T
he reanimation of Pike 27 is one of the most unlikely and welcomed Cincinnati-area band reunions in recent history (perhaps second only to The Warsaw Falcons’ recent resurrection). Few saw it coming, but many hoped for it, including the band’s dedicated fans and its creatively restless frontman Dave Purcell.
Given his continued songwriting/performing pursuits during his seven-year stint at Kent State, the release of Pike 27’s exquisite five-song EP, Calling Out, is almost a fait accompli.
“I knew I would take a little time off,” Purcell says over beers at Northside Tavern. “I was busy with work but we went to see Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts on Halloween night in Akron (in 2008), and they were fucking amazing. My wife Amy and I got hammered, and I said, ‘I’ve got to put a band back together. This basement recording shit isn’t doing it.’ ”
Pike 27 is actually a tale of three bands. Purcell assembled the first version in 1998, recording the sensational, rootsy full-length Falling Down Hard. In 2002, Purcell recruited Sean Rhiney as bassist (returning the favor by playing guitar for Rhiney’s Clabbergirl) and filled the ranks with Mark Messerly (Wussy), George Cunningham (Graveblankets, Faux Frenchmen) and Tommy Huesman.
“The second version never recorded,” Purcell says. “That rockier and poppier version was closer to what I heard in my head but we never had time to rehearse. Sean was busy, Mark was in 75 bands, I was in five or six, Tommy lived in Columbus. We were known for crazy Rock shows live but we never hit anywhere close to our peak.”
“I remember a [Pike 27] MidPoint gig,” says scene vet Mike Fair (Wojo, Ma Crow, many others). “The floor was shaking. They were oppressively loud. I don’t even know what they sounded like, all I know was there was this seamless connection between the band and the audience, and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’ ”
Purcell shelved Pike 27 after accepting a sociology professorship at Kent State in 2007. At Purcell’s going-away party, Fair got up and played a Stonesy riff and Rhiney joined in.
“Mike’s playing ‘Let It Bleed’ and he’s killing it because it’s part of his DNA, and I jumped up and sang back up,” Rhiney says. “I’ve never jumped on someone else’s stage. He just smiled.”
Rhiney stayed busy with several projects, including playing with Messerly & Ewing, while Purcell formed bands in the Kent/Akron, Ohio, music scene. The area’s level of musicianship was acceptable yet generally below Purcell’s standards and left him longing to explore new directions with old friends.
As the idea of returning to Cincinnati solidified, Purcell finished songs he’d set aside and sent Rhiney demos.
“He’d say, ‘I’m hearing songs differently, I want to do more rhythmic things,’ ” Rhiney says. “Like ‘Paying Down the Cost,’ that bass line is his because he didn’t want the typical, and it was exciting because I could hear him trying to figure out what it would sound like. And I had to be a better bass player.”
Once Purcell decided to return to Cincinnati, Pike 27’s revival shifted into high gear. Purcell had crossed paths with Fair and veteran drummer/studio wizard Dave Killen over the years and was convinced they were his future bandmates.
“Sean and I started chatting, like ‘What should the new band look like?’ and ‘Here’s these songs I’ve been writing,’ which were far away from Roots and more toward the Elvis Costello/R.E.M. in me,” Purcell says. “Mike had said 15 years ago, ‘If you ever put a band together besides Pike 27, I want to be in it,’ and Dave and I had reconnected. I sensed that our influences would mesh nicely, and it’s been 100 percent better than I expected.”
Purcell and Killen re-sparked at a 2012 reunion of The Qubes (both had drummed for the band). Killen’s musical drumming and impressive studio skills were perfect for Pike 27’s rapidly evolving third version.
“I actually stopped playing because I was in studios and engineering so much,” Killen says. “I saw real players in Boston and it was very intimidating. When we did the (Qubes) reunion, I had to buy a drum kit and I spent a month and a half retraining my feet and waking everything up. When all this went down (with Pike 27), I looked at the email and thought, ‘Did you send this to the right address?’ ”
“Stewart Copeland and Pete Thomas were enormous influences on me as a drummer and I’ve never found a drummer to bring out that side of my songwriting,” Purcell says. “Dave plays like that, but he loves Americana. I can say to him, ‘Think more Jam, more Pretenders,’ and he’s totally got it.”
“When Dave called, I was like, ‘Tell me when and where to show up,’ ” Fair says. “He had sent demos, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to poison my creativity by learning the songs.’ I show up for rehearsal and I don’t know jack shit, and Dave looks at me and goes, ‘Somebody didn’t do their homework.’ Ooh, this is different than I thought it would be. But once I learned the songs, it was like, ‘This is how a band is supposed to behave.’ Expect excellence, work hard, play music you love.”
With Pike 27 reconstituted, the foursome booked gigs and reestablished their formidable live reputation, this time emphasizing Purcell’s longstanding R.E.M./Grant Lee Buffalo/Del Fuegos infatuation. Following a triumphant MidPoint gig, the band scored the opening slot for Alejandro Escovedo’s new side project, The Fauntleroys.
With the release of Calling Out, 2015 could be Pike 27’s biggest year ever, with plans for more local dates, some limited touring and perhaps even a full-length album. Whatever happens, this version of Pike 27 is built to last.
“At my age, I don’t think I could do a band where I was tolerating people,” Purcell says. “I fucking love these guys, the four of us are best friends and it’s a privilege to play with them. The fact that we get along so well and have so much fun is the reason we’re pouring more time into it. We’re competent musicians, we’re good at our jobs, we’re all married to beautiful women … we’re good at what we do. You put four driven guys in a room together, and it just fucking clicks.”
“You could say the same thing about Kiss,” Rhiney adds with a smile.
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PIKE 27’s EP release show is Saturday at Over-the-Rhine’s The Drinkery. More info: drinkeryotr.com.
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2015.
