The Bystanders: Press

"Crowded House should have these guys open on their next tour."

" I could see a bunch of teenage girls stalking this band."

"With any luck at all, you won't be an INDIE much longer!"

"EXCELLENT !!! Really! This a great song, you are very talented! Guitars are great, you've got a great voice, very melodic song, great songwriting. Wow I'd really be surprised if this didn't end up on the radio soon!"

Spotlight: Musical Bystanders

The lineup on the Bystanders' CD, It's Life, is a roster of some of Milwaukee's most capable musicians. Daryl Stuermer, a sideman with Genesis and Phil Collins and a bandleader in his own right, plays guitar. Percussionist Tony Ayala comes from the estimable Latin jazz group La Chazz. The classically-trained, Russian-born keyboardist Kostia has recorded with Stuermer and made his own CDs. The rhythm section, bassist Eric Hervey and drummer Del Bennett, is solid as the ground beneath their feet. The real surprise may be vocalist Michael Henszey, who was known as a producer and engineer at AD Studio in the early '90s but has proven a strong, tuneful singer.

Naturally Stuermer is too busy to be a regular Bystander. His place on stage is filled by Bob Monagle. Ayala was also just a guest star. Nonetheless, the Bystanders have increased their presence on Milwaukee's musical calendar without loss of musical focus. They have written songs for a second CD and are figuring out how to market a sound that slips somewhere between contemporary and retro. Many tracks from It's Life suggest the ringing tonalities of '80s rock and could fit comfortably on radio in with "Every Breath You Take" Live, the Bystanders stretch out their pop-rock songs. There are solos, jams, even a bebop breakdown during their cover of Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle." They are among the only bands anywhere who play Bruce Hornsby's "That's the Way It Is" and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" on the same night.

The focus, however, has always been on original songs, with Henszey taking the lead in recent years as the lineup shifted but Kostia actively contributing. "I always felt the songs and the musicians dictated how things should turn out," Henszey says. "I didn't try to form a pop band or an alternative band. We just did what we thought was best."

For Kostia, who has played everything from Tchaikovsky to new age to commercial jingles during a remarkably varied career, the fun of the Bystanders is its jazz-like spontaneity. "All of the musicians are so strong that we can communicate during a performance," he says. "We can turn any song into something unexpected.
Lots of bands play songs the same way over and over again. That's not the case with us. We are always interacting with each other."

The Bystanders' next show is Dec. 9 at Rockbottom.

It's a rather unlikely assemblage of local music talent: The latest lineup of The Bystanders - featuring onetime New Age and Narada-label keyboardist Kostia and local metal guitarist and former Blackfoot member Mark Woerpel - perform at 7:30 tonight at the Tom Tom Club, 618 N. Broadway ($5). Rounding out the quintet are lead singer Michael Henszey (former owner of A.D.Studios) and a rhythm section featuring area jazz scenesters Del Bennett (drums) and Eric Hervey (bass). The Bystanders' freshly
recorded album, "It's Life," comes out next month, and features performances by local guitarists Daryl Stuermer and Greg Koch and Christopher's Project vocalist Amirah Tatum. The album was recorded by David Vartanian, whose national credits include working with the Violent Femmes and the Crash Test Dummies.