OBLIVION SUN

When Oblivion Sun takes the stage at 1:30 PM on Saturday, June 20, 2009 at this year’s edition of NEARFest it’ll be a return to the Zoellner Arts Center for two members from this band. Guitarist and singer Stanley Whitaker and keyboard player, saxophonist and flutist Frank Wyatt were playing with their recently reformed Happy The Man during NEARFest 2000. That band, which was formed in 1972, is still considered to be one of the finest and admired progressive rock-bands coming from the U.S.A. Together with Rick Kennell on bass, keyboard-virtuoso Kit Watkins and drummer Mike Beck they debuted in 1976 with an eponymous album which was produced by the legendary Ken Scott, known for his work for the Dixie Dregs, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, The Tubes and David Bowie. Happy The Man created a unique sound partly based on the symphonic tradition of European bands like Genesis, but which also contained subtle jazz influences coming from Soft Machine and the dazzling keyboard work of Jan Hammer. On the 1977 release of Crafty Hands Beck was replaced by Ron Riddle, who gave Happy The Man a more jazz-rock oriented sound with his energetic, Bill Bruford-like playing. Although the band recorded the music for a third album and played a couple of live shows with Riddle’s replacement, French drummer Coco Roussel (formerly with Clearlight and Heldon), the musicians weren’t resigned by Arista Records. Watkins joined Camel and recorded I Can See Your House From Here, while performing frequently with the English band. After writing some songs for Nude he chose to begin a solo career. The other members of Happy The Man also continued to perform music, and 1983 saw the independent release of the third LP, appropriately named Better Late. Kennell, Whitaker and original keyboard player David Bach formed Vision and Riddle became a successful film-score writer. Whitaker later formed a couple of other bands, One By One and Ten Jinn. Wyatt continued to compose and began writing poems (collected in 2000 in the book Oblivion Sun), while showing his more intimate musical ambitions with his solo CD A Certain Whisper. During a gig in Mexico with Ten Jinn, Whitaker discovered that the spirit of Happy The Man had lived on amongst many fans. Although those music lovers were kept satisfied with a couple of interesting archive recordings from their favorite band through the years, the hope to see the band back together again never vanished. Whitaker felt confident enough to reform the band and started writing music again with Wyatt. From the original line-up Kennell also joined and Riddle reclaimed the drummer’s seat. Watkins didn’t want to perform on stage any more and although he offered to help the band in the studio, the remaining members decided to find another keyboard player. They chose David Rosenthal, known for his playing with Rainbow, Billy Joel and Steve Vai amongst others and his own band Red Dawn. This edition of Happy The Man hit the stage as one of the headliners of NEARFest 2000. Their outstanding gig featured a lot of the older material, with a slight emphasis on Crafty Hands, but the real surprises were a couple of new tracks, composed for a new release, which sounded like a true follow up to the 1978 album. The new album, called The Muse Awakens, was finally released in 2004, with Joe Bergamini from 4Front replacing Riddle. The CD gained very good reviews, but the 21st century line-up of Happy The Man had logistical issues leading to their dissolution. Whitaker and Wyatt continued to write and record music together and with the help of Chris Mack (Ilúvatar and Puppet Show) and Peter Princiotto (However) the project Pedal Giant Animals was finalized in 2006. Of course the music still had some resemblances to Happy The Man, but there were also more lyric based tracks on the album, giving Whitaker the chance to show his growing self confidence in singing. Pedal Giant Animals also showed the rock roots from the guitarist and Wyatt introduced some jazzy saxophone solos. Yet this was just a project. Wyatt and Whitaker definitely wanted to form something permanent and so Oblivion Sun was born. Princiotto was replaced by session player Dave DeMarco, and long-time collaborator Bill Plummer joined on keyboards. After playing some gigs Oblivion Sun released their eponymous debut CD in 2007. The music on it is a logical step after Pedal Giant Animals. In fact the album contains a new version of Chapter Seven, a track originally appearing on the Pedal Giant Animals CD. People who admired Happy The Man’s kind of progressive rock were surprised to hear a higher level of dynamics and new directions in this band. Concerts from Oblivion Sun turned out to have very accurate reproductions of Happy The Man compositions, while leaving space for improvisation in the newer pieces, giving the musicians greater freedom on stage to interact with other band members and to explore new dimensions. Those who have listened to the album will agree that there are more virtuoso solo spots for Whitaker’s guitar (showing both King Crimson-like riffs and Led Zeppelin-blues rhythms), Wyatt’s horns and Plummer’s Moog (reminiscent to the likes of Kit Watkins, Manfred Mann and Jan Hammer). On stage the songs appear to be the starting point of a great musical adventure, which will sound both familiar and innovative in the ears of those who’ve followed these men through the years. The performance at NEARFest 2009 won’t be with bassist Dave DeMarco. Oblivion Sun has a great new bassist in Keith Marksoud, who has an interesting background as bass player in various bands in the RIO-genre including Present, a Belgian band which performed at Nearfest in 2005, Thee Maximalists, Devils Breakfast, and Digital Cream, which will surely make this performance even more adventurous. Another exciting change in the rhythm section is the addition of Eric Slick in the drum chair. Eric also performs with the Adrian Belew Power Trio as well as the Project/Object Frank Zappa alumni band.
When Oblivion Sun takes the stage in Bethlehem it will also mark a return on a whole other level. Last year Stan Whitaker was diagnosed with a serious illness. After a long period of struggling Whitaker is back a healthy man. This conquest will make the Oblivion Sun performance even more special and something to look forward to very much.