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Words and photos by SuperDee unless noted otherwise
Perpetual Groove at the Georgia Theatre |
I am standing in the center of the Georgia
Theatre in Athens, GA and the sound of a slide guitar is literally swirling
around the room in 5.1 Dolby surround sound. I'm feeling that blissful feeling
you only get when confronted with live music that commands your attention and
drives your emotion. I'm present in this moment of music--it's touching my soul
and it feels marvelous...
The last time you heard from me, I was crying on my keyboard listening
to the last bits of my phavorite rock quartet of all time. Things seemed relatively
bleak at that point. I was telling you I was optimistic for the future
of music but really I think I was saying the words in the hopes that I would
believe them myself--"To hear my words or heed my own advice"--as
sung in Perpetual Groove's "Stealy Man."
Adam Perry |
About a month before the whole Coventry mayhem, I made arrangements to travel
to Georgia in October to spend a weekend with Perpetual Groove at Athens' Georgia
Theatre and the Visulite Theater in Charlotte, NC. PGroove is one of my favorite
new bands that I rarely get to see, since they've only made it out to the West
Coast for their two trips to the High Sierra Music Festival.
Still, I'm glad I made the plans when I did. My post-Coventry mentality towards
anything musical was generally unmotivated and uninspired; I don't
think I would've bought a plane ticket if I hadn't made the plans before Phish. Yet here was October and my PGroove trip on the
horizon. It seemed like a leap of faith to jump on tour with a band, but
when you get knocked off a horse, they tell you to get back on it, right? Just
because you had a bad break up doesn't mean you won't ever fall back in love
again, right? These were the reassurances I told myself as off I went to the airport...
Brock Butler |
"SuperDee," you may be thinking, "what is so effin' special
about Perpetual Groove that you flew all the way across the country to see them
play?" Well my friends, that's precisely what I'm gonna spell out in this
here story.
First, let's get some history lessons out of the way and introduce you to the
band. Seven years ago at the Savannah College of Art & Design, Brock
Butler (guitarist/vocalist) casually joined in a conversation Adam Perry (bassist)
was having about music. Immediately, the two became friends, played music together that very night, and planted the seed for Perpetual Groove. The band originally included fellow college buddies (Joe Stickney and
Brett Hinton), but they've since moved on to their own projects.
Albert Suttle & Matt McDonald
(photo from pgroove.com) |
The other half of Perpetual Groove as we know it today met in the army at Fort
Stewart, Georgia. When Matt McDonald (keyboardist) returned from Bosnia,
drummer Albert Suttle was there as a new member of the US Army Band.
"Both Albert and I had the same ideas as far as making music we wanted
to make as opposed to what we were doing at the time," Matt recalls.
Luckily Matt was done with his duty and Albert was given an opportunity to
leave the Army a year and a half early. Albert often wonders what would have
happened if he didn't take that opportunity right at that time. "There's
a distinct possibility that if I were still in the Army, I would be
in Iraq because they wouldn't have let me leave."
PGroove at the Visulite Theatre |
The PGroove puzzle was completed when these two Army guys came to an open mic
night where Adam and Brock were performing. And so, in 2001, Perpetual Groove
became the quartet it currently is. Today the band members, as well as lighting
designer Jason Huffer, all live together in a house in Savannah, GA.
Huffer, I was told, "lives in the drummer's closet" conjuring images
of the great Lazlo Hollyfield. Each band member has their own room they can
escape to, and rehearsals take place in the living room. They compose music
both as a unit and individually with Pro Tools on Brock's Mac. "The way
we usually write," explains Adam, "is that one person will have an
idea for a song. To what extent they take that idea before bringing it to the
band varies."
 I
first discovered the PGroove sound about a year and a half ago when their first
album Sweet Oblivious Antidote found its way to my desk. I was immediately
hooked, and Antidote became one of those standby CDs I never wanted to
take out. It was a perfect combination of fiery jams and sweet melodies, and
when I heard the lyrics, it was just enough to break my heart.
I'm busy searching
Searching for what, I'm not really sure
Maybe an answer
Maybe some sweet oblivious cure
-"Sweet Oblivious Antidote"
Released earlier this year, their second studio album All This Everything
showcases a more mature PGroove that has refined their songwriting skills and
learned a thing or two about studio recording. Working with producer Robert
Hammond (the Grammy-winning engineer on Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below)
at Atlanta's Tree Sound Studios
(where artists like Elton John, Outkast, and the Beastie Boys come to record)
was a creative catalyst for the band and inspired the idea for their ambitious
"Speed of Surround Fall Tour" featuring 5.1 surround sound.
 My
first impression of All This Everything was that it had an overall melancholy
feeling, but as I continued to listen and spent time with the band, I realized
that while it is in fact melancholy, it's also hopeful. The contrast of light
against dark, good flirting with evil, alternating torment and calm--this to
me is the essence of rock 'n' roll. The album swells with great melodies that
drip with irony and heartbreak topped off by survival--and not a few delicious
jams. Life, the universe, and everything are all just peaks and valleys, after
all.
Daylight without sun
The race we didn't run
The victory we couldn't win
The purchase we never bought
The war we never actually fought
Now we're long past settled in
Chances we won't take
Music we'll never make
Now our patience is so thin
Daylight without sun
The race that we couldn't run
Now we're long past settled in
-"Long Past Settled In"
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