“We were thinking about
adding a keyboard player. We
heard about a guy who is pretty
good and knows some music
that we want to play. But then
you have to split the money
four ways!”
Ardoin says school comes
before the band.
“My grades are a lot more
important than this,” he says.
“If my grades started to fall
because it was taking too much
time, 1 would tell them to take a
flying one.”
Nelson has a different
perspective.
“My grades aren’t that
important,” he says. “1 know it’s
all lies anyway. ”
The band members have
diverse musical backgrounds.
Daniel remembers putting a
group together in intermediate
school.
“We got a few guys together
and drew instruments,” he says.
“1 finally bought a $200 bass
guitar the day of our first gig. ”
Ardoin’s father had a band
called “The Boogie Kings” that
was popular around southern
Louisiana when he was
younger. He taught Richard
some basic guitar chords and
sparked his interest.
Nelson is veteran of the Clear
Creek High School marching
band’s percussion section.
“I really like rehearsing,”
Ardoin says. “I just like getting
together and playing. ”
However, the band hopes to
be making some more
appearances around town and
at private parties next semester,
—by Daryn DeZengotita
4 Hams on Rye
Interested in some “nasty,
sweaty fun?” 4 Hams on Rye
offers just that.
The band gives its audience a
high energy, spontaneous show
with songs from artists such as
Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi
Hendrix mixed with the band’s
original tunes.
Scott Oldner, guitarist and
lead singer, describes the
band’s tone as biting blues.
Oldner and bass guitarist Erik
Kline originally played
rockabilly songs. But three
years ago the band found a new
lead guitarist who changed its
tone.
“I was trying to work up all
this rockabilly stuff and Dm
(Wilson) came in and messed
everything up,” Oldner says.
“He came in and he was not
rockabilly at all. But 1 knew we
needed a lead guitarist and he
was good.”
Kline grins. “He was
adequate,” he says.
Oldner continues, “His tone
changed the band incredibly. It
wasn’t a rockabilly tone — it
was a biting blues tone,”
After Wilson joined the band,
the drummer saw “3 Hams on
Rye,” a Three Stooges’ movie.
The band decided to make it
four and the name stuck.
Wilson adds that they chose the
name for lack of a better one.
Last year the band
underwent another change.
Jeff Zwolinski, who has
played the drums since he was
16 years old, joined the band in
December. At 30, Zwolinski’s
years make him the most
experienced member of the
band.
Kline, Wilson and Zwolinski
combined have almost 35 years
of experience and have played
in several bands, but 4 Hams
on Rye is Oldner’s first
experience with a serious band.
“We’re all equal, though,
because we do totally different
things,” Oldner adds.
Wilson has 12 years of
experience, Oldner has played
for 10 years and Kline for five.
Oldner says when Zwolinski
joined, the band was reborn.
He refers to Zwolinski as “the
drum machine” and says the
band has a drum machine, a
guitar machine and (giving
Kline a quick glance) a sex
machine.
Kline explains that the
drummer and bass player must
get along and work well
together for the band as a
whole to sound good.
“I get along a lot better with
the drummer we have now, ” he
says, “so the band sounds
better.”
The band members think it’s
important that they have a good
time when they play.
“The interaction on stage is
what it’s all about. You have to
enjoy what you’re doing, ”
Wilson says.
“I don’t play the same solos
all of the time and on certain
songs I’ll play with my teeth ...
and that’s spontaneous. ”
Oldner adds, “We just play it
by the crowd and it’s all
spontaneous.”
Last summer, KKYS listeners
were polled and voted 4 Hams
on Rye the number one band in
Bryan/College Station.
Oldner says it was a boost to
the band’s ego but the band
doesn’t like to compete.
“We do what we do, ” he'
says. “I don’t like competing
against other people, I like
entertaining.”
He says the band has 14
original songs and four more
that it’s working on. Wilson and
Oldner are half-and-half on the
number of songs written, he
says.
Grinning, Oldner adds,
“He’s (Dm) been writing a lot of
songs ever since he’s been in
and out of girlfriends. ”
The band has made a demo
tape of its songs but hasn’t cut a
45. Copies of the tape are
available at Music Express for
$5.99.
Oldner says cutting a 45
costs between $1,000 and
$1,500 and the band members
don’t have the money. They’ve
had promises of backing but
they’ve fallen through, he says.
Kline adds, “In this business
you take it with a grain of salt. ”
All four band members are
from Bryan/College Station and
4 Hams on Rye
Oldner and Zwolinski are
studying at A&M.
Oldner is an electrical
engineering major and will
graduate in December.
Zwolinski is in graduate school
and says, hopefully, he will be
finished with his graduate work
around the same time.
After graduation?
“The top, ” Oldner says.
—by Mona Palmer
Notropis
If you haven’t had a chance
to catch Notropis in action,