An Interview with Jeffrey Gaines • December 7, 2000

An Interview with Jeffrey Gaines

by Lisa Hummel

"So what is this Harrisburg?"

That question, posed recently to Jeffrey Gaines, is one that has, no doubt, filled the ears of all of the acts who have topped the charts after paying their dues in the area. And if that’s the case, then Gaines — like Poison, Fuel, Live, and The Badlees — can consider himself among a choice few, on a short but distinguished list who have had the opportunity to explain their hometown — our town — to the world.

"So what is this Harrisburg?" And how has the view of Harrisburg changed in the eyes of someone who has seen the sights and the people of the world over in the past decade?

Growing up in the Overland Gardens and Chambers Hill area surrounding the city, Gaines looks back on his childhood fondly and can recount the beginnings of his early infatuation with music, a love affair that began in the most unlikely of places. "Everything was about going down to the roller rink, and trying to hold somebody’s hand during your favorite song," remembered Gaines. "And in that same little strip mall, they had this little nightclub called Little Joe’s and bands started playing and … I started being conflicted: ‘man, should I go skating tonight or should I sit outside of this club so I can hear the music,’ because they wouldn’t let me in yet. And every time someone would go in or out I’d get a little peak at the club and think ‘this is awesome.’"

A musical kid — one who remembers inscribing his name on his album covers in crayon — Gaines admits to having a "special relationship" with music and can recall the day he realized, though perhaps not fully, that music had the power to open doors. "Even as a little kid, the first thing I had was this weird song, "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath and on the flipside of the 45" was this song called "Electric Funeral," said Gaines. "And how it got into my house I don’t know — but I was like ‘listen to this’ and my parents said ‘yeah, listen to it, it sounds nuts’ and I was like, ‘well then, that’s perfect.’ If the parents don’t like it — you’re carving out your own identity — and so I started to rock really young."

So, at a young age, and surrounded by music — from his parents, from the concerts on City Island, from late nights outside Little Joe’s — Gaines knew he had found a gift and knew that, with it, he had the key to his future. After singing in a variety of side projects and cover bands — including Tonight Guns and 21^st Street — Gaines was spotted during a performance with the Innocent Bystanders at the Gingerbread Man in Mechanicsburg. Soon, he was asked to join the New York-based band, Maggie’s Dream, and was faced with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Until that’s exactly what he did.

Arriving at Capitol Records with his own terms, Gaines turned down the offer when the two sides didn’t come to an agreement, a move that, instead of stunting his professional career before it even began, earned him a sense of legitimacy in the industry. "They were like ‘you can’t come in here out of the sticks and leverage us, do you know where you’re at?" Gaines recalled, laughing. "And thank God I didn’t. I was absolutely so ignorant as to what was going on that I just spoke from my mind, shot from the hip, and, with nothing but lint in my pocket, said, ‘these are my terms, either you please me or I don’t sign’ so I didn’t do it. And then by accident word gets around that that is the most brazen and intense thing that anyone has ever done and I started getting all of this weird legitimacy because of my ‘integrity,’ and maybe that was the case but that certainly wasn’t my objective."

It may not have been his objective, but it was his ticket. Gaines signed with Chrysalis in 1990 and recorded his self-titled debut album in 1992, an effort he felt was long overdue. "I knew I’d always be doing my record, I thought I was doing it way too late," he said. "I think when I was in high school I felt, ‘if I could just get out of this damned high school I’d be a star already.’ I always thought it."

So from playing in cover bands in Harrisburg to small clubs in Philadelphia, where he moved prior to signing his deal, Gaines found himself on stage in Europe opening for Tom Petty in front of thousands of people. And more than just a journey, the experience was a mind trip for Gaines who, prior to touring with Petty has never been on a plane. And in the sense that a place such as Birmingham, England is a distance from Central Pennsylvania, so is walking off the stage under the watchful eye of someone like Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. "There’s nothing like it," said Gaines. "You’re walking off the stage in Birmingham, England, and as you’re walking and saying good-bye to the crowd you pass Robert Plant, whose been standing side-stage watching your show, and you just go ‘come on!’ and it just keeps going every night…and we have to be all back stage together and I know we don’t know each other, but I’m in the room, man. It’s all very Wayne’s World."

