Making Lemonade Out of Wild Berries: Update for doublethink Fans

“…doublethink is everything that rock music lacks today… ‘rock ‘n roll’ for this generation without destroying the legendary past.”–Connecticut Post

“…one of the best bands Connecticut has to offer…doublethink impresses the hard-to-please… Scott Brown makes a riveting frontman, blessed with a natural charisma that makes it hard to take your eyes off of him.”–Hartford Advocate

“…While the band’s insistence on doing things their own way and not following the latest trends may make it harder to win over some of the more fickle fans in the short run, it definitely sets them up for a longer shelf life than some of their contemporaries who have jumped on the emo or pop-punk bandwagon.”--Jersey Beat

“If frustrations were explosive, consider doublethink nitroglycerin in a jar.”–Bronx Time Reporter

doublethink left New London, Connecticut on a nationwide tour in mid-July.  As fans who track them know, travel snafus ravaged their tour schedule.

Cancelled shows aren’t anyone’s wish, and yet, we in Monterey welcomed an extended visit with the four individuals behind the doublethink sound.  Now, after their unexpected stayover here—where they’d been scheduled for an 8/13 gig at Jose’s Underground Lounge on Cannery Row—doublethink is back on the road.  The band plays The Cherrywood in Clementon, NJ on 8/27, and their homecoming show on 8/28 will be at The Space in Hamden, CT.

Eric Libby, guitarist; Johnny Kobierowski, bass; Jeff Callahan, drums; and Scott Brown, vocals/guitar make up doublethink, of course.  What you may not know is this:  doublethink arrived during Concours d’Elegance week on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula, and most hotels were packed.  To squeeze out sweet lemonade from bitter lemons (cancelled tour dates), doublethink scored a secluded spot in rural Monterey County, where they picked wild berries below Jacks Peak.

Only Kobierowski  had ever made it to Big Sur, so the band spent Sunday hugging redwoods at Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and at the Henry Miller Library.  The Miller Library is a 200-capacity outdoor venue in the redwoods where  promoter Britt Govea presented Pegi Young’s debut show (featuring Neil and his band).  Govea, who pulls audiences from Los Angeles and San Franciso to this intimate venue on the Central Coast, was dubbed “hot new promoter” by Rolling Stone this year (RS, 6-11-09, pg 64).   Kobierowski perked up to hear that he’d just missed Black Francis/Frank Black’s 8/14 show at Miller, quickly recognizing that Govea’s (((Folk Yeah!))) productions aren’t at all associated with the folk of previous musical generations.

doublethink caught some jazz at Big Sur’s River Inn, and it is also accurate to say some jazz caught them.  For the jazz band—Jacqui Hope and Friends—did a double take when they spotted doublethink.  They paused playing to chat with the eye-catching foursome, who’d been attentively listening from their position on the lawn behind Hope’s drummer.

The Bonny Doon fires north of Santa Cruz darkened Monterey Bay skies most of the time doublethink was here. And yet, the sunshine broke through, and these guys had a bright send-off as they jumped out of their car at the Monterey Peninsula Airport with the strains of “It’s a Beautiful Life” (Jerry Douglas, “Slide Rule”) blasting in their ears.

That’s all I’ll tell you, except to say that there are multiple layers behind hard-edged personas.  Eric Libby’s genuine charm earned him a homemade cake on Highway 68, Jeff Callahan’s good humor in videos is true-to-life,  and Johnny Kobierowski’s beautiful pale blue hair is now a soft pink-blonde—the change an apt reflection of his balanced temperament.  And Scott Brown won the champion’s award for wild berry picking—he’s indefatigable, and an early riser, no less!

East coast fans will surely celebrate them home with a big bang, showing these hard rockers how much they and their music are appreciated—not just in Los Angeles, where they played The Viper Room on Sunset Strip, but right at home.

8/27, 9 PM, The Cherrywood, 1460 Blackwood-Clementon Road, Clementon, NJ; 8/28, 9 PM, The Space, 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT.