Ever wonder how supergroups come together? For example, Blind Faith got its start when friends Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton started jamming together in Clapton’s basement. The Traveling Wilburys came together when Tom Petty stopped by to retrieve a guitar left at George Harrison’s house, and Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison just happened to be there. In the case of Gazelle, comprised of Adam Fein (former Absinthe Blind lead singer) and Jeff Dimpsey (bassist for Hum and National Skyline), the formative connection was, of course, rec-league softball.
“[We were both on] a softball team in the summertime with a bunch of ex- and current musicians that Ward Gollings organizes,” Fein recalled yesterday while engaging in the very rock ‘n roll task of putting away groceries. “We’re called the Ward All-Stars.”
At the end of 2006, “We were celebrating our 4-10 season,” Fein continued. “[Dimpsey] mentioned that, ‘I heard that you’re working on some music. I am too. I’ve got some cool songs, but I can’t sing.’ I said sure, we could put together some of my songs with his songs.” Soon enough, they had a dozen songs together that impressed the Parasol folks enough to put out their debut, Sunblown, in July 2008 on Hidden Agenda.
Since then, family obligations have kept the duo from playing live, but that hiatus ends Saturday night at Cowboy Monkey. They’re part of the Hidden Agenda showcase which also features Lonely Trailer, The Horse’s Ha, and New Ruins. The show starts at 10 p.m., Gazelle’s scheduled to take the stage at midnight, and cover is $5. And Gazelle will be breaking out a lineup comprised of even more well-known C-U music personalities: Erin Fein (keyboards) and Tristain Wright (lead guitar) from Headlights and Mike Radar (drums) of Honcho Overload.
Adam Fein said of the additional members, “I trust them and I knew that they could get things together quickly.”
If you haven’t heard Sunblown before, Fein describes their sound thusly: “It’s definitely got pieces of Absinthe Blind and Hum, but I think it’s definitely got its own sound. I’m not sure what that is — it’s definitely in the same family. Jeff played in a band called National Skyline, that definitely shares the bed with that, too … It’s fair to say that fans of those bands appear to like it.” He added, “It’s going to be a chance to play for some of the fans of the bands that we used to be in.”