Gentleman East steers in a new
direction
Members of The Badlees and Breaking
Benjamin unite for dynamic new projectBy ALAN K. STOUT
JUNE 25, 2014
It was late March of this year and the word came suddenly. It was abrupt. And for many longtime fans of The Badlees, it was something they probably didn’t see coming.
Just five months after the release of a fine new album, the group announced that, after 24 years of making music, it was disbanding. First came a note posted via social media by songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Bret Alexander, announcing that he was leaving the band, effective immediately. Bassist Paul Smith followed the very next day. A few days later, lead vocalist Pete Palladino and drummer Ron Simasek announced that while the band would finish out a few shows that it had already booked - with guest musicians filling in for Alexander and Smith - The Badlees would cease to exist following those dates. Yes, a new double-disc CD set, “Epiphones & Empty Rooms,” featuring some of the most dynamic songs the band had ever recorded, was still fresh in everyone’s ears. And yes, the group, at the time, was still delivering knockout live shows. But The Badlees, they said, were done.
Well, for
the band itself, the implosion was not as abrupt as it may have seemed. Though
the group’s members had sometimes batted heads in the past and were always able
to work through it, the most recent point of contention was in fact something
that had been brewing for some time, even prior to the release of “Epiphones
& Empty Rooms,” and its history actually dates back 14 years. At that time,
in 2000, Alexander and Smith opened Saturation Acres Recording Studio and began
producing records as a full-time occupation, and while The Badlees never officially
disbanded, all of its members were also being pulled in different directions.
Solo albums were released. Side project bands were formed. There was some
tension, and amid it all, Palladino also developed a busy career outside of
music. When the band remerged for 2002’s “Renew,” Palladino was still able to
do shows to support its release, and when the group released 2009’s “Love Is
Rain,” he was again there to play select regional shows. But with the release
of “Epiphones & Empty Rooms,” the group wanted to play more shows to
support the album, including shows outside of the region, and Palladino’s
schedule did not always allow for it. Thus, the group would sometimes perform
without him, with Alexander performing all lead vocals. There were “with Pete”
Badlees shows and “without Pete” Badlees shows. It became confusing to the
fans, frustrating to the band – both to Alexander, Palladino, and the others –
and it eventually became a point of contention.
Finally, things blew up from within.
“I guess that’s
the way it worked out,” says Alexander, taking a break between sets during a
recent solo appearance. “Enough has been
said about the situation. The Badlees were a really good band. Bands break up.
It happens. But 23 years is a great run.”
Indeed.
Throughout the ‘90s, few bands, if any, played more than The Badlees. The group
toured tirelessly throughout all of Pennsylvania, building strong footholds in
Harrisburg, York, Allentown, Reading, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and every little
town in between. In 1995, strong regional sales of the group’s “River Songs”
album led to a national recording contract with Polydor/Atlas Records. Songs
such as “Angeline Is Coming Home” and “Fear of Falling” cracked the national
charts and the band did shows Bob Seger, The Allman Brothers and Robert Plant
and Jimmy Page. Four years later, the band landed another national record deal
for the release of its “Up There Down Here” album, and though it appeared the
group might disband in the early 2000s, it had performed and recorded regularly
since 2002. Last year, the band again joined Bob Seger for a series of arena
shows, and in October came the release of two-CD set, “Epiphones & Empty
Rooms.”
Currently,
The Badlees – usually still fronted by Palladino – are playing their final
shows. The last scheduled date is October 10 in Jim Thorpe. Alexander, after
his initial announcement that he was leaving the group, did play a few
previously booked shows, during which he fronted the band. His final show, for
which he will sing lead vocals, will be at Musikfest in Bethlehem on August 4.
He says keeping the gigs is a matter of fulfilling obligations, and that he had
no odd feelings the first time The Badlees performed without him. A final
Badlees show, with the full band, has not been discussed.
What’s
happening now is a new band. The project, called Gentleman East, takes its name
from the title track of Alexander’s 2004 solo album. It features Alexander on
vocals and guitar, Paul Smith on bass, Ron Simasek on drums and Nyke Van Wyk on
violin. Holding the lead guitarist spot is Aaron Fink, formerly of the
multi-platinum Breaking Benjamin and, most recently, Stardog Champion. Fink,
who grew up a Badlees fan, had performed on the band’s 2009 “Love Is Rain”
album and had done some live shows with the group before guitarist Dustin
Drevitch took over the lead guitarist spot. Now, with Drevitch focusing on a
new solo project, the timing was right for Fink.
“For a while, with The Badlees, we were alternating,” says Alexander. “We had Aaron playing some shows and Dustin playing some shows. But then Aaron got into Stardog, and we were getting ready to make a record. Time went on. Situations changed. And the wind kind of blew us both back this way. It’s awesome. We’re having a good time. It’s a completely different animal. The band is basically the Pete-less Badlees that was out there playing, with Aaron instead of Dustin.”
“For a while, with The Badlees, we were alternating,” says Alexander. “We had Aaron playing some shows and Dustin playing some shows. But then Aaron got into Stardog, and we were getting ready to make a record. Time went on. Situations changed. And the wind kind of blew us both back this way. It’s awesome. We’re having a good time. It’s a completely different animal. The band is basically the Pete-less Badlees that was out there playing, with Aaron instead of Dustin.”
