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For the actual driving portion of the class, I selected the final
week of driving rounds, 3 months after the summer course. Due to my
hesitancy and aversion of all things metal which go "whirrrr", I had
barely logged an hour of practice behind the wheel. If Vietnam had
made my instructor lose his faith in God, my driving might have
reintroduced him to prayer. We made
it through enough roadblocks and
speedbumps that week to make the D.O.T. question my use of metaphor.
However, the final challenge lay on the stretch of U.S. Highway
bisecting my hometown known as U.S. 78/Main Street East. Five lanes
of The Fast, The Furious, and The Finger. It took some sweat (and
the instructor's "oh shit!" emergency break), but after navigating
said highway, I stopped the car under my own power, and no
pedestrians were harmed in the making of this motorist.
In addition to receiving what was essentially a discount coupon on
my future automobile insurance, I like to think that a took away a
very important lesson from Driver's Ed. As I'll bullshit to my kids
one day, you never know what you'll get out of something until you
try. And whether things go good or bad, you may just end up with a
few stories to tell. I hope others have taken away the same valuable
lessons from tests and rites of passage like Driver's Ed.
Truth be told, it seems like standard business for our favorite
musicans to take those cathartic episodes and condense them to a
good 4 minutes of sonic life. They find the words to express
those sudden episodes of reality. All that's left for us to do is
reply "Yeah man, I've been there." Local acoustic rock trio Main
Street East might have adopted their name in tribute to learning
experiences like my own, plus some of a more informative and
cathartic nature. They even wrote a song or two about 'em.
Main Street East is a low-key group whose simple, endearing music is
certainly elegant, and ridiculously deceptive. The songs are easy
listening because the subjects are tough. Whether dealing with that
love of your life who didn't see eye-to-eye on the subject, facing
the tribulations of growing in some direction (hopefully up), or
walking the roads which lead one through the major moments with the
pace of a 4-car collision, Main Street East is your story. The
acoustic guitar is there because, unlike how you treated yourself at
all those times, they're going to go a little easy on you.
Pissed-off hardcore rockers take their aggressions out the back door
and scream them out onstage. Main Street East is the quiet
aftershock when you've had a moment to reflect on just what all that
anger is about. Main Street East is about where you've been, and
where you're going, because they've been there already and want to
tell you a little bit about it.
The roads leading to Main Street East converged in 2000.
Guitarist/vocalist Steven Schuler, percussionist Craig Eck, and
bassist Zachary Lawson formed a Nirvana- and punk-influenced trio
and set out to seek their musical fortunes. The group gigged
frequently. Sadly, they made about as much impact as did the Yugo on
the American driving experience. Lawson departed, creating the
opportunity for Schuler and Eck to adopt local veteran Allen
Rodgers. The match-up was quite the ironic venture in foster
relationships, as Rodgers was several years their elder. According
to Eck, "What Allen really provided us with was experience.
He kicked us in the ass, making us get serious and really put the
effort into becoming a professional act."
Getting serious also
included opening up to some new influences on the band's sound, such
as Dave Matthews Band, the Police, and Elton John. The music
changed, and things began accelerating for Main Street East. With
Rodgers' guidance came better songs and better gigs (namely, the
paying kind).
As instructors do when their students are ready, Rodgers departed
from his pupils for projects with Clay Cook and other notable
locals. Near the end of 2002, Main Street East again expanded their
family by welcoming new bassist Tristan Brown. Tristan brought a
fresh new hipness and modern musical sensibilities to the group. To
compare the two low-end maestros, it's best to leave it up to the
man who knows them best, fellow rhythm section mate Eck: "I guess if
I had to compare, I would say that Alan is like a really good pair
of shoes, and Tristan is like a good pair of sneakers you just wanna
go take a jog in." Wow, and I thought I was good with analogies.
The sounds emanating from Main Street East are familiar sounds, but
saturated with cleverness and surprises idle listeners might miss.
Unorthodox song arrangements transcend the standard procedures of
simple pop rock. Schuler's guitar work is elegant and hypnotic, with
ingenious interplay between the acoustic and the electric. Tristan's
bass playing is unobtrusive, but always propulsive and, if you're
following his lead, infinitely danceable. Eck strategically employs
superb chops in all the right places, but never gets too busy that
the groove suffers. The band proudly proclaims their love of what they call
"hidden acoustic rock". This genre bolsters lesser-known artisans of
introspective, personal music, such as Graham Colton and Chuck
Carrier. All of the members' talents come together to create a Main
Street East show where you might laugh, cry, propose to your girl,
break up with your girl, but always leave enriched and better than
when you walked through the door.
When discussing the future, the guys always have to speak of how
indebted they are to the people that helped them get where they are.
They reverently name Bryan Stephens, producer of their first demo,
and similarly invoke the superhuman spirit that is Clay Cook,
writing partner-in-crime to a mister John Mayer (some of you may
have heard of him). "Clay was really instrumental in opening
a lot of doors for us," recalls Eck. "He was another guy who really
helped us develop our potential. We have a lot to thank him for."
Those doors have led to some enviable exposure at events such as
Hard Rock Cafe's "Lunch on Broad" concert series, which introduced
the band to over 1,000 spectators with an appetite for good music...
and a $12 burger. The boys also enjoyed the privilege to open a lot
of eyes and ears at Slabfest.com's Spring Fling in May of last year.
Main Street East has no plans to get caught in traffic anytime soon.
They will soon release their brand new EP on awarestore.com. From
there, anything is possible. Does Craig in particular have any
ultra-specific goals for the future?
"We will keep playing good music that we feel good about."
Let's hope the boys take the wheel on that one. We'll be following
closely... unlike that Jeep Cherokee I rear-ended. Man, they'll give
a Driver's Ed certificate to anybody.
Questions? Read
the Driver's Manual!
Ten queries for Craig Eck of Main Street East
1) Atlantashows: Is it true that if I eat Pop Rox and drink soda,
my stomach will explode?
Craig: 9 out of 10 surgeon generals say "Yes."
2) What would be the kinkiest, most
unusual thing you could think of to use in the bedroom?
A midget 3)
Who was the most righteous Righteous Brother?
The left one.
4) What's the best way to pick up a lady?
I use chloroform.
5) What's the best pickup line you
use?
"Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven."
6) What's the weirdest thing that has
ever happened at a Main Street East show?
Our bass player broke a string without having any spares. That's
lame, I know, but hey.
7) What award show do we really need?
A "People's Choice" for everything. That we could see who really
deserves to win.
8) What would be the last name you
would ever give to you dog?
Well, I think if I had a dog, the last name I'd give him would be
DOG.
9) How 'bout your
firstborn child?
As much as I love the name Bojangles I could never name my first
born that.
10) Finally, name the greatest concept album ever. Explain.
"Tommy" by The Who, because. . .
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