Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Playback-Goodwick-Swetts-Evans

Full Text:

On The Perimeter Of Reality

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

playback: (a) the action of reproducing recorded sound or pictures often

immediately after recording; (b) a tape or disc sound or picture reproducing

device; (c) a band comprised of four Newtown musicians about to release its

debut CD and take their show on the road.

Perception is reality in the minds of four Newtown musicians, who are getting

ready -- a little bit nervously, by the looks of things earlier this week --

for their big debut next week in their hometown. Seattle had Pearl Jam and

Nirvana. Minneapolis had Prince. Boston still has Aerosmith.... Newtown has

Playback. And the band has a new CD, Perception Is Reality , to share with the

world.

Calling themselves performers of "metro music," Playback -- Bob Evans, David

Goodwick, Joshua Swetts and Paul Tofinchio, all residents of Newtown -- took

their show on the road and their songs to the stage earlier this week for a

pre-CD release party rehearsal.

On Tuesday night the banquet hall of Newtown's Fireside Inn was awash with

lights, and wired for music. Next Friday, the band is hoping the large room

will be full of people: music lovers who will show up to offer feedback for

the town's latest entry in the music scene.

Playback had one chance to ring out their songs before their show next week,

but it was worth it. The on-site rehearsal January 12 gave the band members a

chance to get used to the low stage on which they would be performing in front

of friends, neighbors, acquaintances and curiosity seekers in just over a

week. It gave the technicians running the sound board the chance to get used

to the band's material. And it made the January 22 Playback Party seem that

much more real .

"We practice with our headphones on most of the time," David Goodwick said

before taking the stage Tuesday night. His bandmates were taking turns warming

up, tuning up, and getting their moves down. "This is going to be fun. We're

kind of bullet-proofing the show tonight. We don't want to have to worry about

the logistics [next] Friday night.

"We're going to be nervous enough," he admitted. "We don't want to think about

the variables later."

Playback typically rehearses at David's home studio on Hattertown Road in

Newtown. The studio was built with performing and recording in mind, but the

sound can still get carried away sometimes. Newtown police, David admitted

with a grin, have shown up on his property 17 times at last count, responding

to calls from his neighbors about the noise.

Above all, the rehearsal time at the Fireside earlier this week gave the band

a chance to hear what their music is going to sound like on January 22 when

the public gets its first introduction to Playback. The band has been labeled

already within the industry as "AAA," but the members prefer to call

themselves performers of "metro music."

Playback's sound is a good mix of classic rock with a hint of some

modern/alternative flavor thrown in. There is influence from everyone under

the sun, it seems, from Dave Matthews to Metallica, McCartney to Motown, even

Pink Floyd to Jamiroquai. It really is an eclectic mix.

"Everything right now is focused on next Friday," David said. "On January 23,

we move into Phase Two. We have new music in the works already...."

New music or not, the public still needs to know what it is being asked to

shell out $5 a head for next weekend.

The Project That

Grew Into An Investment

Playback started as a studio project years ago between brothers-in-law David

Goodwick and Bob Evans (David's wife, Chris, is the sister of Bob's wife,

Lynda). The band has always worked out of Goodwick Studios in Newtown.

Berklee alumnus Joshua Swetts is the band's youngest member. Joshua, a

neighbor of David's, was recruited into the then-studio project about two

years ago when David and Bob to add a bass player to their project. Even with

two decades between the ages of Joshua and the oldest band member -- not that

anyone is fessing up that information -- band members insist there is no

generation gap within the band's parameters.

While he may be the youngest band member, it is Joshua who certainly took over

the lead of an interview with the band a few weeks ago. While Bob, David, and

Paul had already set up their equipment in the performance area of the studio

well before Joshua was able to catch up with them after his full-time job,

Joshua's arrival turned the interview from the what-we've-been-doing routine

right into the this-is-how-we-make-our-music vein.

Joshua doesn't even look at the keyboard when he is working with the computer

and programs the band uses to capture its music. Like a musician's guitar

playing or a receptionist's typing, his fingers know where to go on their own.

Joshua knows what he wants the music to sound like when it goes into the

computer, and what he expects it to sound like when it is played back. There

is obvious self-pride in the former Berklee student's musical capabilities.

For the entire band, it is the ability to record and mix their own music that

is a triumph for all four men. Of the 12 songs recorded for Perception Is

Reality , one was recorded "just about live," Joshua said, another was done

with only one over-track, and the remaining ten were "really tracked." All

that work was done right in the Goodwick Studio. What started as a small side

project for a few friends has escalated into a large investment of time,

talent and money.

"Unlike the old days of just recording on tape, here's Windows 95" -- Josh

points to the screen he has set up in front of him -- "that's what we record

in." The band uses a program called Cubase. "The wild thing about this is we

can play our instruments in the studio and have it go right into the

computer," Bob added.

