John, Paul, George and Ringo would have been thrilled to see their stars ascending so quickly.
Although time will tell to what heights the stars of Chris, Dan, Graham and Dave may eventually soar, life is definitely on an upward swing for the Villa Park band called Showoff. In little more than a year, Showoff has gone from being a garage band playing local gigs to signing a contract with a major recording label. At this point, they don’t quite know what hit them.
In the wake of rap, drug culture music and just plain noise, Showoff produces music even a parent could love. “It’s not quite punk; I’d define it more as sped-up ’50s music,” said lead vocalist Chris Messer, 21. Messer, who uses the stage name Chris Envy, is the band’s composer and lyricist. He also plays rhythm guitar.
The four band members claim no great concentration of music lessons beyond what the normal child might have received. However, based on family backgrounds, all seem to have the music running through their veins, and all have performed previously in bands.
Dan Castady, 18, the group’s drummer, graduated from Willowbrook High School in 1997. “I don’t know if this means anything,” he said, “but I think it’s interesting that every single one of our parents either sings or plays an instrument. And all of our parents are still married to each other. These days, that’s a pretty big deal.”
Whether or not it’s true that the family that plays together stays together, looking at Showoff, it certainly appears that two musically talented parents often produce even more talented offspring. The band members have in the past played in groups called AYA, The Brockmeyers and Those Naked Guys before forming Showoff.
“I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything else other than a musician,” said lead guitarist Graham Jordan, 19, also a 1997 Willowbrook graduate. “My parents used to play in a band, and they’d practice in our basement. When I was a little kid, I’d fall asleep listening to my parents practicing.”
Bass guitar player Dave Hyde, 21, also from Villa Park, goes by the stage name Dave Envy. “Before we formed Showoff, Dan had heard Chris sing. He was obsessed with Chris’ voice and wanted to be in a band with him.”
The band members were able to recognize a perfect fit when they played together. The liquid silk voice of Messer balances beautifully against the frenzied instrumentals of Hyde and Jordan.
In May 1997, after the foursome founded Showoff, they discovered it was easy to find local work because of their successes in other bands. Their big break came when a local promoter signed Showoff to be a warmup act for the nationally renowned Los Angeles-based ska-punk band Goldfinger, when it was playing a Chicago concert last December.
“I picked Showoff as the opener because I knew a Goldfinger crowd would dig them.” explained promoter David Eaves. “The show had a great turnout and Showoff got results beyond their wildest dreams on this one.”
“A couple of weeks later, we set up our own tour,” Jordan explained. “We were in Tennessee, playing music stores, anything we could find. When we were at a mall in Tennessee, I called home to talk to my mom and she said something like, `Oh, a John Seldon or somebody called and wants you to play some out-of-town dates with them.’ “
Jordan recalled that his mouth dropped. “I yelled, `You mean John Feldmann (of the group Goldfinger)?’ “
Hyde said, “In the middle of a mall in Tennessee, we were running around like wild men screaming and yelling stuff like, `We’re gonna be famous!’ “
Feldmann, lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player for Goldfinger, is now the producer for Showoff. “After they played with us the first time, they gave me one of their demo tapes,” Feldmann said. “I get three or four tapes a night, and theirs is the only tape I have ever pursued. I’ve been wanting to produce other bands for a long time, and I decided to give this one a shot.”
Showoff toured with Goldfinger last winter for two weeks with 11 dates through the Midwest and a few Canadian cities. “We started off having them open for us for just a week in case we ended up not liking them,” Feldmann said. “But we did.”
A second tour, lasting a month and covering 27 dates, took them to the East Coast, including Boston and New York. The average audience was approximately 1,000 people, small by concert standards, but large enough for Showoff to begin making a name nationally.
“It was so cool to open the local papers and see our name in an ad for the show,” Castady said. “And one morning, we were in Albany, N.Y., listening to Howard Stern on the radio, and one of the commercials came on promoting Goldfinger and Showoff. It was unbelievable.”
