Local band has big plans

Cream, King's X and Nirvana were all power trios that started low on the ladder in the dregs of their hometowns. But these bands rose out of their communities to become relatively famous in the history of rock music. The next group trying to claim their success is right here in Bloomington, the Deric Rush Band.\nThe band is fronted by Bloomington resident and guitar instructor Deric Rush, who also plays guitar and writes the songs. Drummer John Gray and bassist Dan Hunt round out the trio. The group is managed and produced by business professor George Marakas.\n"Our goal was to create a rock and roll band based off of the ability of three guys to go up and just light up a stage," Rush said.\nHunt said the number of band members is helpful for the band's freedom of expression.\n"In the three-piece, you get more freedom of movement with the bass. In a group with more people, you're more locked in," Hunt said.\nThe band, whose influences vary from Roy Clark to Stevie Ray Vaughan, recently released their first album, Wood and Steel, which came out July 1. \n"The main thing that I tried to capture on this (album) was just a spontaneous blend of a lot of different chops. You can hear a little (Eddie Van) Halen. You can hear a little (Jimi) Hendrix. You can hear a little bit of this, and a little bit of that," Rush said. \nOne step on the road to success included a trip by Rush to the Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Chile Guitar Competition in 1999 before the Deric Rush Band was started. Rush finished second.\n"It was a way to accepting a little bit of a challenge that I hadn't done before in actually trying to compete with people from different states," Rush said.\nOne of the goals of the Deric Rush Band is to put on energetic live show that stimulates both eyes and ears.\n"We want it to be a non-stop rush of energy for you and leave any musician in the house to say, 'Wow, I need to play more,'" Rush said. "I try to give that energy to the crowd and when they give it back, that just recharges me. I don't want my music to be anything other than a positive charge."\nAn ambitious light show, orchestrated by Marakas, who has worked on lighting for Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Ray Charles, accompanies the music in this energetic atmosphere.\n"(The light show) is a reflection of what I see in my mind when I listen to our music," Marakas said. "That's what's gonna' hit you in the eye, and then (Deric) is gonna' hit you in the ear and the chest." \nSince most venues cannot meet the requirements for the $20,000 light show, the Deric Rush Band had to be stingy with when and where they play.\n"If the date does not allow us to completely reflect what we're doing, we don't play it," Marakas said.\nThe next step for the band is to find an agent that will allow them to maintain their artistic credibility while promoting their financial gain.\n"Everything's in place, management's in place, and we all have experience. It's just a matter of putting the music across," Hunt said.\nBand members said they are confident that they will find success.\n"The agent that picks this band up will be the luckiest agent in the music business," Marakas said. \nTheir next show will be Nov. 22 at the Bluebird Night Club, 216 N. Walnut St.