"Working with this [computer program] allows you to have a console as large or

small as you want," Joshua explained. "Even with a small studio space, you can

still sound very large." While David put up the money as executive producer of

Perception Is Reality , Joshua was the album's producer and supervising

engineer.

The band's songs are all original, with different members collaborating on

each piece. While the album was recorded onto DAT and mixed in the Newtown

studio, the work was handed over to Disc Makers for mastering and CD printing.

Joshua is comfortable not only working the controls at the computer, but also

when it comes to picking up an instrument or two. With Playback, his main

contribution performance-wise is on the guitar, but he is equally at home on

keyboards and drums.

Bob Evans is the southerner of the group. He is described as possessing a

"southwestern-influenced, Yankee-peddler" orientation to him. Bob began

singing as a child in church choir, then graduated to imitating Elvis and

refining his Southern-English style. Bob handles the vocals on the majority of

the songs, and offers keyboard on some of the songs.

David is the band's bassist, a role he took on almost by default. When he and

Bob went out looking for an additional member for the group -- which turned

out to be Joshua -- the pair was looking for a bass player. But when David

approached Joshua, whom he had heard playing off and on for years, Joshua

indicated he wanted to be on guitar.

No problem. David traded in his guitar and picked up the bass. David has been

raised around music, right back to his crib days when his mother was giving

piano lessons, something she did for 40 years.

David followed in the Big Band trumpet-playing footsteps of his uncle, being

named the No. 1 high school trumpet player in Wisconsin (meanwhile, he also

moonlighted with his Wurlitzer organ in obscure Midwest-based bands). His

first paid public performance was in 1968, and he has been lending his talent

to projects in one form or another ever since.

Percussionist Paul Tofinchio met David when both were involved in a basketball

league in Newtown, and the two learned quickly of each other's background in

music. Paul uses traditional instrumentation and digital Roland "kit"

technology in his work, as well as an array of acoustic tools. Born and bred

in New York, Paul has nearly two decades of on-the-job training.

None of the members of Playback expect this project to take off overnight.

It's been three years in the making already, and even the so-called "overnight

success" stars on any given day's Billboard or Pollstar listings are usually

people who have been plugging away for years before making it big.

Playback is important to each of its members, but it isn't enough to take care

of the mortgages quite yet. For this reason, all four of the men in Playback

continue working full-time jobs.

Bob Evans consults for architectural firms across the state. David Goodwick

presides over his own advertising agency, Bandwick Productions, headquartered

in Newtown. Joshua Swetts continues to pursue his master's degree, right now

while interning at Sandy Hook School as part of his training. And Paul

Tofinchio is an electrical design engineer at Perkin-Elmer.

"We're looking for an agent right now," David said. "I think our ultimate goal

is to be commercially accepted, with a distributor, but also with an amount of

independence.... Isn't that what everyone wants?" he laughed.

"We've talked to a few [agents] already, but everyone's waiting on the CD." A

look at the list of invited guests for Friday's party includes representatives

from local and national publishing companies and record labels.

With all the work that has already gone into this group's first release,

Playback is ready to hit the stage.

"We're hoping once the CD is out there, it will start a gradual movement for

us," Bob said. "Look, it's been done before. Look at Alanis Morissette,

Hootie, Jewel... all of them started out with releasing their own albums.

"If not, we all have our day jobs."

The CD Release Party

Bandwick Productions, in conjunction with The Fireside Inn and Newtown Youth

Services, Inc., will present a "Perception Is Reality CD Release Party" on

Friday, January 22, at The Fireside Inn in Newtown. The party will begin at

7:30 pm.

Tickets for the event are $5, and all proceeds will be donated to Newtown

Youth Services, Inc. Tickets are in advance from C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main

Street in Newtown; Newtown High School, on Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook;

Newtown Youth Services, Inc., 41-A Main Street; Drug Center Pharmacy, 61

Church Hill Road; and Newtown Savings Bank, at 39 Main Street and also in Sand

Hill Plaza, on South Main Street. Tickets will also be available at the door

the evening of the event.

An "all ages" show, Newtown Youth Services, Inc. will help promote and stage

the event with the support of some Newtown youngsters. The high school's video

department plans to videotape the event for a future showcase on Charter

Communications' Public Access Channel 17.

David Goodwick noted that in addition to playing selections from Perception is

Reality , Playback will perform brand-new material that is already being

assembled for inclusion in the band's next album.

The evening's entertainment is also slated to include performances by Dan

Sobo, a high school musician; and a disc jockey. The band also hopes to have

an emcee to narrate the show.

Finger foods and light refreshments will be included in the ticket price. A

cash bar will also be available. There will be no smoking in the hall. Door

prizes -- copies of Playback's brand-new CD, Perception is Reality -- will

also be awarded during the evening.

For additional information, contact David Goodwick at Goodwick Associates,

426-1267, extension 102.