Following his time with Petty, Gaines toured with a litany of other musical acts, from Melissa Etheridge to Bryan Adams, and recorded his second album, 1994’s Somewhat Slightly Dazed, before Chrysalis closed operation in 1996. Prepared to record his third album, but without a label, Gaines took 1997 to refuel and to gather material for Galore, which was released on Rykodisc in 1998. Following the release of the album, which drew praise from a variety of sources — including Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Vogue — and from which a bonus track, Gaines’ recording of the Peter Gabriel hit, "In Your Eyes," is now topping the request list at a huge Top 40 station in New York, some two years later — Gaines once again found himself on the road, a role he welcomed with open arms, touring with, among others, Sting and Tracy Chapman. "I like life on the road better than at home," laughed Gaines. "I’m Willie Nelson, I think. You start singing those words: ‘on the road again, the life I love is making music with my friends,’ and I just can’t wait."

While on tour, Gaines came to the realization that there’s nothing like being on stage. Nothing like knowing you’re living your biggest dream come true. "You pinch yourself all the time. Here’s when you pinch yourself, you walk out and the lights go dark and the crowd goes ‘ooh’ and you hear ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, Jeffrey Gaines’ and you hear that last bit of your name and you know that you’re not getting called to the office and you’re not in trouble. Usually you hear that authoritative voice announce your name and there’s trouble," he said. "And you’re going out to play guitar and they’re clapping before you plug in the damn thing and they’re clapping because you’re there and they’re ready for it. You pinch yourself right then. And even though you might be standing completely still your heart is just racing inside your chest … so, yeah, I pinch myself everyday. You get goosebumps and it’s truly the best natural high. It feels great."

And with those goosebumps, with all those nights on the road, it was just a matter of time before the tour made a stop in Harrisburg, at Whitaker Center. Although he was scheduled to play at Whitaker Center with Richard Thompson last year, the show was moved due to a scheduling conflict. So this time, Gaines is ready to take center stage. "Damn, I wanted to play the Whitaker — and thank God it worked out," Gaines said. "Finally I get to walk across that absolutely pristine, beautiful stage. And I’m sure it sounds amazing for everybody — I looked at the seats and every seat has a great view, it’s comfy, so I’d like to keep it really intimate, and keep it really close, but I’ll probably get there and start getting too excited and I’ll start rockin’ and making noise and hootin’ and hollering."

"So what is this Harrisburg?" What about it makes this town any more special than the glitz and glamour of all of the other towns and cities seen through the eyes of Gaines in the past ten years? What is ‘this Harrisburg’?

"I was telling this the other day to some people in New York, because New York has no idea. They asked, ‘so what it is this Harrisburg?’ and I said, ‘well what is is an open canvas, a blank canvas.’ In that, I mean there is no prevailing scene or sound and each band is allowed to be any sound they want to be … there really isn’t a formula for success here. We don’t have a sound, per se, in the ’Burg and that’s what’s so cool about it, you can completely use your imagination."

Years ago, perhaps no one but Jeffrey Gaines knew for sure where his imagination would take him. But he never doubted, never has. "If I didn’t think that I would ultimately be here, that I wouldn’t be doing this particular thing, I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved in it," he said.

Currently, Gaines is in the process of determining on which label to record his fourth album, which is targeted to be released in April, just in time for the spring — in time for him to once again hit the stage.

They say all roads lead home, and for Gaines this has proven to be true. The road has taken him across America and Europe, sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in the industry. And, yet, he is perhaps most excited to take the stage at home. In this place we call Harrisburg.

"I’m so excited," he said, "I can’t wait. There’s going to be nothing like it. And I know I’m going to hear some nicknames being yelled out, but it’s going to be totally good. Totally good."

Jeffrey Gaines will be at Whitaker Center on December 15 at 8 p.m. For tickets and information, call THE BOX at 214-ARTS. For more information on Jeffrey Gaines, check his website: jeffreygaines.com.