ricky had a show down in Base Camp, it’s a bar in Illinois. He was like, ‘You want to come out, vend, and bring some of your 3D printed stuff?’ Two years ago, I worked a music festival, Sugar Creek Music Fest, down towards the southern tip of Illinois. I was asked to build an art installation. I only had thirty mushrooms and some of the platonic solids that you had seen hanging in there [the second floor space he prepared specially for this night]. They’re like, ‘Just bring whatever you can’. It was amazing, it was the talk of the town. There were two sides of the music fest, a country side and an EDM side. We had people from the country side walking over, ‘We heard there’s some electronic mushrooms over here. Where they at?’ They would go back, get their friends, and come back. It was so cool, because there’s people who had never seen anything like this.
Ricky got me in touch with Josh. He’s like, ‘My buddy’s putting on a show at a skatepark. You want to come out and do your stuff again?’ For sure, why not? I did that show for free, just to show him what I could do. And [Josh] is like, ‘Next one, we’re paying you. We’re gonna have you do setups,’ and the rest is history. I’ve been with Josh Denson for over a year. We’ve done seven shows together.”
I’ll finish with what I asked Josh about his motivations. What is it that fuels his drive on a daily basis? He’s a fan of Albus Dumbledore, you’ll find his quotes throughout his WeMakeThings3D website. He shared a paraphrase of his favorite with me to conclude our chat. “Help will always be given to those who ask for it.”
“My dad left us about a year ago. My mom, whenever she’s like, ‘Hey, I need this thing made,’ I’m always the one to make it. When she, or when people ask for help, I’m always going to offer to do it. I think making yourself available to go help people is what’s most important. I think whenever you can, help people. Be kind. It costs $0 to make someone’s day. Hold the door for strangers. Don’t be a dick. Use your turn signal when driving a car. Just be kind.”
Josh is a sensational young man with a kind heart. I want to thank him for his warmth, openness, and giving me the opportunity to speak with him. I’m better for it, and our community is stronger because of efforts like his. Y’know what else is strong? The lineup of performers from this night! I mentioned Floating Sea and Krush Turtle, already, but let me start at the beginning, and provide you some of my perceptions.
The night began with Harmonic Waves: Gongwash Sound Healing, an entity founded by Simon Jay. This was a presentation unlike anything I’d witnessed previously. Upon the stage sat gongs, sound bowls, and various other devices set to be harmonically activated in timely fashion by this collective. Two members were stationed at the top of each stairwell manning their own vibrational instruments, prepared to add their notes to the symphony at precise times. An early crowd of spectators sat in the area afore the stage, many of them engaged in various types of meditation. As the sounds washed over them, and me, I felt my spine tingle as if these healing notes purged negativity from my frame. Rejuvenating. A few times throughout this performance, a vocalist joined her voice to the chorus of harmonies. This continued for about an hour, before it turned into an electronic display of musical enchantment the final few moments, before the platform was yielded to Floating Sea.
Floating Sea’s performance felt like a journey set, from start to finish. Everything was original, and organically constructed from the depths of Sean’s soul. Floating Sea is a non-traditional DJ, as he forgoes the decks in favor of his own stack of controllers, keyboards, and synthesizers. His display was fantastic, and the perfect follow up to what I had just observed. Though visualizers played upon the stage’s large screen, his set elicited powerful imagery from my mind’s eyes. I saw trees, forests, seas, and natural biomes growing strong and healthy. It kind of felt like an ode to the fellowship gathered here tonight, and how we all collaborate with one another to summon beauty and grace to afford each other, in these shared spaces.
Next up, Krush Turtle, and boy did he start out strong. One of my favorite Tipper tracks, currently and of all time, is ‘Illabye’. This is how he began before mixing a variety of genres like dubstep, nu metal remixes from the likes of Limp Bizkit, and alternative synth-pop renditions representative of artists like Gorillaz. “I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad. I got sunshine in a bag. I’m useless but not for long. My future is coming on.” Every time I hear Gorillaz ‘Clint Eastwood’, it takes me back to what feels a simpler time. Truthfully, that’s just my mind playing tricks. Life is only as easy or as difficult as we make it out to be. Krush Turtle, I believe if my ears sensed correctly, also mixed in some house tracks sparsely throughout. To end, he played another rendition of Tipper’s ‘Illabye’, which I found absolutely serene. I asked him about this after the show, to which he informed, “I kind of wanted to translate ‘Illabye’ into a dream.” To me, he did.
