Pragmatic Adjusters

Dire Straits made it sound as if the life of a musician was a path paved with gold. "That ain't working, that's the way you do it, just play your guitar on the MTV." You know the one: "Your money for nothing and your chicks for free." Well, that may be the case once you've become a walking icon like Eddie Vedder, but until the lawyers from a big record label start dropping off those garbage bags full of 20-dollar bills, playing in a band usually resembles having three or four odd jobs at the same time, all of which pay little to nothing. Hanging posters, setting up sound equipment, making phone calls, scheduling studio and rehearsal times, oh, and writing and performing your music.

"I've been down that road," says Mike Scheer, the singer, guitarist and songwriter behind the North Hills rock band 4-SP. "I really tried to hang posters on every phone pole, selling tickets, I tried everything. I spent so much on advertising; we had the sound system, the truck, the roadies. For years, that was it, we really tried to do it as full-time professionals, and we'd given it our best effort, but let's be honest, we were nowhere near making it."

Scheer and his bandmates know the music business in this town inside and out. They've been involved with the local scene for more than 20 years. Their bands have included the Critics, Den of Thieves, Captive and Elektra Loves Daddy. They've all gotten older and have landed "grown-up" day jobs and some have started doing things like getting married and having children. Scheer, bassist Tony deLuca, drummer Paul Garlicki and keyboardist Ken Bittel approach 4-SP as a fun band rather than a serious professional rock 'n' roll organization. The band originally formed just to play a single performance.

"I was writing songs on my own," says Mike Scheer. "I had recorded the songs and was going to enter a contest. I figured I would perform them live by myself, with sequenced drums and bass. I was talking to some friends about it and we got together to actually do it live. We had three weeks to learn the songs and do the contest, but once we got going we had a great time. It was really fun, so we decided to stick together and we've been 4-SP for a year and a half now."

Scheer is still the principal songwriter. He composes and records the songs in his well-stocked home studio, then gives the tape to the other members and tells them to "go nuts" with it. They each add their own parts in their own styles and help to develop the song into a certified 4-SP creation. They play out about once a month at places like Coolpepper's Hothouse in Lawrenceville or the Graffiti Showcase in Oakland.

"We don't like begging for work," says Scheer. "We just go out and play and try to sound really good. We don't get caught up in seeing what other bands are doing or trying to screw people over to get a gig. We don't wanna fight that fight anymore. We're just having fun. We really enjoy it. If we get some friends out to see us and they are dancing, it really charges us up and I can really get into it."

Their music is original work that blends styles from influences as diverse as the Rolling Stones and Indian religious music. In his compositions, Scheer tries to steer the band away from tried and true (and overdone) routines and reaches for something more. The group comes across with an updated, modern sound, grounded in classic rock like the Beatles or the Stones.

4-SP appears Sat., June 26, at Graffiti in Oakland. They will be the first band on a multi-band bill. The Rock Express show also features Relapse and Spit. 682-4210.

By Sean Whelan

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