September 3, 1998

Dan Cummins
Assistant Copy Editor

    Everything
    Supernatural

One word: Everything.  That is the name of the band and that is literally what they can play.  It is the best way to describe this eclectic six-member band from the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA.

Their first major label record is called “Super Natural” and can be found on the Blackbird/Sire record label.  It has been out since March of this year and has been getting some heavy airtime around the country.

“Super Natural” is an 11 song release that touches on various influences ranging from new rock, funk and R&B.  The album has done a great job in catching Everything’s abilities and strengths.

What makes this album so good? The horns. There are some really sweet sounding saxophone licks and some interesting trombone set down on top of the drum and bass anchor.

Everything is: Nate Brown (percussion/vocals), Wolfe Quinn (keyboards, trombone), David Slankard (bass), Steven Van Dam (saxophone/guitar/clarinet/vocals), Rich Bradley (saxophone/guitar/vocals) and Craig Honeycutt (guitar/lead vocals).

The band has been around since the days of Dave Matthews being another unknown guitarist. Actually, the two bands, Everything and Dave Matthews Band, have more than just a home-state in common.  They used to play together all the time around VA.  They also  sold their independent CD’s at shows. Much like DMB got signed after huge record sales without the help of a major record label,
Everything was picked up after selling over 50,000 discs.

Their debut single is titled “Hooch”.  You may recognize this song from either MTV or the radio station in your hometown.  Chances are, if you hear the song just once, it may stick in your head.  Its catchy chorus draws the listener in and makes light of the problems of the world: “Who got the hooch/ baby / who got the only sweetest thing in the world / let’s get real, let’s get heavy / until the water breaks the levee / let’s get loose, loose / who got the hooch?”

One major radio station employee said of the song, “Its a roll-down-the-window-and-turn-it-all-the-way-up song.”

That is just the first single. Another track to keep an eye out for is track #6, aptly titled “Ladybug”. This song is as simple and lovable as a song can get. Imagine seeing the same girl on campus over and
over again and finally getting the nerve to ask her out. Before you do so, listen to this song over and over again. It makes so much sense that you wished you would have written it.

The entire album is full of talented musicianship. All six members of Everything blend together to create a musical masterpiece. They use some very unusual instruments on the album, like the moog and penny whistle, to add to their diverse range. Some more mundane but equally gifted uses of the trombone, tenor and alto saxes, clarinet, keyboard and guitars fill the rest of the mold.

Perhaps my favorite song on the album is “Time Will Heal Me”.  It is a mix of old R&B with a touch of an 80’s love song.  Maybe it is just my luck with women that makes me love this song so much or even because it is about moving on with your life after something bad happens to you. Either way, the song hits a note that is close to home every time I hear it.

Overall I give this album two thumbs-up and a five-star slap on the back.  It is one of the only albums I can listen to over and over again and not become completely sick of.  I can listen to each song and pick out something new that I like about it over and over again.  The fact that it was produced by Jim Ebert (Soul Coughing, Everclear, Madonna) should have some merit of its own. The combination of
a very talented band with a very experienced producer make this album the stellar piece of art that it is.

Taken their skill as professionally trained musicians into consideration, consider the fact that at least 50 percent of the band plays more than one instrument. Some of them even change midway through the songs they play.  It is quite a thing to see.

It’s not fair for me to tell you what I think of this album or of the band. I highly recommend that you go and pick up a copy of “Super Natural” as soon as you can find enough cash to get it.  Another thing I strongly urge is that you go out and see Everything play live. They put on one of the best shows I have ever seen and believe it or not, their shows are quite a compliment to their album.

Everything is playing in Legends next Thursday night, sponsored by the A.P.P.S. Stage Shows council. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. The Rustic Overtones will open. Doors open at 9 p.m..