by Alan K. StoutMusic Columnist
SUZE comes to play. The Kingston-based band, formed in 2007, prides itself in its musicianship and a fun and eclectic set list. It is a cover band that likes to cover everything from Phish to The Beastie Boys, and it has some pretty good originals, too. And though vocalist Adam McKinley sometimes shuffles around a bit on stage, he says that, for the most part, it’s just a straight-ahead rock show.
“We just want to please people and give them a good time,” says McKinley. “We’re not necessarily the type of band that’s going to jump around all over the stage and do acrobatics. We’re not distracting you with all of that other stuff. Even though I love theatrics and putting on a show, and I’d like to start doing more of that, we just want people to enjoy our playing. We want people to feel we played a great show, played a lot of good songs, and played them well.”
Featuring McKinley on vocals and guitar, Brandin Shaffern on bass, Kevin Gallagher on drums and Chris Bednar on guitar, SUZE names everyone from The Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin, moe., Tom Petty, Parliament-Funkadelic, Phish, The Beatles, Sublime, Rage Against The Machine, The Talking Heads, Radiohead, The Grateful Dead, The Beastie Boys and NAS as influences. It’s a healthy mix of modern rock, classic rock and even a few jam bands.
“I grew up on Elton John and Pink Floyd,” says McKinley. “That’s what my mom used to play in the car all the time. And Chris and Brandin have been playing guitar forever. They were more exposed to that type of music than I was. Chris saw moe. back in ’97. And with the classic rock, we were all brought up around it, and we all seemed to enjoy it. To me — and I think everybody would agree — it’s almost like the music was better back then than it is now. And that’s not really a knock against bands now. It just seems now it’s more about the catchy melody and the way you look. Back then, it was all about the music and the guitar riffs.
“That’s been a big part of how we approach music.”
He elaborates:
“When we first started playing, we were doing primarily covers,” he says. “We never even thought we were going to have a band. We were just jamming out. And when we started writing songs, most of the time, I’d write a riff and bring it in, and we’d kind of just jam it. That’s where a lot of the jam-band quality comes in, where we just get in a key and see where it goes. We just experiment with things.”
SUZE recently recorded two of its original songs, “Rugged Rebel” and “The Loner.” For McKinley, who writes the lyrics, it’s another positive step forward for the young band.
“It’s a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment,” he says, adding that some of the songs are third-person narratives. “When I sit down and write, I don’t force it. I just let it come naturally. I usually just write some kind of riff or chord progression, and the tone of that chord progression dictates what I’m going to write about.”
As for the band’s live show, McKinley says the band enjoys offering all types of music in the set. On any given night, you’re likely to hear a song by any one of the group’s long list of favorites.
“It’s just our way of getting people interested,” he says. “We mix it up. People like that. We’ve had people come up to us and say ‘You guys play everything.’ That’s what we’re about. We don’t want to just stick to one genre. We want to explore it all.”
Michael Jackson
1958-2009
People have been asking me this week if I planned to write some sort of commentary on the passing of Michael Jackson. I have.
It was a somewhat challenging piece to write because of the many conflicting emotions that Jackson seemed to bring out of not only myself, but millions of others as well. In looking back at his career, I clearly drew a line in the sand at some point, where I was an admirer, and later, no so much. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t mourn his loss and still enjoy much of his music. For my thoughts on Jackson, go to theweekender.com and click on the Bonus link. w
SUZE, Senunas’ Bar & Grill (133 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre), Friday, July 3, 10 p.m. Cover: $2 Info: myspace.com/suzerocks
