Vertical Horizon: Pittsfield native cracks Billboard's Top 20
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 31, 2000) –
"I really remember when I was 13 and I grabbed my mom and pulled her aside and said, `I'm gonna be a musician.' I let her know I was gonna do this and make a living. I had no idea what it would entail, but in a naïve, thirteen-year-old way, that's what I wanted."

Last week, by phone from his home in Los Angeles, Pittsfield native Sean Hurley was reminiscing about the moment when he knew he wanted to be a musician.

This week, only Santana's "Smooth" stands between the single "Everything You Want" by the 1992 Pittsfield High graduate's band, Vertical Horizon, and the number one spot on Billboard Magazine's Adult Top 40 chart, where it is ensconced at number two with a bullet.

Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want" has been climbing Billboard's various charts since January, when the video for the song was chosen as "Inside Track" of the month by music-video network VH-1.

In this week's Billboard, the song is number 17 with a bullet on the Hot 100 singles chart, up from number 19 the week before. It is number five with a bullet in its 18th week on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album of the same name has already gone "gold," meaning it has sold in excess of a half-million copies, and is currently holding steady at 41 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.

The band, which Hurley signed up with in 1997, appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno last month, and is the featured artist this month on VH1.com, the cable channel's web site.

Hurley is a veteran of local rock bands, including Xavier, which he joined in 1990 at age 16, and with whom he toured backing up Arlo Guthrie. Later on he performed with the Barnyard Blues Project. The bassist also played with local jazz musicians including drummer Randy Kaye, keyboardist John Sauer, and guitarist John Myers.

"I played at the Lion's Den a lot on Sundays," said Hurley. "I was doing everything I could. I always wanted to learn songs, and that was the beauty of being a bass player; everyone needed a bass player and there were only a few of us."

Ultimately Hurley found the Berkshire music scene limiting, and he took off for greener pastures. First stop was Berklee College of Music in Boston, for a short stint in 1992. He returned to Boston in 1997, and after hooking up with friends from his Berklee days, he began playing jazz, blues and R&B dates.

It was through a Berklee friend that he heard that a rock band was looking for a bassist, so he signed up for the audition. The rest is history, and Hurley is now experiencing the sort of rock 'n' roll excitement that is the stuff of many budding musicians' dreams.

"It's kind of neat, it's even a bit surreal," said Hurley about the band's sudden, almost overnight, success. "It all happens without us doing very much. We're out on the road where it's even more surreal, because we're just playing gigs. Numbers and chart positions don't mean much when you're out on the road. We're still doing the same thing every day.

"Until just two months ago, when we did our latest tour, that was the first time we had a bus. There were times when people were hearing us on American Top 40 and I'm barely eating because I can't find any vegetarian food on the road. It's still a challenge finding a good meal and getting a good night's sleep. Other than a little more space to stretch out everything's exactly the same as it was before."

On an album chock full of radio-ready hits, the title track is only the second to be released to radio. "We Are" garnered minor airplay last summer, shortly after the album was first released. But with "Everything You Want" taking the band into the Top 20, the next time around it won't be as hard getting the attention of radio programmers. And with so many of the album's other songs equally as catchy, Vertical Horizon could be poised for Wallflowers-style success.

"Everything You Want" has garnered the band comparisons to the Wallflowers, as well as to Dave Matthews Band, Live, Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Oasis and Peter Gabriel. Formed in 1991 by Matt Scannell and Keith Kane, who were undergraduates at Georgetown University at the time, the band slowly evolved from its roots as an acoustic jam-rock band to its current pop-rock sound. After graduation, the duo moved to Boston, and in 1992 they released their first CD. Soon the group was opening for bands like the Allman Brothers, the Samples and Better Than Ezra. Their second album, released in 1995, featured Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band on drums. Scannell is the lead singer and songwriter, with Kane holding down guitar duties. Ed Toth keeps the beat on drums.

Hurley said playing with Arlo Guthrie was a crucial part of his musical education. "He taught us a lot about performance," he said. "Pay attention, for one. He'd tell us you have to get your personality out there, so people can connect and share with you. And being able to tour at a younger age was a good experience because some people just don't want to tour, but I was able to say yes, I've been on a tour, I've spent two years of my life on the road and I still want it."

Hurley says he still keeps in touch with old friends and former teachers in the Berkshires, particularly his old bandmate, Kali Baba McConnell, who gets a personal thanks in the CD liner notes, as does his former teacher, Andy Lack.

"I'd like to let the Pittsfield people know it was playing with Kali Baba and taking lessons from Andy Lack that gave me the skills and confidence to succeed," said Hurley. "I'd like to send love back to my little town." As of now, the closest Vertical Horizon is scheduled to come to the Berkshires is on April 22, when the band plays at Bushnell Park in Hartford. Other upcoming shows in the Northeast include Tradewinds in Sea Bright, N.J., on April 21, Irving Plaza in New York City on May 16, and Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, N.H., on May 18. For more information on Vertical Horizon, visit the band's website at www.verticalhorizon.com.

Absinthe regroups

In other local band news, former Berkshire band Absinthe, defunct for several years, is regrouping after finding success in cyberspace. The group formed at North Adams State College in 1993, moved to Boston, broke up, and then found itself growing in popularity over the Internet, where digital versions of songs from its 1995 album, "The Golden Hour," were frequently downloaded. Thus, the defunct band found itself at the top of the charts on websites including boston.com and amp3d.com.

In response, the band, including Michael Durwin, a Pittsfield High graduate and web designer, and George Moran III, of Pittsfield, who works at an Albany ad agency, has regrouped with a new singer, Shaun Beckett, and is currently recording a new album. Visit www.absinthecreations.com/absinthe for more information and to hear some of the band's new music.

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on March 31, 2000. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2000. All rights reserved.]

Search by Artist Name Album Title

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on March 3, 2000. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2000. All rights reserved.]