Collin Crose, 19, sits with Michael Hughes, 22, and Gideon Wolfe, 19 (not shown) and wait for people to show up to their apartment in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018. Crose was taking this time to relax before the show.
The first album Middle James made sits on the wall of their ballroom as a clock, in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018. The inspiration for the album title comes from where the band originally met and practiced.
Now that more people had arrived, Crose plans out the lineup for the night with some friends in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018.
As people started to arrive, Crose and Wolfe had funneled them into one of two ballrooms in their apartment in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018.
With people arriving, Crose, along with Wolfe and Hughes, began final checks of their gear in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018. For Crose, due to the small space and no need for micing the drums, this didn’t take long.
As people begin to hear the music and file in to watch the band, Crose shows how focused he becomes when playing in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018.
Crose watches his other band mates, as well as the crowd in his apartment in Bellingham, Wash. on Saturday, March 10, 2018.
Crose rests between sections of a song, waiting to come back in, on Saturday, March 10, 2018 in Bellingham, Wash.
After resting, Crose jumps back into the song on Saturday, March 10, 2018 in Bellingham, Wash.
The band finishes their set in their own apartment on Saturday, March. 10, 2018 in Bellingham, Wash. From the left, Middle James is Dawson Van-Cise, 19, Collin Crose, 19, Gideon Wolfe, 19, and Michael Hughes, 22.
Walking up the stairs into the apartment shared by three out of the four members of the band Middle James feels like you’ll end up in a small closet.
In reality, the apartment is 5500 square feet,
“It’s four times bigger than the house I grew up in,” Collin Crose, drummer for Middle James, said.
In the apartment, there are four bedrooms, two ballrooms, a kitchen and living room where the band practices their music. Crose, a Western student, said that he loves living and practicing in the same space, with the same people. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Crose said.
On this particular Saturday night, the apartment became a venue for three bands, including Middle James. About 30 to 40 people showed up, but because of where the band was set up, not many came into the living room to watch.
Crose was ready by 9:00, and had received word from friends that people would show up by 9:30. By 10:00, they were supposed to play. Crose was excited, but not too excited because it’s his home they were having a show in. “I prefer playing shows in other venues, ” Crose said. “I cannot supervise people while I’m playing and I don’t particularly enjoy having parties at my place.”
In true college student fashion for a Saturday night, people started rolling in around 10:00. In order to keep order, Crose, along with the bassist of the band, Gideon Wolfe, funneled people away from the living room and into the most clean ballroom, complete with couches and a fully operational swing attached to the ceiling.
As more and more people came in, Crose started to plan with the rest of his band mates. Dawson Van-Cise, the lead singer/guitar player, Michael Hughes, guitar player and Wolfe. No one seemed to have an exact plan on when they were going to play. “It’s a chill night, we’re not really worrying about it,” Crose said.
Finally, after much deliberation and finding more lighting for their pseudo-stage, the time had come. The band took their places, assuming that the people who hear them start to play and flood in.
Sadly, this was not the case.
Due to the size of where they had set up their gear, there was not much standing room. Beyond that, most of the people there seemed to be entertained by their drinks and conversations in the ballroom more than the live music.
The five to 10 people that did stand around the band, however, received quite a show.
Middle James played an hour long set, consisting of different musical styles with jazz and classic rock influences. The crowd danced to their hearts content, even though they were confined to the kitchen and where the couches were in the living room.
Crose was happy with the band’s performance. “I thought we played really well,” Crose said. He later admitted that he didn’t think many people were interested at the time.
Crose closed out the night enjoying the performances of an improv group that was also apart of the show.