THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2002
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
Brent Berry's gone,but band goes on
By Janette Yost jyost@kansan.com Jayplaywriter
Fortweyears, Brent Berry and the Roots Crew, a Lawrence band, has collected a faithful following, full of dedication and energy for the reggae music it loves.
But the band's frontman and namesake is now missing from the equation.
Tom Johnson, Ryan Hensley, Eric Johnson, Stephen Leiker and Dan Pen, members of what was Brent Berry and the Roots Crew, play open mike night at the Jazzhaus. They plan to continue playing together locally without Brent Berry.
Contributed art
On Sept. 10, Roots Crew guitarist Eric Johnson woke to find Berry, his roommate, gone. Only a short note was left behind. No other members of the Roots Crew have talked to him since.
"The important thing is that the group, as a band, is still here," Johnson said. "We're going to keep playing music because that's what we love to do."
Becca Hurd, Hesston sophomore, said she was impressed by the band's perseverance.
"It's cool that they're looking toward the future and figuring out where they're going to go from here," she said.
At open mike night Monday at the Jazzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., before the 11:45 p.m. stage time, members of the band finally opened up about what happened.
What happened
About a week before Berry left, he typed a list of upcoming gigs, of which they had been playing about 10 to 15 per month, and ideas for the future.
"Ideas that were all up for discussion," Johnson said.
In the paper, Berry asked his bandmates for permission to take November and December off. The band was agreeable; they had not had a week off for two years. Nowhere in the paper was there a suggestion of Berry leaving.
"We didn't expect it at all," drummer Ryan Hensley said.
Before he left, Berry called venues and canceled all of the band's shows.
After the band found this out, Tom Johnson, Eric's brother and band bassist, was able to save two Jazzhaus shows and a wedding gig.
Band history
Before meeting Berry, members of the Roots Crew played together as the Second Hands, an instrumental group.
At the time, Tom Johnson also played trombone in Lawrence's The Band That Saved the World. There he met Berry, who played percussion. Knowing Berry was a songwriter, Johnson invited him to play with the band.
Together they recorded Berry's solo album Inland, before they played together publicly. Johnson produced and engineered the CD. At that point, the Second Hands was essentially his studio musicians.
They were soon playing live shows together regularly and making a respected name for themselves as Brent Berry and the Second Hands. About a year and half ago, the name changed.
"Roots Crew' was originally supposed to just be the name of the fan club," Hensley said.
And now?
"We're still going on," Leiker said.
The group has thought about changing its name but may stay the Roots Crew for promotional reasons.
"We're starting from scratch now," Johnson said.
The band will not play Berry's songs and the members look forward to new liberties they will have with their own music. At the open mike, both Johnsons sang and the crew finished its set with an instrumental song.
Sans Berry, don't expect a new sound; the band will stay true to its heart.
"All the musicians in this town have really supported us," Hensley said. "So many people have wanted to play with us and help us out."
The Roots Crew will not play at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., tomorrow night but will perform at the Jazzhaus Oct.25 and Dec.14.
— Edited by Lauren Beatty
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1 LADYTRON
2 OF MONTREAL
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4 INTERPOL
5 LOW
6 DOUG MARTSCH
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8 SPOON
9 BECK
10 SAHARA HOT NIGHTS
11 SONDRE LERCHE
12 SCHNEIDER TM
13 CINERAMA
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22 BANGS
23 LIARS
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