ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 18, 1997 TAG: 9704180026
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: off the clock
SOURCE: CHRIS HENSON
"My dad has the world's phattest record collection," says guitarist Sean Parker. "That's how I got turned on to a lot of classic rock, Hendrix and that stuff. And he's got some old jazz records, pre-bebop stuff."
"When I was a kid," says singer Ralph Straley, "I grew up on a lot of Marvin Gaye and Al Greene and stuff like that. My parents were into it." Mention the late Sun Ra (the late avant-garde jazz guy who said he was from Saturn) and Ralph says, "Rock on, man. I'm all over that stuff!"
"I started out playing Zeppelin and Hendrix," says Mike Maycock, also a guitarist. "The Beatles were like my biggest influence. Then I started getting into Miles Davis, Coltrane and just started listening to more and more and more. That's what you've got to do."
Three-fifths of the band Stone Groove are sitting at a back table at Chico & Billy's on the Roanoke City Market inhaling pizza by the slice. Meanwhile, they're giving a point-A-to-point-B explanation for their groovy sound, their need to jam and the way they write their songs.
"I studied jazz for about five years," says Mike. "I'm usually playing in, like, two bands." He also gives guitar lessons, which he says helps him with his music theory.
Stone Groove is an ambitious band that likes to beat up on the upbeat with its reggae stylings, flat-out funkulations, and extended jam sessions. Everybody in the band brings something to the table, be it slick technique or deeply groovy musical baggage from Dad's LP collection.
Who's the cat in the hat?
When you see them live, it's probably Ralph you notice first. In his Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss hat and 7-Eleven shirt, he cradles the microphone and busts some uncanny hip-hop moves when not vocalizing. He dances into himself, a little introverted maybe, while the band stretches over a Grateful Dead tune or thumps out a song of its own. He smiles and turns. He's under the influence of his influences. So, it makes sense.
"I don't know," says Ralph. "I just sort of fall into a kind of groove sort of thing."
Mike and Sean, meanwhile, trade their licks. "Mike's been playing for 17 years or something," says Sean. "I've only been at it for like four. One day, I got sick of going to my friends' jam sessions and hearing them play covers. I said, 'Shoot, I can do that!' And I just picked up a guitar and started playing."
"Sean has the key to the musical universe written on a Kit Kat wrapper," Mike explains. It's just a couple of tips his teacher wrote down for him once, what notes go where, a C major scale works well over an A minor chord, stuff like that.
The roar of the crickets
Stone Groove can be seen on occasional Thursdays at Mac and Bob's in Salem, and around Roanoke most weekends, including April 25 at Confeddy's on the City Market. The band also is starting to play out-of-town gigs more. They'll be at Festival in the Park this year. And they've got a CD coming out in May.
The fellows agree that the Roanoke music scene is full of opportunities if people will just come out and enjoy it.
"I think it's a great place to get started," says Ralph. "Roanoke crowds are hard to predict. I mean we'll have gigs that go great, the crowd will be really into it and we're playing OK, you know. Then we'll have some nights where we're on fire and will finish a tune and be like "Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh!"
"And then you hear the crickets," says Sean.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB