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MEET THE SINCLAIRS
By Robert
E. Martin
More
musical curators than a mere 'retro' band, the manner in which artistry & mirth
merge with professionalism can be witnessed in every component of the group -
from song selection and promotional material to the alchemy between each
individual member that sparks an entity more joyous than the sum of its parts.
But then
would you expect anything less when merging a Sales Manager, an IT Project
Manager, a Surgical Technician, Bank Vice President and Park Ranger all together
into a wildly inventive rock 'n roll project?
The
Sinclairs
consist of bassist Chris Jarema (formerly a founding member of two
definitive mid-Michigan trailblazing bands Water 4 the Pool and Poke); Ed
Kerns on drums, Dennis Beson handing lead vocal duties; Rod Loomis
on lead guitar; and newcomer Jeff Ott on keyboards.
The group
is prolific - often covering 45 to 50 songs in the course of an evening that
consist of familiar yet under-performed gems - 3-minute wonders - from the
sixties, seventies, and eighties. And the key to their success is the fun they
have performing together, which undoubtedly creates a synergistic reaction in
their audience.
The
Sinclairs
began 7-and-a-half years ago when Kerns, Loomis and Beson started jamming in the
living room of original Sinclair bassist Greg Bever. With Kerns drumming
for 35 years and Loomis polishing his guitar licks for 20 years, these two
veterans were joined by Beson, who answered an ad saying 'If you're not
interested in playing out, join us!' This was Beson's first full time rock 'n
roll gig. Moreover, for Jeff Ott who joined the band in April of this year,
The Sinclairs are his first rock band ever, even though he's played piano
since the age of 5. Thus was this unique blend of seasoned veterans & newcomers
forged.
"The
concept behind the band is simple," explains Kerns. "Back in the day our
original bassist, Greg, was a music historian. He had the idea of putting
together a party band that performed nothing but music people enjoyed having fun
with. Our idea was to perform songs that people knew, but not the songs that
many bands play to death."
"For the
most part we might look to the 'B-side' of an album for material," interjects
Dennis, "but keep it focused on fun rock 'n roll. We've evolved into more of a
crowd pleasing band, but keep the music integrity in place and avoid songs that
are done to death." "We'd probably still be in Greg's living room having fun if the loud sound vibrations hadn't broken Greg's wife's china cabinet. Once we got Mrs. Bever to give our gear back, we had to find another place to play. That's when we discovered how much fun it is to perform for an audience," laughs Ed. "It's not rocket science. We come to a place knowing we're going to have a good time. That's what it's all about."
ver 'em," he comments. "In fact, we learn more songs that we don't play than those that we do. Sometimes we'll get together and work a song to death and figure we never want to hear it again. If that's the case, it doesn't make the list. Mainly we look for things that were on the radio or that you haven't heard in years that were just good tunes. It needs to fit the personality of the band more than anything. We don't play heavy duty mind music or head banging music, just stuff everybody should know, and they usually do."
When asked
what they feel distinguishes The Sinclairs from other cover bands, Ed is
quick to respond. "The biggest thing is that we don't play music for a living, so it's fun. We work at having a good time; at least that's what we hear from our audience. You can't fake having fun. You have to enjoy what you're doing and, humbly, I feel Dennis distinguishes us. He's a front guy like no other and knows no fear. He will literally walk out into the crowd with his microphone, walking that fine line between going over the edge and people watching without taking their eyes off him. Dennis is the energizer - the guy that geeks the crowd up and gets them on our side"
"When
Chris joined the group he came from a long line of 'original' musicians and
played with big name bands in the area," comments Dennis. "One of the big things
we talked about is that because we're very laid back and have regular day jobs,
it's important that we all have a good time. We don't want to have a point where
the show goes stale and everybody can name the next song we're going to perform.
I'm kind of like a quarterback in that sense. I call out the audibles to keep
the song list fresh and see what the crowd is doing and work with that."
"Because
we spend a lot of time picking songs and throwing stuff out, most of the
material we do is well received," notes Rod. "We've been getting into a bit more
of the '60s soul stuff and '70s blues, but we dabble all the way back to the
very early '60s with Del Shannon and Drifter's tunes. People often don't expect
to hear that." The group has over 100 songs under their belt, so the show is always fresh. "I think we probably play more music in a single night than any band in the area," laughs Dennis. "Sometimes I'll get six songs into a set and think, 'Wow, we've only played for 15 minutes.' But it's fun to think where we're going to go next. With Jeff in the band now he fills in a lot of the material, so now Rod can be more of a showman with the guitar."
Although Jeff has only been a Sinclair for a little over six months, he knew Dennis for six years and followed the band through the years. "Dennis asked me to sit in and I wanted to play in the band for a long time. I learned 50 songs in two weeks."
As for
Chris Jarema, The Sinclairs serve as the perfect foil for his musical
aspirations. "When I was still playing with Poke, Dennis came out to hear
us and said their bass player was leaving and asked if I'd come out to jam. I
had a riot. We played about 30 songs right off the bat and for me it was almost
too good to be true because it was so much fun. Plus, at that time, Poke
was starting to play out more often and that didn't fit into my schedule. It was
getting to be too much. Originally we were only gong to perform once a month."
In order
to not milk too much of a good thing, The Sinclairs limit their
performances to about 35 nights per year, performing when they are available.
"We play
at Woody O'Briens and O'Hares quite regularly and the Midland &
Bay City Country Club about twice a year," notes Dennis. "We'd like to go on a
'Barbecue Tour' in the summer and attach the concert market. We've been asked to
play the River Days Festival and have opened for the Saginaw Spirit, so we're
going to push that stuff in the future. We like to play for 600-700 plus people
and see where we can take it. Over the Christmas season we're going to be busy
with three private parties and a New Year's Eve gig at the Midland Country
Club."
As for
their name, at the time the band started they played without a name - as most
do. The members started talking about the big icons of the 1960s that people
recognized from that era and somebody mentioned the Sinclair gas station because
of the green dinosaur logo that defined the now defunct gas stations.
"It
started as a joke," relates Dennis, "because when I joined the band I was the
youngest member by a good six years, so it was like 'I'm playing with
dinosaurs'. But the name evolved as the logical handle because of the vintage
music we love. Besides, I'll bet 'The Beatles' sounded pretty stupid too at
first." All members agree that the most challenging thing is keeping the energy up. "Making sure that what you do is with enthusiasm and you're having genuine fun can be a challenge, " reflects Ed, "especially with five individual guys with 'type-A' personalities. We may argue from time to time, but we're brothers and it's important to keep it that way. Sometimes the business of the band gets in the way of the fun, but Rod takes care of 90 percent of our bookings and everybody falls into a niche and does a certain thing to keep the business part of the band going. Similar to when we perform, the group is greater than the sum of its parts."
"Our motto
is to keep it fun," concludes Dennis. "Some bands are great but when they
perform only for money they lose the entertainment value. If we see people
smiling, we know we've done our job. Even those rare nights when the magic isn't
happening, we're a pretty good tight little band."
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