The first chords ring out from the basement, carried upstairs by air tinged with smoke and the unmistakable smell of cheap beer.
On the microphone, the lead singer thanks the crowd for coming and introduces the rest of the band.
Those lingering on the lawn begin drifting toward the door, heading downstairs to dance ’til dawn.
It’s a little before midnight at the Montie House and the party is just beginning.
Known as a place to hear great local music, parties at Montie, 548 M.A.C. Ave., often draw quite a crowd, despite little or no promotion.
Preveterinary medicine junior Charleston Swan has lived at Montie since spring 2002. For most house parties he said they try to avoid mass advertisements such as fliers.
“We really don’t like to do it because it may invite the wrong type of people,” Swan said. “Basically everybody just tells their friends.”
Bands, like the crowd, are secured primarily through word of mouth.
“Normally somebody knows them and they end up playing either for beer or they just play for free,” Swan said. “We might charge if we have a band, but normally we don’t.”
Telecommunication senior Bill Platt plays the saxophone for local band Le Gusta.
Often asked to play at house parties, Platt said the gigs usually turn out better than the bar scene.
“It’s a lot better atmosphere,” he said.
“Sometimes the bars are a little harder to get the fans to come. Not all the fans we play for are 21 and up.”
Le Gusta’s fans, he added, seem to appreciate the band’s dedication.
“They’re always supportive,” Platt said.
“Even if we mess up here or there, they’re always cheering hard after we’re done.
“The East Lansing party scene is full of great people. Everyone’s just out having a good time.”
Playing at parties has helped the band gain a following, Platt said, and most of its gigs are secured through friends or people who have been impressed by its playing.
“We know a couple people who live in the Atlantis (co-op) house and the Montie House,” he said.
“We’re also good friends with the band Jebus and they help us out, too.”
Jebus, a relatively new but prominent force in the local music scene, has played at bars and house parties since it got together in 1999.
Bassist Tim Sorenson said parties have a much more personal feel.
“The crowd is more into it and it’s a lot easier to play at a party because people who are under 21 can go and still have a good time,” the East Lansing resident said. “Trying to pack a big bar can be difficult sometimes.”
Parties, on the other hand, welcome a wide variety of ages and backgrounds.
“We get a good mix of people,” Sorenson said.
“Everybody seems to get along and there’s never really any problems. The crowd’s really good, but it gets a little crammed sometimes.”
A packed house, however, offers bands like Jebus a perfect opportunity to enlarge its fan base.
“There’s always going to be somebody that you don’t know, especially if it’s not at your own house. You expose yourself to them and hopefully it’s a good exposure and they’ll go and tell other people,” Sorenson said. “That’s how we built up a following.”
Though his busy schedule - Sorenson works at MSU’s Beal Botanical Garden during the week and plays gigs with the rest of Jebus on the weekends - prevents him from going out as much as he used to, he said he enjoys the city’s party scene.
“Everybody has a good time,” he said.
“It’s the people who are out to have a bad time who kind of sour things sometimes.”
For the most part, he said, people are respectful of one another.
“I don’t think anything ever gets too out of control,” he said.
But as is sometimes the case when alcohol is involved, you can’t always predict everything that will happen.
In the case of Montie, Swan said, parties are funded through a social tax, where each person in the house contributes about $70 a year. The money goes to cover noise violations or damage to the house.
Despite the number of people who show up for parties, Montie has been fortunate regarding run-ins with law enforcement. Swan credits that good luck to cautious attitudes.
“We try to keep the front area clean and keep people in the house,” Swan said.
“We have a sign that says ‘Remain inside or use back door entrance’’ and we tell people when they’re coming toward the front door to exit through the rear.”
By keeping people off the front lawn, Swan said, they’re less likely to be seen by police who might stop to see what’s going on.
For the most part, he said, people don’t argue.
“Normally the people who come here are pretty respectful. There’s never been a time when they were just unruly and totally disregarded our remarks,” Swan said.
In addition, he said, police officers in East Lansing tend to be more lax than in other college towns such as Ann Arbor.
“The difference is East Lansing is a city that can’t exist without MSU, but Ann Arbor is already a functional city made up of people who are on a higher tax bracket,” Swan said.
“They don’t need the University of Michigan to support it, so trying to party there is harder because the cops aren’t lenient. They’re looking out for the rest of Ann Arbor, not for the temporary students who just pass through every four years.
“There’s more houses here,” he said.
“Here they give you more slack.”
