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| Local spotlight: Obadiah Parker discovers that success 'happened despite us’ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| By Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| May 17, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
“I thought it was just kind of a tongue-in-cheek, funny thing,” says keyboardist/vocalist Young. “I never considered that it would be taken seriously at all.” Bassist Zehring agrees. “I thought it was hilarious,” he says. But Weddle’s cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” the ubiquitous No. 1 hit from 2004, has been taken seriously by music fans across the country, creating a sensation on YouTube — where a video of Weddle performing the song on an acoustic guitar in a Valley coffee shop has been viewed nearly a half a million times — and receiving airplay on radio stations as far flung as Chicago, Texas, Seattle and in their hometown. “We did it all backwards — it kind of happened despite us,” Weddle says with a laugh. “Some people ask us, 'Is that a bummer that it’s a cover that’s getting all the attention?,’ but we’re like, 'No!’ It’s awesome that it’s out there, and for us it’s like, this is what’s going to push us forward, getting the original stuff out there.” While “Hey Ya” may have drawn the general public to the band, Obadiah Parker, which took its name from a short story by Southern writer Flannery O’Connor, is no one-trick pony. The band is expanding its fan base on the strength of itsimpressive, acoustic-based originals, which veer from percussive rock to folk to jazz (featuring Young’s Miles Davis-influenced trumpet playing) and melodic pop. The band’s MySpace page has logged more than 100,000 visits, and originals such as “Salvation Jam” and “Kimberlina,” and a Radiohead cover, “Idioteque,” have garnered listens in the thousands. “We didn’t know if 'Hey Ya’ was going to be the chic cover that we got known for and people would look right past it,” says Zehring, “but it hasn’t happened that way. It’s really encouraging to see people enjoying our original songs.” The band, which came together seven years ago while Young, Weddle and Zehring played together in a church youth group, will celebrate the release of its new CD, “Obadiah Parker Live” with a show at the Clubhouse Music Venue on Saturday, May 19. “We’ve always just gotten such a good response from people live,” says Zehring of Obadiah Parker’s decision to record the album live instead of in the studio. “We’ve done stuff in the studio, and I think there’s just a different energy live — there’s just something that comes across when we’re doing it front of people.” Obadiah Parker credits its origins playing worship music in church for the camaraderie they share with a live audience — the band played one of the most crowd-pleasing sets at the Tempe Music Festival in March — making each Obadiah Parker show a celebration of music and positive vibes. “Worship music definitely has its element — it’s not like pop music — it comes from a pretty deep spot,” says Weddle. “We learned about leading people to sing along with us, to share that connection, and I think that’s a really cool place to come from.” The group released the new disc to iTunes last month, and the record has been hovering in the Top 10 on the site’s folk chart ever since. Folk chart? “Well, they don’t have a folk/pop chart,” says Weddle. “If we had to classify (the band’s music) as something, it would probably be pop music, because it’s really focused on melody and it’s pretty accessible. But there are really strong influences of so much other stuff.” “It just kind of gives people a handle to grab onto, and that’s a good jumping off point, to say we’re folk,” says Zehring. “That way people can be surprised by what they hear.” Obadiah Parker eventually hopes to land a record deal (“We’ve had some small interest, but nothing big yet,” says Weddle) and will tour cities that have been spinning the band’s music this summer. But for now the group is pleased with the success they’ve had on their own. “You can go really far doing your own thing, which we’ve kind of experienced,” says Zehring. “There’s a lot of people out there now that know about us now that would’ve never known about us two years ago.” >> Obadiah Parker performs 9 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the Clubhouse Music Venue, 1320 E. Broadway Road, Tempe. $10 ($5 off CD with entry). (480) 968-3238. Contact Chris Hansen Orf by email, or phone (480) 898-5684 |
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