The Olde #7 Band:

Burnaround Veteran Matt Johnston Puts Together An 'Unplugged' Group Showcasing the Best of the '90s and Beyond

 

By Scott Baker

        When it came time for Matt Johnston to get his ears cleaned out, he contracted a brilliant idea.
 

From the successful madhouse modern rock of Burnaround, for whom he pounds the skins for, Johnston felt it was time to mellow out a little and head into a different direction.
 

Noticing possibilities in an area looking for a group with an acoustic-rock pedigree, Johnston put his plan into motion late last year while continuing to maintain his day job with Burnaround.

This past February, The Olde No.7 Band made its debut, arousing the remaining senses and nerves of not only Johnston, but music fans as well, while eliciting not just one great group he performs with, but now two.
 

"We've learned mainly the '90s unplugged", said Johnston last week before a gig in Saginaw. "Now we've expanded, doing a little bit of country like Keith Urban, Doobie Brothers, some classic rock and (also) from today's rock. It's all acoustic. It's like the Tesla unplugged acoustic jam. I play the drums but I don't hit 'em as hard as I do in Burnaround."
 

Originally conceived with Burnaround bassist and cohort Mark Weiler, the Olde No. 7 Band helped bring a different dynamic to Johnston's ears as well as his soul.
 

"It was my idea," stated Johnston.  "I asked Mark Weiler if he wanted to start a little side project. I had the unplugged in mind right away, just to get away from the loudness, of course. He thought it was a good idea. So I called up (guitarist/vocalist) Bill Erdman and he was all in. Then he talked about this guy he knows from Dr. Rock, that was (guitarist/vocalist) Tom Behmlander. We brought him in, he liked it and it just clicked. Tom's still in Dr. Rock, Bill's not. Bill does a lot of the lead (vocals), but all of us sing."
 

Johnston and Weiler found the group surpassing their ideals.
"It's like a Jekyll and Hyde almost," said Johnston. "I get to express more of a dynamic feel in this band, because you hear everything obviously with all the acoustic guitars, compared to Burnaround, which is balls-out rock, just loudness. It's a side I wanted to go to, to get away from that, because I just wanted to do it - being a fan of all types of music. Being able to hear myself, you know! (laughs)."
 

Then a change emerged almost immediately when Weiler moved to Ann Arbor three months ago, ending their long partnership."He chose to start a life in Ann Arbor with his girlfriend and stuff," said Johnston.

 

Long time Tri-City bassist Jeff Poirier, a friend and band mate of Behmlander's was called in for replacement. Not only able to add the low end, Poirier added fourth part harmonies as a vocalist as well"
 

"Jeff's been kicking ass ever since, because he brought to the table vocal ability. Mark never sang at all. We get four-way harmonies going that'll give 'ya goose-bumps."

"Tom and I go back 20 plus years, but I had never met Matt or Bill before," said Poirier in a related Email.  'I was asked to join when Mark had to leave. As a member of The Go Daddys, a rockabilly-blues-swing trio, it sounded like a nice change of pace to do as a side project. I'd seen the band once and was wowed by the harmonies. It's been great playing with these guys."

 

The new group found their niche playing Rumors in Saginaw, but just moved on to a regular stint on Hamilton Street in Saginaw at Woody O'Briens. 
 

"We're supposed to play every Thursday at Woody O’Brien's," said the drummer. "We were doing the Tuesdays at Rumors, but they gave up on it for the summer."
 

"We're trying to get more dancier songs into the set list. We first started out with the 'let's see what we can do approach, like Alice in Chains and stuff. People started taking to that, but we wanted to get them out there dancing so we started picking up some cool Doobie Brothers songs, 311, stuff like that."

 

Crowds have been good and word of mouth has traveled along doing the band well over the summer. "The owners love us at the bars that we've played. We've actually had other bar owners come out and see us."
 

For Johnston, locally there is plenty of inspiration for creation of music.
"I'd like to work with everybody eventually," he quipped.  "There's always the future. It would be cool. You get out there, you see these guys and you're like,  'Man I want to be up there. I see that about Chris Mohn. That guy's just phenomenal. He needs more recognition, I think. Hell of a blues singer, too. He can do it all."
 

For the Olde No. 7 Band, it is the first stepping-stone for Johnston to put wheels in motion for his own music life.
 

I'd like to take an original approach and see what we can do," he said.  "I have an original that we were supposed to learn that we never got around to. The sky's the limit with us. If it explodes, it explodes, but I'll still be doing both bands. Hopefully it lasts, because I really enjoy doing it. I like both bands and it's just nice to have the best of both worlds."
 

The drummer can't envision his musical life any other way.
 

"It's just a privilege, because the way I look at it, I'm working with the best. There are so many great musicians in the Tri-cities; it's a privilege to work with both bands. I'm just a nobody out of Merrill," he laughed.