Close to home, Showoff played the House of Blues this spring, sharing the bill with three other bands.
Showoff’s previously recorded cassette titles “Around the Corner” and “Showoff” are available at Record Swap in Naperville and through Showoff’s Web site (http://listen.to/showoff). Live appearances are also posted on the site.
“The tapes have sold about 1,000 copies,” Hyde said. “We think that sounds like a lot, but it’s nothing compared to how many we hope to be selling.”
The band was courted by four labels before signing two weeks ago with Maverick Records, which was Madonna’s original label. The band leaves for Los Angeles this week to record.
With earrings everywhere and hair colors ranging from orange to chartreuse (at least when this article was written), the band’s appearance does belie the sound of its music. “Nope, you won’t find angry young man music here. There’s no teen angst in this group,” Castady said.
“I don’t write raunchy lyrics,” Messer said. “Life inspires what I write, along with the greats like Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline.”
Messer alone writes the lyrics and throws out the basic melody, but he gives band members carte blanche to do their own arranging. “They come up with their own interpretations,” he said. “We don’t fight about it or anything. Sure, we disagree sometimes, but we always get it worked out.”
So is Messer offended that a fortysomething amateur critic declared the music as “having a sweetness” to it?
“That doesn’t offend me at all,” Messer said. “It makes me happy if you think that. If you listen to us on tape, you might think that, but I have to warn you, when we perform, we take on a whole different look. Even though we have fans that range from age 6 to 100, our shows are geared to the teen and young adult crowd.”
Indeed. When Showoff performs, the band becomes . . . well, wild. Jordan and Hyde take on the roles of two perpetual motion machines, jumping across stage, while their guitars wail around the words that Messer and Castady are harmonizing.
Having grown up in the western suburbs, this fab four has a large following of local fans. Andy Riegel, 14, of Villa Park is one. “Showoff is really unique,” he said. “They are totally different from most bands. I love the voice of Chris Messer.”
Locally, there are also lots of adults who knew the band members when . . . and recognized the seeds of talent. Lisa Wagner, an English teacher at Willowbrook High School, always knew that Jordan was destined for something beyond the basic 9-to-5. “He was so full of energy and creativity,” Wagner said. “I always knew something big was going to happen to him.”
Stacey DeGaris, a music teacher and owner of Stacey De & Co., a school for the performing arts in Lombard, recalled when Castady performed in one of her productions. She isn’t surprised either. “Dan was a treat to work with,” she said. “He literally feels the music. And I would guess he probably has perfect pitch. He has this gift of being able to hear a note and just nail it and harmonize with it. He’s a natural.”
Besides the likes of DeGaris and Wagner, parents were always mentioned when group members were asked who were their mentors and loudest cheerleaders.
“My dad definitely was my greatest mentor,” Castady said. “He bought me my first drum set and got me into lessons. And my mom is one of our biggest fans.”
Family influence also plays an important role in the positive values that the band wishes to convey to young fans. “I think we’re obligated to be good role models,” Messer said. “A lot of young kids are looking up to us. None of us in the band is into drugs or alcohol, and I think it’s really good, because our fans are at an impressionable age.”
Along with roadie Magoo, 17, of Elmhurst (“it’s the only name he uses, he’ll get mad if you call him anything else,” Hyde said), Showoff is due to tour again with Goldfinger later this summer.
Although uncertain what the future has in store, Showoff members expressed hope that they would be able to make a living doing what they love to do, performing and recording their music.
“Becoming rich would be even better,” Messer added.
“You know,” Castady said, “all this stuff we’re saying, I hope we don’t sound conceited or anything.”
“Sure we sound conceited,” Jordan said. “Because we are conceited.”
Blame it on optimistic youthful exuberance, but Hyde did sum it up quite nicely: “Well, we are the greatest band around.”
