Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 24, 1994 TAG: 9412270082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It began in May when Roanoke alterna-funk band Alchemy played the Blacksburg High School prom, replacing The Kings, a more middle-of-the-road group that had played the dance the three previous years.
Wearing their standard stage attire - shorts and T-shirts - the four band members performed their usual far-from-the-middle-of-the-road set and expected to collect their standard prom fee, $1,500.
Only at the end of the night, Blacksburg Principal Alfred Smith refused to pay them.
Breach of contract, Smith charged. They should have dressed more formally. Or, at the very least, in "nice J.C. Penney clothing," said teacher and prom adviser Jean Wright.
Harsh words were exchanged, particularly by Alchemy's bassist at the time, who accused Smith and Wright of giving the band the shaft - only he used words that can't be printed in a family newspaper.
The police were called, and the band was said to have been escorted out of town.
The story hit the press. It was debated on local radio.
Students said the band should be paid, but Smith remained steadfast.
Lawyers got involved. Alchemy threatened litigation, and the issue brewed for six weeks. Finally, the school paid up.
Six months later, two of Alchemy's band members have left the group to get real jobs, while the others have traded their shorts and T-shirts for even less formal wear. "We actually dress a lot weirder," said guitarist Kenny Seay.
In Alchemy's latest publicity photo, for example, lead singer Trey Batts is wearing ski goggles and a Boy Scout uniform, and new drummer Chris Thompson has on "a big, furry blue Cookie Monster coat," Seay said. "We just went down to the Salvation Army and bought every stupid thing we could find. I think we outfitted the whole band for, like, $30.''
Seay said the outrageous clothing has been good for business. "All you have to do is turn on MTV, and you find out it's not about the music anymore," he said. The band has been booked as far away as Princeton, N.J., and Atlanta. "Hey, we have a bus now!"
But the group won't be traveling to many proms. These days, the band sticks mostly to clubs, Seay said.
"We play a lot of places where they let us be us."
by CNB