'Band of Brothers'
Eastern professor plays in local band 'like no other'
Jennifer Weber/Progress
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: The Studio
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You can usually find the members rocking out in Lexington. They will be performing on March 24 and 25 at Cheapside Bar and Grill in Lexington.
Jim Gleason, a public relations professor here at Eastern, is one of the members of this band.
"There isn't another band like us. We do all the big, hard, complicated stuff." They perform covers of bands such as the Allman Brothers and the Beatles.
The Johnson Brothers are six men who came together by knowing some of the same people and all having the same interest in music.
They started the band by doing what they wanted to do and playing what they like. All members sing and everyone has been a professional touring musician.
Jim Gleason, originally from New York, is the lead guitar player.
Bill Fairchild, an engineer, plays bass for the band.
Dave Hamon, an Eastern graduate, is a drummer and a keyboardist.
Steve Pasquariello plays lead guitar, keyboard and drums.
Marty Walker, whose parents are musicians, plays the drums and the flute.
Harold Young, the former Eastern professor, plays keyboard.
They have performed at several events such as the Shakespeare Festival, where the Johnson Brothers performed the music to Jesus Christ Superstar. They also performed at the University of Kentucky for "Tommy." The band played the whole Sgt. Peppers album live.
Having no leader, this band is a total democracy. There is very loose organization and members just step up when they are needed.
"We don't get bored playing the same stuff because we have so many songs," said Gleason. "We have lots of material to keep it fresh."
Even though the band doesn't have a label, they have produced an album. They have sold about 1,000 copies.
Gleason said, the band "gets together to play music at a very high level and do it with our buddies." He compared it to Sunday night games of poker or a day of golfing. Playing music is what they enjoy doing. Although they don't practice on a set schedule, the do practice a lot when a project comes up.
The members believe it would be stupid to ruin what they have. You can't find a band that plays the same type of music they play. Gleason said that it is "such a rare thing to play in a band this good [and it is] really a pleasure, it's great!"
Reach Jennifer at
progress@eku.edu
