Corrections or additions?
Grey Eye Glances at Triumph
This article Richard J. Skelly was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper
on February 17, 1999. All rights reserved.
= Jennifer Nobel, the lead singer for Grey Eye Glances,
a five-member folk-rock ensemble based in Cherry Hill, says the
group’s
grassroots approach to promotion and marketing is finally starting
to pay dividends. Nobel, a 1990 Rutgers College graduate, believes
in letting things happen organically, naturally. The band got its
start in 1992 at a Borders bookstore in Marlton, where organist Dwayne
Keith worked a day job. Other members include Eric O’Dell on bass
and vocals, Brett Kull on acoustic and electric guitars, and Paul
Ramsey, drums and percussion.
Within two years of their formation — initially as a trio —
the band was playing at Borders all over the northeast. More recently,
since a major label deal with Mercury Records came about in 1996,
the band’s itineraries have included places like Myrtle Beach, S.C.,
Chicago, and Michigan.
"The main thing is just to get back to the same cities and keep
reminding people that we’re coming to town," says Nobel,
explaining
the band’s promotional approach from her home in Cherry Hill.
"It’s been a grassroots approach — just Bill Eib, our manager,
and the three of us," she says, adding that manager Eib has been
with the band since they started performing together in 1992.
At the Borders in Marlton, keyboardist Keith thought it would be a
great idea to bring more live music in to the store. "He wanted
to have some bands in — you know, groups with drums — and
we were a band. It worked out really well, it allowed us to tour the
whole Eastern Seaboard, and yet it was basically the same venue
everywhere
we went," Nobel explains.
"When people want to get out but they have kids it’s difficult.
Our shows were sort of a night on the town for a family with kids.
And the fact that it was a retail environment didn’t hurt us at
all,"
she adds, noting it helped the band sell CDs.
In 1993, the band released "Songs of Leaving," an
independently-produced
debut that got them noticed by WXPN-FM, a listener-supported radio
station based at the University of Pennsylvania. They followed up
in 1994 with the album "Further On." WXPN became a champion
of the band, playing both their two independently-released CDs.
"WXPN played the first two albums before we got signed and that
allowed us to build a fan base in the Philadelphia area," says
the former Rutgers political science major. Both CDs were financed
by Nobel, who worked a day job in accounting at a large company (which
she declines to identify) in south Jersey.
Mercury Records executives attended several live shows, saw the fan
base the band had built in Philadelphia, and thought it could be
transported
to other cities. A record contract resulted. The band’s first CD for
Mercury, "Eventide," drew critical praise from reviewers at
USA Today and several national music magazines. The band’s second
CD for Mercury, "Painted Pictures" was released last year.
Hot spots for the band, in addition to Philadelphia, include Chicago,
Boston, and more recently, Washington, D.C., Nobel says. The band
knows where they’re getting the most air play, so they’re
concentrating
on building their followings in those cities.
Nobel, Keith, and O’Dell began performing together in
the privacy of their homes while all three were still in college.
"I grew up just singing around the house, not even in choirs or
anything until high school," says Nobel. "At that point, a
lot of my friends were going away on a trip to Europe and my band
director in high school asked me if I wanted to try out for it, so
I did."
"I made it and we went to Europe and that’s how I met Dwayne
[Keith],
who was in a chorus from another high school. We became really great
friends and it wasn’t until we were all in college that we started
to play together."
Asked about vocal influences, Nobel says she has five older siblings,
so she heard a wide spectrum of music around the house.
"Dwayne grew up with a lot of classical music, but I listened
to everything from the Beatles to Kate Bush to Billy Joel, Jackson
Browne, and the Beach Boys. Once we started working with [guitarist
and drummer] Brett and Paul, our music took on whole new perspectives,
so it’s been a lot of fun bringing all these different influences
into the music," she adds.
"Painted Pictures" reflects the band’s natural, home-grown
eclecticism: there’s a folk-rock tune, "Sleepy," more
pop-oriented
fare, "Remember This" and "Perfect Plan," and even
a few harder-edged alternative rock tunes.
Grey Eye Glances has not performed at Triumph Brewery before, Nobel
says, but their tours in the last three years have included plenty
of theaters as well as more than a few smoky bar rooms, so the band
is ready for anything.
Grey Eye Glances has been called folk-rock and folk-rock pop, but
Nobel points out the band will also play blues and jazz-tinged
numbers.
"We’ve been compared with everyone from Fleetwood Mac to 10,000
Maniacs," Nobel says, when asked to put a label on the band’s
sound. "We do lots of harmonies," she says, pausing to
consider
a label. "But we’re a little more rough-edged than Fleetwood
Mac."
For an audience member unfamiliar with the band, what could he or
she expect at the Triumph show?
"They can expect a fun, laid-back show," says Nobel.
"Dwayne
builds a great rapport with the audience. All of these guys have a
great sense of humor. I spend a lot of time laughing with this band.
We have a really good time at our shows and I think our audiences
have a great time as well. It’s not an angst-ridden kind of
alternative
rock band. We enjoy watching people have a good time with us."
— Richard J. Skelly
Street, 609-924-7855. The band of five on tour. Friday, February
19, 8:30
p.m.
Corrections or additions?
This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com
— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
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