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We've all heard the phrase "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Luckily, for Pop-Rock trio gravy8, they have a whole helluva lot of knowledge.
The members of gravy8 come from different musical backgrounds, but there is no doubt that all three know exactly what they're doing. Bassist Jeff Conner, a veteran of several local acts, studied in private lessons for so long that he's now been teaching professionally for a few years. Drummer Gregg Martini (whom you might remember from the Cincinnati band Birdhouse) studied percussion for several years, developing his chops. Guitarist/vocalist Doug Staab (formerly of Porterhouse) is the lone self-taught musician of the band. According to the rest of gravy8, Staab brings in emotional, hook-laden songs and a vast amount of technical knowledge.
"For a long time, I was a closet guitar player," Staab admits.
Staab says the seeds for the group were planted when he met Martini while working in a studio. "He engineered the first demo for my old band," explains Martini.
The combination of technical skill and musical training has paid off in what the members of gravy8 describe as "a pretty big sound for a three-piece band."
Gravy8 employs a series of technical tricks to bring that full sound to both the studio and the stage. Conner notes his use of a fatar as an example. "It's a MIDI control for the foot, usually used to add strings," he says. "It helps fill out a song ... especially live."
While Martini admits, "This is probably the most technical band I've ever been in," all three members caution that the overall purpose of the band goes far beyond skill and technique.
"We want to write good songs that are catchy and filled with hooks," says Staab.
Musical skill, technique, technology and even the individual member's egos take a back seat to the development of gravy8's songs, to the point that Conner says he doesn't bring in his own material as a starting point, because it doesn't fit the G8 mold.
"My stuff tends to be a little darker and moodier," Conner explains. "I like it, but it doesn't fit what we're trying to do as a band. It's not gravy8."
Staab and Martini are the primary songwriters, though all three members add their own touches to each piece and Staab and Martini contribute lyrics.
"Gregg and I both bring pieces in and share duty on lyric writing," explains Staab. "A lot of the songs are about things that I observe happening to other people ... sometimes things that happen to me." He happily describes one song (not included on their upcoming debut release, Miss the Boat) that details an exchange he had with a famous Country star when he was working behind the scenes at a show.
"It involves Randy Travis and I sitting down to a dinner of barbecue chicken," Staab says.
Not that all their material is quite so eclectic in topic. "It can be about really basic stuff that happens to anyone," says Martini. "It just means something, and it fits a melody that one of us is working on."
Pushed to give the gravy8 sound a name, the band describes themselves as "guitar-driven Pop Rock." One gets the feeling that the word "pop" is properly used in this context ... .as in "pop-ular."
The band strives for an immediate connection for the listener, even in a live setting. The band enthuses about one performance where most of the audience got up and danced to every song.
"It was one of our first shows," Staab recalls "Most of those people, if not all, had never heard a note of those songs before."
"We try to write songs that people are going to enjoy, from the first listen," adds Conner.
The live show is a large part of what makes gravy8, well, gravy8. The band's original material is poppy and fun enough to get a crowd moving, but they are also considering throwing in the occasional cover.
"Maybe some songs we grew up with, and that we like a lot," says Staab.
"Probably '80s-type stuff," Martini adds.
"(And) the '70s," Conner chimes in. "And the '60s too, I guess."
It's clear, like the best Pop bands, the group's musical wing-span in fact encompasses Pop Rock from all of those periods.
"You could say that our material borrows from each of those eras," Staab says. "The melodies and basic chord structures all come from Pop music roots."
When asked about their goals for the band, all three members agree that shopping the soon-to-be-released disc to labels is the next step.
"That, and getting out and playing more shows," says Conner. "We love making our shows an experience for the whole audience, and just having fun. We're all looking forward to that."
"We're also excited about the recent boom in songwriting bands on the local scene," says Staab. "For a long while, maybe since the psychodots, there wasn't really a 'scene' for bands that did Pop-style stuff. A few years ago, a band like us wouldn't have had an audience or a place to play."
"What's happening now is really cool," Martini adds. "There's actually a group of bands coming up that are into — and really good at — Pop-style songwriting."
While the band's music fits into the aforementioned "scene," the group insists it's just doing what comes naturally to them.
"Our songs are hooky, but they just represent us," Staab says. "We're just trying to be ourselves."
"We're America's band," laughs Martini. "We dare you not to like us!"
GRAVY8 will be celebrating the release of their debut CD Miss the Boat on Saturday at the York St. Café in Newport with special guests Clabbergirl.