Kaipora ascended the rostrum next, declaring that this was their first time playing for an Illinois crowd. This electronic duo impressed early and often, as they melded their talents and presented outstanding and completely original production I had never heard before. Possibly because this was my first time ever hearing them, but also because it was a collaborative display of vocal and electronic ingenuity. One of my favorite parts from their achievement involved a sequence where they encouraged audience participation. They call it ‘Crowd Magic’. They asked for volunteers to speak into a mic where they recorded samples, which they then used to generate a remarkable track on the spot. Holy cow, I can’t even begin to tell you how impressive this was! The first volunteer for this exercise was Josh Denson who laid down a dope little freestyle. As the mic was being passed around the listening congregation, I started penning my own set of lyrics. I missed the boat on the opportunity to contribute by mere seconds, but I’m going to share with you a page I finished writing in the aftermath after being inspired by Kaipora’s galvanizing application.
“Bear Swiftly, quickly, let me tell you a tale. No fail, let’s set sail, into a wonderful new dimension. No apprehension, ascension, is only for the willing. Chilling. Killin’ the game, never for fame, that’s kind of lame. You’ll pay me to do what? Tut-tut, I ain’t mind living in a hut, keep the door shut! You think electricity should be free? Yeee yeee, I got you son. Number one for a reason. Tis the season, to drop it like its hot: bad habits. We ain’t rabbits. On second thought, never hard fought, some of our spirits, are. Going far, like a shooting star. Hop, skip, and a jump through outer space. You feel that bass? That’s Funktion-One, so much fun. Make it 3D, you know me, I like that spicy…vibe. Let’s ride, through the valley of darkness, and the shadow of death. Speakers blaring, sparing, caring, and daring to be different, because we’re out of sight.”
Easyjack took the stage next and started off with a banger, my alltime favorite Tipper track, ‘Off Kilter’. He followed that with a variety of dopeness, blending his own assortment of originals alongside tracks like Hedflux’s, ‘Brain Ambrosia’. There was plenty more awesomeness throughout, and the energy in the building bristled. As Easyjack deftly maneuvered and sequenced songs with a graceful demeanor, the crowd responded fervently to his glitch hopping techniques. Everything about the nights entertainment had been top-notch, so far, and it was only getting better as it continued along.
The next performer to hit the stage was Alejo, and there’s some history between this syndicate and he. When I spoke to Josh in forming my preview for this event, he contributed that Alejo was the first artist that Krush Turtle ever booked. I got to tell you, I loved that bit of information, and after I met and spoke with Nick in person for the first time, I appreciated it even more. It felt to me like there was a lot of reflection between different personas at this event. Alejo has a wonderful energy and presence on stage, and you could see him vibing along to his music. I adore that in a performer. I want to see an artist who enjoys sporting their talents to delight of others, and looks like they’re having a good time. You’re on stage for a reason, we want you to succeed in thrilling us. I thought Alejo went hard in the paint most of the night, and if you want to hear an example from his library of productions, I suggest you check out his, ‘The Scientific Ultra Violet Generator’.
Alejo gave way to the final performance and headliner of the night, BoggDogg. A tantric duo titillating and tantalizing senses, these boys came out swinging. If you’re not familiar, I suggest you get with the program and check BoggDogg out. They have a variety of hypnotizing tracks, at least to me, and I’ll suggest ‘Battery’, ‘Tiny Tim’, ‘Mountain Wonk’, ‘Flunk’, and ‘Boofy’. Their whole album, Unleashed, is oustanding from start to finish. As was their entire night’s execution. High energy and fast paced. Glitchy, hoppy, with BogTroTTer scratching at times while the crowd sweatily tried to keep pace. They were going so hard, someone set off the fire alarm. It was a mistake, truthfully, but they rolled with it, and kept the party going. I mean, they did break for a moment ensuring there wasn’t any real danger. However, the only fire that was actually lit, was a fire inside each and all of us that roared until the very end. Sadly, all good things do reach their finality, and around 1:40am, their performance came to a close. Masterfully conducted. I will jump at every opportunity in the future to catch them live.
While BoggDogg killed it, I had the chance to sit down with Krush Turtle for about half-an-hour where we talked about a variety of topics. I’m going to include a few snippets here, but I’ve made a decision in honor of what a uniquely wonderful and genuine individual he is. He’s just welcomed a newborn baby girl into this world with his lovely wife, Emily. I think it would be honorable to present as much of our conversation as possible. He’s a truly exceptional man, and I noticed how attentive and helpful he was to Josh, myself, and the rest of the artists and audience, throughout the night.
As a matter of fact, he was the first person to greet me as I entered the building. Josh heard that I’m a bit of a green thumb and gardener, and invited me to bring some plants of my own to set in front of the stage among his own leafy babies. As I carried a box of five different species towards the front door, a handsome, long haired lad in turtle shorts opened the door for me. As I walked past, he recognized me from my profile picture, instantly. As I entered, he asked, “Are you Bear?” This guys good, I like the cut of his jib. I returned, “Yes, are you Krush Turtle?”
I’m fascinated by the origins of monikers and titles, and thus I asked Nick to inform me on how he came to be known as Krush Turtle.
“It was Freshman year, high school. I was at the lunch table, eating my food, I had braces on too at the time. When somebody cracked a joke and made me laugh, I smiled without showing my teeth, as you would, not only with braces on, but while you’re chewing food. So, when the guy saw me across the table, he said, ‘Oh shit, you look like Krush Turtle from Finding Nemo!’ I was like, what are you talking about? I hadn’t even seen the movie at the time. He turns to the rest of the table, ‘Yo, guys, look! He looks like the turtle from Finding Nemo! Do the face again!’ He asked me to do the face again, and I was like, I’ll try, I don’t really know, and I did it, and it just stuck.”
A unique mechanic of this night’s entertainment is community participation. It’s prominently supported by this society. Every performance featured segments of a flow artist or dancer of some sort. At one point, a man in a light up suit with lasers attached to his hands and fingers took the stage to share his wildly talented arsenal. Krush Turtle shared these thoughts. “The music is the main act, but we try to bring music and all forms of art from flow, and even fire performers, to vendors and artists in just supporting the community by giving back in a way that would allow them the stage or the opportunity to perform.”
I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of Krush’s track selection throughout his set. Thus, I asked him how it makes him feel witnessing a crowd getting rowdy to his song choices.
“I absolutely love it. It fulfills you and energizes you as an artist. It’s kind of like a call and response which is not only an aspect of music, but it’s also with the crowd to artist, performer, whatever you want to call it, DJ. There’s definitely that give and take, and you can definitely feel that.”
This was truly an awesome conversation to have at the outset of this Syndicate Sound Session. However, we’ve already covered so much, I’m going to end Krush Turtle’s quotations here, so that I can dedicate a full composition to him at a later date. You’re definitely going to want to tune in to enjoy the entirety of our discourse. For a fella who’s never had an artist interview, he handled himself like the epitome of a professional.
Photo c/o Andrew Massih (Chicago Amp @chicagoamp)
Finally, this event wouldn’t have been what it was without the tireless efforts of Josh Denson. He was committed to his duties throughout the entire night, and I literally feel like I saw him everywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, backstage, frontstage, onstage, out back checking on vendors and patrons, and reminding some not to have their adult beverages outside. FYI, when at Rookies Rochaus, you aren’t allowed to bring alcohol outside. If there were to be any municipal enforcement who happened to walk by and notice drinking going on in this back alleyway, Rookies Rochaus would stand to lose their liquor license. Liquor sales at venues are big revenue boosters, so let’s all agree to be mindful and keep the booze inside the building so we can keep Rookies Rochaus in good standing, so Josh and Suburban Sound Syndicate can continue hosting events at this location.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my detailing of this outstanding occurrence. There was a lot to describe, this write-up has turned into my longest analysis of any event to date. That’s fine by me. I do my best to be accurate in my journalism and reporting. If I need 4600 words, or more, to describe for my audience what I appreciate and enjoy, providing context and commentary from individuals like Josh Melfi and Krush Turtle, I will happily do as such. However, we have reached the finality of this narrative.
I want to thank all the artists, performers, patrons, staff, and vendors for being part of this scintillating Syndicate Sound Session. As well, a heartfelt thanks to Josh Denson for all he does. It’s not easy wearing so many hats, but Josh makes it looks easy, and he looks good doing it. This is Bear Swiftly, the Electro Scribe, signing off. Sayonara all you Samurai.
Be well, be successful. Bear Swiftly.
–Electro Scribe–
