For Chan Poling of The Suburbs, the Beat Always Goes On
Performing pop music, writing musicals and children's books — Chan Poling says it's all fun and he has no intention of stopping
Chan Poling of The Suburbs believes "the day that you don't find joy in what you do is the day to do something else." He's nowhere near that day; not only does Poling's attitude about making music reinforce his ongoing love for the art form, but his continuous output of creative work amplifies it.
A founding member of The Suburbs, Poling, 67, has also achieved success in the theatre world. "Glensheen," with a book by Jeffrey Hatcher and music and lyrics by Poling, is based on the real-life murders of heiress Elizabeth Congdon and her nurse at Glensheen mansion in Duluth in 1977. Produced at the History Theatre in St. Paul, the musical has enjoyed seven runs since its 2015 premiere and received an Ivey Award.
"When Governor (Mark) Dayton finished signing the amendment [legalizing marriage equality in Minnesota], the first thing he said was, 'Love is the law.'"
Poling is also a member of the popular Minneapolis group The New Standards, along with John Munson and Steve Roehm, a jazz trio famous for their popular Twin Cities holiday shows; in addition to "Glensheen," he has produced scores for musical theatre productions across the country, is the author of two children's books and more.
The Minneapolis-based Suburbs was founded in 1977 and the group was an integral component of the "Minneapolis sound scene" which also featured artists like Prince and the Replacements. Poling is the original keyboard player and singer, and other founding members include drummer Hugo Klaers and saxophonist Max Ray. Another co-founder of the group, Beej Chaney, died in January. The Suburbs have added additional musicians to their roster including Steve Brantseg, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Steve Price, Rochelle Becker, Steven Kung and Janey Winterbauer — the current iteration of the group is the one that's been together the longest.
The Suburbs have had several albums and dance hits such as "Life is Like," "Rattle My Bones" and "Love Is the Law," which holds special significance not only for Poling, but for Minnesota residents because it was selected in 2013 as the Marriage Equality anthem in the state.
"Honestly, I can't remember if someone approached me or if I offered it, I think I may have offered it for their use, thinking it was a good fit. And it was used for some TV commercials, slogans and stuff like that," he said. "When Governor (Mark) Dayton finished signing the amendment [legalizing marriage equality in Minnesota], the first thing he said was, 'Love is the law.'"
When asked how much time he now spends making music, Poling said it's basically part of his everyday life.
"Well, take today for instance. I've been working on a new musical for the last few hours. I took a break to go have lunch and watch a documentary while I had a bowl of soup," he said. "And then I actually got detoured because I had an idea for another show I'm working on with Jeffrey Hatcher for the History Theatre. And we have a new show we're to deliver this summer, so I got to chip away at that too."
Moving between different genres of music is also an everyday occurrence, and Poling believes working on musicals and writing music for The Suburbs are different components of the same process.
'My Poet Phase'
"To me, writing music is compartmentalized. And writing pop songs for The Suburbs is more personal. That's my poet phase where I write things that are maybe a little mysterious, even to myself, or things that come from places I can't explain."
He continued, "And I think that's a lot of artists, that's where they get their thing. But musical theater is a part of my brain that likes puzzles and likes tasks and likes craft. And I really truly love it. If I can get up in the morning and go, "Oh, I have a song to write about [something for the new musical], that's a little task that I have that I love. I can just pop out of bed like, 'Oh, I have something to do.'"
Poling has been making music since he was 17 years old; in fact, the first germ of the idea for "Love Is the Law" came around that time when he was studying music at CalArts.
"I didn't start with rock and roll. I started out studying composition in jazz theory and piano and orchestration and stuff like that," he said. "Speaking of CalArts, ["Love Is the Law"] is one of the things I showed my composition mentor. He goes, 'What are you working on?' I said, 'It's this Latin, repetitive, minimalist thing.' And he encouraged me to finish it, and it had no other part except that horn part. But that was when I was a kid."
No Philosophizing Grief
Poling's long career has traveled alongside a life that has experienced its share of loss and grief. He married Eleanor Mondale, the daughter of Vice President Walter Mondale, in 2005 — in 2011, she died of brain cancer at 51.
"At 67, that seems too young, really, to have lost a wife and father, and the father-in-law and brother-in-law, and two bandmates, people I grew up with ... "
Of grief, Poling says, "There's no philosophizing your way out of it. At 67, that seems too young, really, to have lost a wife and father, a father-in-law and mother-in-law and two bandmates, people I grew up with, and several other people, so many people in the community."
"It's really tough to do, to live through. Everyone does, and it's amazing how you can. It takes time. People were reaching out to me going, 'How do you do it? I lost my husband, or my wife has cancer,' or something like that," Poling says. "And I found I could help people at that time. I also wrote a book, an illustrated book about it. It's a strange hybrid of a grief book and a children's book called 'Jack and the Ghost.' It's about letting go and learning to live. It's so cliche, but we're alive."
What he calls "the whimsy" of children's books in general has great appeal for Poling, who is remarried with two daughters, a stepdaughter and eight-year-old twin granddaughters. He also has a son from his first marriage and a stepson.
"It's a special thing, and we want to treat it gingerly and treat it with respect. We are not getting in the van and going out and playing every weekend."
"Someone once pointed out to me that my song 'Cows' actually is a children's book. It could be. I like cows and just pictures of cows," he said. "Some of my favorite books are kids' books. I don't think I'm going to ever be a novelist. It's not my thing."
As for The Suburbs, Poling says the group has no interest in fading away. "Hugo and I talked a long time ago about what we wanted The Suburbs to be in the 21st century, and we want it to be something where we can do new music. Of course, the fans could care less about that. I'm joking. In a way, they would rather hear the old stuff, but that's what they grew up with."
But he adds, "If we can't make it fresh and fun for us, we might as well pack it up. Don't really have an interest in being a nostalgia act. But mainly we realize what it is and what it is is... I don't know how to put it. It's a special thing, and we want to treat it gingerly and treat it with respect. We are not getting in the van and going out and playing every weekend. We probably play six shows a year."
As for the thought of retirement, well, there really isn't one in Poling's mind. When asked if he has plans to retire, he said, "No. Well, retire from what? Having fun?"
"I've got the best job in the world. When I do ever get anxious about going to the gig, I just tell myself, 'You have one job to do. Have fun.'"
Editor’s note: On Monday, May 12, The Suburbs and Matt Wilson of Trip Shakespeare will be featured in a performance filmed at First Avenue in Minneapolis as part of STAGE, a music series produced by Twin Cites PBS featuring collaborations between iconic musicians and artists they want the audience to know more about. Find the episode on TPT.org.
