The Battalion
LIFESTYLES
6
Thursday, September 28,1989
Steve Benkenstein, lead guitarist for Subculture, plays while standing on a chair at the Cow Hop Annex.
B-CS bands rock on
H shot
hoi !
Local music scene alive and well
This story was compiled by John Righter,
Todd Stone and Chuck Lovejoy of The Battal
ion staff.
If you have lived in Bryan or College Station
for very long, you’ve probably heard a few de
rogatory comments concerning the local music
scene:
“Therejust aren't any good bands around he
re. ”
“You have to go to Austin or Houston to find
any good live m usic. ”
“Why don’t we ever have any entertainment
around here?”
The truth is that Bryan-College Station has its
fair share of bands, probably more than most
people realize.
The Battalion has taken a look at more than 20
Bryan-College Station bands, including a more
in-depth survey of five of them.
There are much more than 20 bands in Bryan-
College Station, and some of these bands are des
tined for success. So if you want to give them a
listen, you’d better catch them while they’re still
here.
Subculture
Featuring classic hits from the ’60s, ’70s and
’80s, Subculture has established themselves as a
solid dance band in Bryan-College Station.
David Brodrick, bass guitarist, describes their
music as “dance rock.’’ A Subculture perfor
mance includes a variety of songs from groups
ranging from Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to
the Cure and INXS.
In addition to Brodrick, Subculture consists of
John Schomp, keyboards and lead vocals, guitar
ist Steve Benkenstein, and Ken Monk, drums
and vocals.
Brodrick said the group does not perform
original material because of audience demand
for current hits.
“People always ask, ‘Do you all do originals?’ ”
Brodrick explained. “But I think the only way a
band will make money in this town is doing cover
stuff.”
Schomp said the band would perform a differ
ent style of music if they performed their own
songs. “When people come to see us, they expect
to dance,” he said. “If I was going to do original
stuff, it definitely wouldn’t be as shallow as some
of the covers. It (original songs) probably
wouldn’t have the disco beat.”
Brodrick and Schomp both agreed that per
forming only cover songs has not slowed tneir
song writing. Rush, Sting and REM are some of
their musical influences.
According to Brodrick and Schomp, the band
works hard to find places to play in a market that
doesn’t support many local bands.
P<
would be more bands,” Schomp said. “1 hat just
follows. If you have a venue to play, you’ll work
harder.
“Some clubs don’t think it’s worth having a live
band. They don’t see the energy that comes out
of it. They just throw something on the speakers
and feed them (customers) a lot of beer.”
Another problem faced by many Bryan-Col
lege Station bands is the perception that local
bands are not as talented as bands from other cit
ies, Brodrick said.
“Some club owners feel a band has to be from
Austin to be good,” he said. “I wouldn’t be going
up there and playing in front of people if I wasn’t
confident that they enjoyed it, and we were good
at what we do.”
Schomp said staying in a band and being a full
time student has been a difficult combination to
maintain.
“It’s really hard to go to school and book gigs
with no manager,” he said. “It (playing in a band)
is really hard to rely on, it’s so up and down.”
Brodrick said that the money he makes by be
ing in the band is not as important as the music.
“I love it,” he said. “To be doing something
that I enjoy doing — seeing people having a
blast, dancing to the songs, people crawling on
the floor doing the alligator.”
Schomp agreed. “When I go out to play, it
doesn’t matter how much I’m making as long as
everybody out in the audience is dancing and
having a good time,” he said.
Except for Ken Monk, the members of Subcul
ture are graduating in May, so the end may be
near for the group, but not for their interest in
music.
Schomp will pursue a career as a recording en
gineer and hopes to own a recording studio some
day.
Although he won’t pursue music as a career,
Brodrick knows that it will stay with him.
“I know I’m always going to have music in my
life,” he said.
If you’re interested in seeing Subculture per
form, you can check them out on Oct. 13 at the
Mercury Bar.
mm
HP
W
Photo by Scott D. Wert
Chris Cessac, bass player and lead singer for the group Fof
Cryin’ Out Loud, sings at Kay’s Cabaret.
Dru Wilson, Had Binion and Brian Lip-
pman of the Kerouacs perform at Par-
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
thenon last Thursday. Jon Hamilton is
the fourth member of the band.
The Kerouacs
“We’re not trying to sound like any one other
band,” Kerouac guitarist Had Binion explained.
“A lot of bands try to just sound like REM today.
We’re trying to edge away from that style and
plav some good, honest, up-the-middle rock ’n’
roll.”
Guitarist and vocalist Dru Wilson, bassist Brian
Lippman and drummer Jon Hamilton combine
with Binion to supply the bluesy, hard-rocking
style of the Kerouacs, a sound that combines the
influences of Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Jimi
Hendrix and Journey, among others.
“Musically we’re influenced by anything that is
melodic and has a strong guitar sound,” Binion
said.
The Kerouacs formed about a year and a half
ago, following the breakup of Four Hams On
Rye, of which Wilson and sometimes-Kerouac
drummer Jeff Zwolinski were members. After
the breakup, Wilson and Zwolinski recruited Lip
pman to start the Kerouacs, and the band has
since changed drummers twice and expanded to
two guitars, bringing Binion aboard last summer.
Hamilton (the Change), Wilson (Street Pizza)
and Binion (the Killtones) are all currently in
volved in other bands, something that Binion
said is necessary to stay active locally.
“If you don’t work in more than one band
here, then you’re not going to stay very busy,” he
said.
Speaking of busy, the Kerouacs are currently
finalizing plans for a minitour that will include
Houston, Dallas, Austin, Abilene and parts of
Louisiana.
Not to worry, though, the Kerouacs will still be
active in Bryan-College Station, frequenting the
Parthenon (they recently opened for the Reivers
there), Double Dave’s Pizza, Mama’s Pizza and
the Texas Star Tavern. At Lippman Music, the
band also has a demo tape available, which they
helped support this summer at a tape-release
party in Austin.
“We’re slowly broadening our playing circuit,”
Binion said. “It takes a while to re-stabhsh with a
Some i
don’t think it’s
worth having a
live band. The)
don’t see the
energy that
comes out of it
They just thro
something on
the speakers
and feed them
(customers) a
lot of beer."
new name, but we feel like we are moving in the
right direction.”
— John
Schon
For Cryin’ Out Loud
Humor and rock ‘n’ roll are combined to cre
ate an offbeat, laid back style for the group For
Cryin’ Out Loud.
Chris Cessac, bass guitarist and lead vocalist,
describes the group's sound as “minimalistic
rock.” Many of their original songs have ’50s
Subculture
jStree