Jeff
While we're talking about the cast of characters that frequent this story, why don't we add a new name to the list? Jeff. I hope this name becomes a recurring one.
We haven't been quick to publicly announce anything, but OVERHANG seems to be on its way to filling its drummer position. Last night, Joel and Grant went over to Jeff's house in Lansing, a far south suburb of Chicago, to try a few tunes from "Another Hole for You to Crawl Into". Grant had met Jeff at a choir concert at Thorn Creek Reformed Church, where they both used to go. Grant often wondered what had happened to Jeff because he remembered that Jeff was a good drummer when they were both growing up on the south side. Jeff had gone to Calvin College for awhile and played with a band there. Though he hadn't played much in the last year or so, it was obvious last night that he has the rock'n'roll spirit and the drumming ability to not only play our music, but to add to its quality! This was a necessary requirement for the new drummer. Matt was a very good drummer, so we didn't want to settle for someone who wasn't as good as Matt. In fact, we were aiming for someone even a little bit better. And Jeff picked up the music quite naturally. Though his initial reaction to the music was not strong, he clearly has been listening to it alot and was able to pick up the changes and the jist of many of the beats by memory, without putting too much work into them yet. And he seems like the type of person to put alot of work into something he cares about. The music is definitely growing on him and he seems to really feel what we're doing musically and his Christian perspective matches up very well.
Jeff's been married for a couple years and has a 1 and a half year old little girl, which could be difficult to swing with a band but could also be considered a good thing. There's a certain maturity and groundedness that comes with marriage and family. His wife is great. Very supportive and has a good taste in music (she seemed to really understand our music and she loves Over the Rhine--always a good sign). So, Joel and Grant are taking this slowly. They feel like they might have been given something special here and they want to take it a day at a time. Joel, Grant and Jeff recognize that there may certainly be obstacles or difficulties that might come up in the future, but it feels right to pursue this thing right now and see where it takes us.