DEADLINE FRIDAY | 11.20.01 | SAN DIEGO

Although the four have been playing together for less than a year, Spurgat and Diez have developed a unique musical kinship since they locked up at college five years ago. Not only do the two have their own distinctive styles that compliment one another on stage, but they also write most of the songs that the band plays. Meanwhile, the other two members are just as musically accomplished and the four already seem to be able to find a natural groove with each other at every show. O’Meally is the senior player of the four and is heavily influenced by the melodic bass fills of Phil Lesh. He plays a five-string bass that sits on a stand allowing him to climb up and down the fret board as his fingers run across it. Coomes is a remarkably versatile drummer who guides Deadline Friday through its intricate rhythms, and he also sings lead vocals when Spurgat and Diez aren’t wailing away on their own soulful lyrics.

The group offered up their latest serving of funkified blues at Winston's on Tuesday, November 20, to fans who have quickly discovered that this band is one that continues to make huge leaps while other groups this young sometimes struggle to make baby steps. Despite it being a weeknight in Ocean Beach, it didn’t stop a good size crowd from gathering at a club that has hosted some of today’s most notable acts.

Deadline Friday went on around 10 pm to a surprisingly crowded bar on this foggy evening, but it wasn’t until the end of the first tune that the folks at Winston’s realized just how sweet the rest of the night was going to be. The song was called “String of Pearls,” a Diez original that started out as a slow blues tune with a spacey guitar effect but soon graduated into a hard-driving jam with a chilling solo by Mike Spurgat that garnered the night’s first screams of approval. A seamless segue into the second song of the night introduced the crowd to another original called “Nogales.” It’s a shifty instrumental piece that might remind some of an Allman's initially, but it developed into a stylistic funk groove decidedly different from the Southern rock legends. A furious jam was the result as Coomes led the charge on drums until he brought the song back to its original progression after the song changed tempos several times. Despite the intricacies of this number, the band never missed a beat and proved they know their songs and each other extremely well. The first couple songs of the show certainly put us all in high gear for the rest of the evening.

The band played two long sets that featured a total of 21 songs, thirteen of which were their own. Everything from funk to blues to rock with sometimes a tinge of bluegrass can be heard in this band’s repertoire, and that’s not even including the cover tunes we were treated to this evening.

We heard a Taj Mahal blues tune, some funky Meters, a bit of Gov't Mule grunge, a rockin’ Phish tune that featured guest guitarist Will Foley, a seldom-covered Jerry Garcia love ballad, and even a Charlie Daniels song. But without a doubt the cover of the night was John Lennon’s “I Want You,” a song that caught us all by surprise because few bands have thought to play it, and even fewer have ever recreated the song so well. Jim Diez’s masterful command of the four-line lyrics were sung with such emotion that you could sense he meant every word.

Deadline’s wide range of sound, style, and synchronicity created instant fans among the many at Winston’s who didn’t already know about them. With an enormous amount of individual talent and a collaborative spirit that gives them unity, Deadline Friday is a band that is just beginning a musical adventure that promises to take us to places unseen and unheard. After shows like last Tuesday’s and the many more to follow, you know this band will be inviting all those willing to join the ride. So be sure to circle Friday on your calendar because the Deadline is near, and this musical journey has just begun.

Jeff Kothe
JamBase | SoCal
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