Alexander,
who remains close with Drevitch and is producing his new solo project,
appreciates the talents of both musicians.
“Aaron’s a
different kind of guitar player,” he says. “With The Badlees, where we left
off, it had developed into a more jammy vibe. There was a lot more jamming and
soloing and extended songs. And we certainly had a very strong Americana,
classic thing going on. The new band is definitely going to be more structured.
I think it’s going to be a little more rockin’ and a little more modern.”
He is
excited about the changes.
“Honestly,
I’ve made so many records over time, that I just kind of look at the
ingredients that I have and work around that – from the kind of songs that get
written, to the arrangements, to everything,” he says. “Aaron’s really great
with parts, and great with sounds, and great with a lot of the spacey kind of
things that he does, and that’s working its way in. Rather than try to make him
fit into a mold that I have, I try to shape what I do to use the resources that
I have. And I’m ready to do something new and approach something differently.”
Fink agrees.
Though he enjoyed working with Stardog Champion - his first post-Breaking
Benjamin project that also featured former Breaking Benjamin bassist Mark James
Klepaski and former Lifer vocalist Nick Coyle – he says several factors
contributed to the band being a short-lived endeavor.
“Mark and I
kind of went into that project during a weird spot in our lives,” says Fink.
“The previous band, for 10 years, was obviously quite successful, and at the
time, that was all ending, and we were going through a lawsuit and all of that
fun stuff that comes when you get divorced. We were in a weird headspace. It
wasn’t hard for me, but maybe it was hard for some other folks to really get
focused on something and feel like we were moving forward, instead of clinging
on to the past. There was a little bit of that. And I also think we were
expecting more out of the gate, coming off of the level we had been playing at.
I think we were shooting a little too high. And when it really didn’t take off,
there was a feeling of disappointment. Plus we had some management issues. But
it was no big drama. We threw the spitball against the wall and it didn’t
stick, and that happens sometimes. We gave it a shot, we wrote some songs
together, and we had fun. Life goes on.”
Fink, who is
also recording a solo album, is already enjoying his work with Gentleman East.
He jokes that “it only took 20 years,” but says he’s pleased to be officially
playing in a band with other musicians that he has long admired.
“It feels
really natural,” he says. “Bret gave me a call a couple of months ago and said,
'I need to take a break from The Badlees and clear my head, and write some
songs.' And it was perfect timing. Because I had been working on music of my own
and looking for an outlet as well. I’ve known Bret since 1990 or ’91, and when
he gave me a buzz, I said ‘I’m in.’ I’m a huge fan of his songwriting and his
voice, and I trust him with the direction. As a fan and friend, I didn’t even
hesitate. We’ve been writing songs for the past two months, separately and
together, and it’s been fun. His voice has really taken on a life of its own
over the last 10 years. He’s really stepped forward as a lead singer. With this
band, I think he’s going to be like, ‘Hey, I’m a songwriter, and I just want to
sing my own songs.’ And I admire that. He’s earned it.”
On Friday,
June 27, Gentleman East will make its Wilkes-Barre club debut at The Other Side
at Bart & Urby’s in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The new project will also
release a five-song EP this fall.
“We’ve got a
lot of the songs written,” says Alexander. “We have enough songs to do it now.
But we’re giving it a couple of more weeks to write a few more things before we
sign off on what we’re going to actually record.”
As for the
live shows and putting together set lists, Alexander says there’s plenty of
material to chose from. In addition to the newly written Gentleman East
numbers, he says the group might throw in a few Badlees tunes as well as songs
from the 2001 project by The Cellarbirds. That band, which featured himself,
Simasek and Smith, also released a critically-acclaimed album that received
airplay across the nation. Still, more than anything, the focus is on the new,
and with a new band with a new name, Alexander say he likes the idea of
starting with a clean slate.
“I work with
a lot of bands, and I see people get tripped up,” he says. “They get involved
in making a record, and then they plan the release party, and then they do the
release party, then they fall into a fit of depression, because they don’t know
what to do next. To me, this is just a part of a process. I want to make this
EP, just so people have some music. Just so I can hand somebody something and
see what they think. Then we’ll probably make another record and start doing
other things. It’s going to take a while. It’s not going to happen overnight.
We’re back to square one. But I just want it get into a situation where I can
just feel good about it. And go for it.”
When: Friday, June 27 at 9:30 p.m.
Cover: $5
Info: (570) 970-9576
On the web: www.facebook.com/GentlemanEast
Who: Gentleman East, with Miner Blues
Where: The Other Side, 119
S. Main St., Wilkes-BarreWhen: Friday, June 27 at 9:30 p.m.
Cover: $5
Info: (570) 970-9576
On the web: www.facebook.com/GentlemanEast
(This article also appears in the July 25, 2014 issue
of The Weekender. It can view viewed here: http://www.theweekender.com/news/WK_Music/1489287/Gentleman-East-heads-in-a-new-direction)
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Alan K. Stout has covered rock and pop music in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1992. He currently contributes stories to The Weekender, the region's #1 arts and entertainment newspaper, and his weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu," can be heard every Sunday from 9-10 p.m. on 105 The River (104.9-FM) in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Follow Alan's thoughts on music on Facebook at:
