Suburban rockers Bad City living their dream

They're all 24-year-old rock musicians who started in their garages in the Northwest suburbs. Now, they've signed a major record contract and are headed back on tour to open for Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins.

Wait, say what?

That's right. Tom Schleiter of Schaumburg, and Max Perenchio and Jake Serek, both of Arlington Heights, combined with Ohio native Kevin Kane and Josh Caddy of California, to form the new band, Bad City.

They signed with Atlantic Records last year, and on their first tour in July, they opened for Smashing Pumpkins and later played at the 25th anniversary show for Spin Magazine in New York.

On Aug. 24, they released their long-awaited CD at the Chicago bar Subterranean to a sold-out crowd. They had spent more than a year recording it at a recording studio on Chicago's south side, with Grammy nominated producer Johnny K.

Their new album "Welcome to Wasteland" and its collection of 10 songs is somewhat retro, reflecting band members' interest in classic rock 'n' roll.

"We all like rock 'n' roll - played loud," said Schleiter, a 2004 St. Viator High School graduate, who formerly played lead guitar with the band, Powerspace.

He says they studied the discographies of all their favorite bands, ranging from Boston, the Rolling Stones and Queen, to Kiss, Van Halen and Nirvana, and their influences can be heard in many of the songs.

"We're huge music fans and appreciate all forms of rock," Schleiter added, "so our music is a majestic blend of all the bands we love."

Both Schleiter and Serek played in their respective high school jazz bands, Schleiter at St. Viator and Serek at Wheeling High School under band director Brian Logan.

"From the day I picked up a trumpet at Anne Sullivan Elementary School (in Prospect Heights), to my first concert as the bassist in the Wheeling High School jazz band," Serek said, "the suburbs lay quietly, encouragingly in the background, gently nudging me forward."

He says playing bass in a garage band called Real Lunch and later in an experimental rock band, called Judith Swan, were pivotal.

"While we performed and lived in the city, most of Judith Swan's music was written in a basement in Arlington Heights," Serek said. "What is it about suburban basements? Such fertile grounds for creativity."

Perenchio, who shares lead guitar duties with Schleiter, points to his experience playing with the band Toastface, mostly at the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights, with giving him the bug.

"In the 'old days,' there was no Metro, no House of Blues, no venerable amphitheaters or national tours," Perenchio said about their options as a band just starting out. "There was just the Knights of Columbus. That was the place to play."

Schleiter met Kane at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where they both played in some on-campus bands. Together, they started Powerspace and quickly got noticed.

They signed a recording contract with Fueled by Ramen and made their first album, "The Kicks of Passion" before going on a coast-to-coast tour.

When Schleiter needed to return to campus to finish up his degree, Perenchio, an old guitar rival from their Knights of Columbus days, filled in for him.

"When Max and I began writing songs together for the next album, we realized the classic rock influenced songs we were writing were a complete departure from the Powerspace pop-rock sound," Schleiter said, "so we decided to start a new band with the songs we had been writing."

After a long search, they found Caddy who had been singing with a successful pop-punk band in Houston.

"He's a natural frontman," Schleiter said, "and a blindingly talented singer."

Drawing the interest of producer Johnny K, they say, was the last piece to putting together a national caliber band. Yet, they concede that moving away from their roots in pop and funk - and back to classic rock - is somewhat of a risk.

"There's a lot of pressure doing something different," Schleiter said. "In this business, you're lucky if you get one chance for success, and if you strike out, you're through.

"But I think that the people that 'get it,' will truly get it," he added, "especially musicians who recognize the quality of our music."

Next up, another tour opening for Smashing Pumpkins, then opening for the former Guns N' Roses guitar player, Slash on his tour promoting his debut solo album, "Slash."