Artist description Piano, bass, drums trio doing songs and instrumentals influenced by many eras of American popular music. Variety without straying too far from the signature Wheelhouse sound.

Music Style Piano, bass, drums trio. Jam/groove oriented. Influenced by many genres.

Musical Influences Phish, Beatles, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Frank Zappa, Billy Joel

Similar Artists Phish, Ben Folds Five,

Artist History The eclectic and experimental sounds of Wheelhouse are created by drummer/percussionist Blaine Rybke, bassist/vocalist/guitarist/mandolin player Bryan Pearce, and pianist/vocalist/organist/guitarist Doug Silver. The Tucson, Arizona trio formed in the spring of 1999, informally at first, and spent the better part of a year playing in our living rooms, just learning songs and learning each other's styles. Doug is classically trained and an avid music theorist, Bryan's tastes lean toward colorful jazz chord structures and a sort of folk aesthetic, and Blaine, well, Blaine can do pretty much everything. Our journey to become truly original wanders through landscapes of (to name a few) reggae, bossa nova, swing, and classic jazz, while remaining inherently grounded in a rock-and-roll home base. Live performances are heavily marked by improvisation, with a promise of never playing the same show twice, and of never playing any song exactly the same way twice. In baseball, the "wheelhouse" is the part of the strike zone that a batter has complete command of: if a pitcher leaves a hanging curveball in a batter's wheelhouse, you can bet the ball will be knocked out of the park. On old ships, the "wheelhouse" was the command center, the room that houses the big wooden steering wheel. We're constantly striving for that perfect groove, where the music becomes locked "in the wheelhouse" and resonates with energy and enthusiasm, "a groove that goes all night." We knew we were on the right track when-during our first "gig" in Doug's backyard-three Tucson cop cars showed up to shut us down and punished Doug by making him hang a fluorescent orange sign in his front window proclaiming his house a place of "public nuisance." The sign remained in the window for 120 days (as mandated by some screwy city ordinance) and hung there with pride. We've since graduated to playing an increasingly growing circuit of Tucson bars and clubs, and intend to record our first full length original album (working title: "Welcome to Jupiter Village") in the summer of 2000. Our performance schedule and booking information can be found on these pages, as well as our first original song, "Minnie O'Malley," in mp3 format. Thanks for checking us out!

Group Members -- Doug Silver, piano/vocals -- Bryan Pearce, bass/vocals -- Blaine Rybke, percussion

Instruments Piano, bass, drums

Albums none

Press Reviews none

Location Tucson, AZ - USA

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