THURSDAY, MARCH 14. 2002
ENTERTAINMENT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5B
Band needs 'no lesson' in music
By Louise Stauffer Jayplay writer
Aaron Lerner, Mission Hills senior, Danny Herrmann, Wilmette, Ill., junior, Chris Cardwell, Lawrence resident, and Jeff Goldford, St. Louis, Mo., junior, form the band No Lessons. The band recently recorded its first CD and is gearing up to tour the Midwest this summer.
JILLIAN THORPE/KANSAN
Unlike some band names, No Lessons doesn't need a deep explanation: Two of the members can't read music.
But that's not a problem for the band that released its first CD last week while opening for Tim Mahoney at Abe and Jake's Landing, Eight E. Sixth St. With a summer full of touring, and the single "Maybe So" about to play on radio station 96.5 The Buzz, it looks like No Lessons may be doing the teaching.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Jeff Goldford,
St. Louis junior, and vocalist and keyboardist
Danny Herrmann, Wilmette, Ill., junior,
began picking guitar tunes together on a porch last summer.
"That night was the first night I'd ever played," Goldford said. "And we ended up writing two songs."
Goldford said they realized their music would appeal to a varied audience when 45-year-olds liked the same songs their peers did.
Herrmann said they began playing more, and people began to pay attention to their music.
"Our friends backed us up from the beginning," he said. "It's because of them that we're this far."
No Lessons officially became a band when harmonica player Aaron Lerner, Mission Hills senior, and percussionist Chris Cardwell, Lincoln sophomore, came into the picture.
"When Aaron came into the equation, he really got us focused," Goldford said. "Since he'd been in other bands he would try to change and improve each show a little bit." Lerner is also a Kansan photographer.
Cardwell occasionally played acoustic guitar before getting together with Goldford and Herrmann. He decided to join when they saw him play and approached him about the idea. Charlie Rose, Leawood junior, occasionally plays bass guitar with the band.
The members know that to succeed, they must have a common goal: success. Herrmann said the members were committing their time to the band to make it successful.
"We've recently been putting our hearts into it," he said. "We've been advancing, putting our opinions out there, and sifting through them all."
Vocalists Goldford and Herrmann add personality to each show by cracking jokes and doing impersonations and improptu skits between songs.
Cardwell said he acted less dramatic on stage because playing in front of an audience made him nervous. Sometimes he would receive ten talks from the other members.
'It's better now, but it's still a big challenge
to keep focused up there," he said.
A video camera is one of the band's main practice tools because Herrmann and Goldford can't read music. The members watch and listen to the tape of themselves playing and use it to improve and make changes in the music.
"We don't even put the camera on our faces — just as long as we can hear the music," Herrmann said. "That way, if we were too drunk last night to remember what we were playing, in the morning we have the tape."
Although Lerner can read music, he improvises all of his harmonica parts. Lerner said he "fiddles around" and listens to recordings to adjust his sound.
Goldford said the band's sound couldn't be placed in a category although it cited bluegrass and hard blues as its influences.
Herrmann and Goldford write most of the lyrics and music — and they write quickly.
"We'll write in like an hour, and then sit on it." Herrmann said.
Cardwell said the best thing about playing their original music is knowing that it was reaching people.
"It's cool to hear your friends humming your songs," he said.
The members of No Lessons have made sacrifices for the band. Goldford said he had an internship at an advertising agency this summer but canceled it to play. Herrmann said he was planning on teaching English in Spain, but also decided to perform.
But Lerner said he hasn't made any sacrifices for No Lessons, vet.
"I just love doing it so much, there is no sacrifice," he said.
Contact Stauffer at lstauffer@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jeremy Clarkson.
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