TOGETHER THEN APART TIMES TWO
Reunited Norfolk band releases new single, then the world goes into quarantine
Waxing Poetics were kings of the Hampton Roads music scene three decades ago. At the close of 1990, the Norfolk-based rock band had just released its third album, “Bed Time Story,” an experimental foray into a number of nightmare-invoking scenarios from alienation and illness to corporate radio stations.
The following year, the Poetics decided to call it quits and played a farewell show at The Outer Limits in Virginia Beach, a club that had only recently opened.
After the split the guys kept in touch and played a handful of gigs in town, including a show at The NorVa in 2012 and a grand opening bash of sorts in December 2018 at a new Virginia Beach live music venue,
Elevation 27.
Last month, the band released its first official single, “Workers’ Playtime,” in anticipation of a reunion show, which due to the coronavirus pandemic, was pushed from last weekend to Aug. 1.
So, what’s it like to get the band back into the studio for the first time in 30 years and then be forced apart again? We asked, and, via email, Waxing Poetics answered.
“Workers’ Playtime” came out a few weeks back in anticipation of your reunion show at Elevation 27, which has since been rescheduled for August. It’s your first official release in 30 years. Why now?
Paul Johnson (lead guitar, vocals): Dave had written some new songs that we had done live and they seemed to go over so we decided
to try recording one to see how it would go.
Jeff Bailey (bass): Just as Paul said, some really good things happen when we work out parts for these new songs, so why not capture that?
There are some really clever, catchy lyrics buried in there. What’s the backstory on the song?
David Middleton (lead vocals, guitar): It’s a tongue-in-cheek glimpse at my life as a Teamster. We don’t get much peace during the average workday, so any quiet moment feels like a gift from heaven. I was trying to compose somewhat of an “ode” to that feeling when I happened to observe one of my co-workers. He had hoisted a giant 200-pound roll of carpet onto his left shoulder while gnawing on a chicken leg that was in his right hand. I thought, “He’s cracked the code! He’s figured out how to work and play at the same time! It’s the workers’ playtime!” And the song more-or-less wrote itself from there.
Speaking of 30 years ago, Dave, you told the Daily Press in 1990 that without music, you’d probably be a sinner. How have you fared these last three decades?
David: Ya see, this is exactly why Carol (Taylor, the band’s former manager who passed away in 1996) always cringed in horror when I did these press interviews. I can just see her rolling her eyes right now. The thing is … y’know, this all started back in sixth grade. I was cast as Emile in the school production of “South Pacific” and I had to sing “Some Enchanted Evening,” which features this ascending melody that starts in a low baritone and finishes in a high falsetto. I was barely six months into puberty at the time, mind you, so my lower register was only just beginning to develop. I was a hot mess. Dress rehearsal was rough, but somehow I managed to nail the performance. Backstage afterward, I collapsed on the dressing room floor, pancakesmeared face buried in my ripped T-shirt, crying, “Damn you, Oscar Hammerstein!” And it’s all been one long cascade downhill from there. Anyway, what was the question?
Any other notable things any of you have been up to since then?
Paul: I have a 21-yearold son. Great kid and a great experience. I moved to New York in 1992.
Played in The Master Plan that consisted of myself plus members of The Dictators and The Fleshtones. Did a single and two LPs. Got to go to Europe several times with them as well as Canada and Mexico. Learned a lot. Backed up some other artists and did some recording with them as well. Had a studio in Brooklyn in the ’90s. David and I were in Splotch and Grillmaster together while in New York. The Grillmaster stuff should be released soon. Grillmaster has Jeff Brodnax and Gordon Bradley from Tidewater on it as well. Just put out two songs of my own late last year under the name “Electric Johnson” with an all-star cast of Tidewater characters: Wade Methias, Peter Pope, Mark Lawrence, David Hunter and Dave sing on it as well. I am also the production manager for Elevation27.
Jeff: Married 28 years now, I have a 20-year-old son and twin 15-year-old daughters. I finished up my belated undergrad work at Old Dominion University and got my master’s in music at the University of Virginia in ’99. I’m in my 21st year of teaching middle school orchestra. It’s been very rewarding, and I write and arrange music for my students. Five years ago I got three of then published, and have had five more published since.
Bill Shearin (drums): We’ve all remained quite involved in many aspects of music, I must say. It’s great that we’ve all enjoyed that. Being a lifer beat-onthe-drums guy, I’ve been able to work with many talented musicians and bands. My home for quite a while has been behind the kit for indie/Americana
artist Brian Grilli.
