West of Nowhere Takes Busy Schedule in Stride

When it comes to country music, forget New York. If you can make it in Dallas, then you can make it anywhere.

"When you can conquer a Dallas crowd, you are well on your way, " said Russell Tucker, who not only owns a Dallas-based country club, but also manages the country music band West of Nowhere. "People in Dallas know country music. They know what's good and they know what's not good. Dallas country music fans are the hardest to win over. If you are cool in Dallas, you will be cool somewhere else."

West of Nowhere is working hard to win over those crowds. For the past two months, the boys have been making the rounds on the club circuit in the Metroplex, garnering fans with covers of contemporary country hits and a few suprises thrown in for good measure. With a live show that exudes energy, West of Nowhere projects a clean-cut image but still knows how to rev up a crowd and have a good time.

"They are a full-time band and they are taking it to the next level," Tucker said. "Some people will go from club to club to see them perform. They are really starting to develop their own following."

Everything about the band screams inconsistency, but in a way that works. Each member -- Kyle Reed on lead vocals and guitar, Greg Belt on lead guitar, drummer/vocalist Danny Kinsey, Jerrell Baker on bass and vocals and Steve Owen on keyboards and vocals -- varies in musical background and training, as well as in personality.

Owen, who holds two bachelor's degrees in music, oversees the technical aspects of the performances, rushing back and forth between his microphone and keyboards to adjust knobs and sliders on the sound board.

Baker gives off an air of a man ready to take care of business.

Greg Belt comes across as the strong, silent type, who takes his playing very seriously. He mastered his skills in garage rock bands, and toured nationally with rock groups such as Sheer Threat, Forced Entry and Heaven, which landed him in an MTV video.

Drummer Kinsey lays down a beat people can dance to and blends his vocal talents with the others. And topping off the entire mix is Reed, the "Waxahachie Wild Man" who brings everything and everyone together, linking the musicians with the crowd through his singing and on-stage antics.

The band melds together the influences of the western swing, rock, county, blues and more into their music, and a look at the set list only confirms the diversity. Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lonestar, George Strait, Garth Brooks and other country superstars make up the larger portion of the list, but every once in a while an unusual artist name catches your eyes and ears. It is not uncommon for West of Nowhere to break into a cover of the Commodores' "Brick House" or even "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet, or to throw a rap into the middle of "Mustang Sally". On the surface it seems anomalous, something that would totally catch everyone off guard. And that's the whole point.

"We really try to break the mold, especially toward the end of a set," Reed said, who signals to the crowd the impending performance of a rock tune by switching from his cowboy hat to a baseball cap worn backwards. "When that baseball cap goes on backwards, that's the sign to take a drink, 'cause it's on then and here we come.

"We are very technical musicians who give a really raw stage performance," he continued. "We are all friends who get along and like playing music. And when we get up on that stage, we want to have a good time, too."

But sometimes the gamble of playing alternatives to country music doesn't always pay off. "Smooth" by Santana, featuring Rob Thomas, is a case in point.

"We had 'Smooth' on the playlist, and we really had that song down," Owen said. "But people wouldn't get up and dance to it, so we just got rid of it."

The rest of the band's playlist comes from what's hot in the charts, and as audience tastes change, so do the set lists.

New songs are introduced during the band's monthly practice sessions, when as many as eight new songs have to be learned before heading out to perform five nights a week, three weeks a month. Owen estimated they will play about 14 songs per set, with 75 sets scheduled in the next 21 days.

That kind of dedication to hard work puts West of Nowhere in a different category from most other cover bands. And they work hard at the music too. Whether it's taking the time to work out intricacies of a bass or guitar line, or taking the extra time to nail down vocal harmonies, the members of West of Nowhwere do what it takes to keep the dance floors full and make sure people have a good time.

West of Nowhere primarily performs in the Dallas area at venues such as the Top Rail, W.W. Fairfield's and Jonathan's in Denton. In June, the band travels to New Mexico for a week-long booking in Albuquerque. For information on where to see West of Nowhere, check LifeontheNet's music search or the band's web site at www.westofnowhere.com.

Taken from dfw.lifeonthenet.com