You guys seem to have had a lot of fun with the instrumentation on this track. We’ve got a 12string guitar, some antique piano, a killer buzzsawed guitar line and, true to WP style, super crisp percussion that really punches up the orchestral hit kind of style in the chorus sections. How’d all that come together in one song and was it as fun to record as it sounds?
Paul: I am a big Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) fan and wanted to do something melodic and subtle the way he blended guitar parts with Keith Richards but the part I heard in my head and was playing was not cutting through. Peter Pope, who plays keys on the track said, “It’s a cool part but it is not cutting through.” I leaned back on the couch and almost bonked my head on a 12string guitar that was hanging on the wall so picked it up and — voila! I played basically the same part but with a different sound. I think having a keyboard player also opens up a lot of doors for us and leaves room for the guitar to breathe and not have to fill all the leftover spaces. It also adds a lot of character. I want to do everything with Peter now!
Jeff: It’s always fun to record, and especially when you’re with Peter Pope. I recorded my bass track all the way through four times, and he punched in all the good bits.
Bill: Kudos to Peter Pope, our Billy Preston maybe? I think he’d like that. We have an aloofness with recording that shows we never take ourselves too seriously. Anytime I get to add a clown whistle to a recording is cool with me.
When you think back to your time in the Norfolk music, are there any nights or shows that stick out in your memory for good (or bad) reasons?
Paul: Opening up for the film “Plan Nine From Outer Space” at the Naro. Having anything to do with Ed Wood was an honor.
Jeff: Packing up at 1 a.m. after a gig at Peabody’s and having to play at 11 later that morning on a college campus in North Carolina. Plus, every Boathouse gig was special. I miss that place!
David: Yes, that first time we headlined The Boathouse, Thanksgiving of ’88, to a sold-out crowd and traffic jammed in the streets. Wow! That was a mind-blowing night I’ll never forget. I’ll also never forget breaking my left foot opening for Gang of Four there a few years later. I’ve had several operations on it since then, and still endure a ton of pain daily. An everlasting souvenir from my Poetics days.
Bill: I’ll get back to ya when the statute of limitations expires. Kidding! Obviously, the Boathouse and King’s Head Inn. They were our stomping grounds.
Any other songs in the works?
Jeff: Uh-huh, just need the time.
David: Oh, I’ve got a ton of ‘em. At our production rate, we’ll have another tune for you in 30 years, so please bear with us.
Switching gears, how are you keeping hopeful during your quarantine?
Paul: We shall overcome.
Jeff: I thought I’d be climbing the walls but I’m having a great time with the whole family together.
David: I work in shipping, so I’m just gearing up like The Toxic Avenger and holding my breath and keeping my fingers crossed and praying a lot.
Bill: Just hangin’ and being safe, doing the right thing. This is tough on everyone but mostly for those with loved ones in danger.
What music are you currently into or what music is carrying you through these unprecedented times?
Paul: I listen to music dating back to the early 1900s through current acts but lately I have been listening to The Growlers & Gary Clark, Jr., among a plethora of other things. Good new music is not dead.
Jeff: All my ’70s favorites: Zep, Floyd, et cetera, which my kids now love as well. And there’s Mozart and Bill Evans.
David: For the first two weeks it was Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” album over and over again. Now, I’m toggling back & forth between “Hardcore Jollies” by Funkadelic and Leonard Cohen’s “Death Of a Ladies Man.” Go figure. I’ve also been digging this great new band called Algiers.
Have you learned about yourself or the world in the last few weeks?
Paul: That people are greedy when it comes to toilet paper. Save some for the rest of us.
Jeff: That I’ve taken an awful lot for granted. Not anymore, though!
Bill: Paul, I got some toilet paper for ya, my brother!
Anything you’re really looking forward to once we are able to move past this?
Paul: Seeing friends and family face to face and recording new music.
Jeff: Seeing friends and going to the grocery store without a mask.
David: Definitely lots of loving and hugging and kissing. Oh, and getting all up in someone’s grill. That’s one of my favorite things to do, and I can’t wait until I can do it again.
Bill: I agree with Jeff, but gotta admit I’m sporting a pretty cool mask until then.
Any last words for readers?
Paul: Stay home as much as possible until this is over.
Jeff: Just think how freedom will feel!
David: We have the greatest fans in the world. It’s a small crowd, but they’re super-devoted, they write us poetry, and they’re always ready to go on whatever ride we want to take them on. I want to tell them to please stay safe, stay well and don’t give up hope. We can’t wait to see you all and play great rock and roll music for you all again. Remember: We are waiting for the day that we can look back on these days!