The Suns of Circumstance got their start more
than 18 years ago, when Mike Burnett and John Walter, two
Springfield High School music chums, teamed up to play songs for a
party. Burnett, a friendly sort, held large parties with many
attendees, and the duo soon found it necessary to add fellow
Springfield High grad Bob Berning on lead guitar and Larry Kruder
as their drummer.
The quartet clicked musically and continued
playing the parties and practicing, all the while melding the
individual members’ distinct tastes and styles into a
cohesive sound. Burnett, as lead singer and rhythm guitarist,
brought in tunes by James Taylor and the Grateful Dead. Berning,
known as “Cowboy,” had blues on the brain from his
recent stint with Springfield Shaky. Drummer Kruder was into
prog-rock bands such as Genesis and Yes. And bassist and vocalist
Walter added songs by new-wave artists Echo and the Bunnymen and
Elvis Costello.
When the time arrived for the first official
bar gig, the group brought along their party crowd and everything
continued as normal, just in a different location.
“In most bands you work promotion and
play around to get an audience,” Walter says. “This is
the only one that I’ve played with that already had a
built-in crowd.”
The group consistently packed On Broadway, the
largest venue in town at the time, and rode the wave of popularity
for about two years. In 1990, with the band still peaking, Walter
decided to move to San Francisco and try something different;
Kruder joined Kool-Ray and the Polaroidz, a touring Midwest rock
band; and Burnett and Berning took a break.
Within a year, Berning and Burnett had decided
to give the Suns another go. “It just sustained
itself and took on its own energy,” Berning says.
Over the years Frank Vaines, Eric Shaver, Rick
Mari, Mark Cole, Jeff Kornfeld, and more than a few others have
been members of the Suns of Circumstance, but the original quartet
has not played together since the early days. When Walter planned a
hometown visit for this week, Berning and Burnett set up the
weekend band reunion.
“We may get together and practice, or we
might just wing it,” Berning says. “Either way,
it’ll be a lot of fun.”
The original Suns of Circumstance perform
Friday, Oct. 7, at the MC Tap and Saturday, Oct. 8, at
Frankie’s, 2765 S. Sixth St., 217-523-0308. Both shows run 9
p.m.-1 a.m.
St. Louis bluesman
Brian Curran returns to the capital city for one night of double
gigging on Friday, Oct. 7. The fingerstyle-blues guitarist and
funny (so we hear) entertainer takes the stage at the no-smoking,
no-drinking, good-eats establishment known as the Sun’s Up
Koffee Kafe (1001 N. First St., 217-522-5348), 7-9 p.m., then heads
over to Café Kanichi-Wa (1117 S. Grand Ave. E.,
217-544-3500) for smoking galore, alcoholic libations, and plenty
of pool, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.
Music stores around
the country are hosting the Music Edge Fastest Drummer Contest,
featuring the amazing Drum-o-Meter, a fabulous machine that
measures the speed of your single-stroke roll, among other things.
Local contestants may qualify at Daddy-O’s Music Shack (1405
Stevenson Dr., 217-529-4840) for a spectacular showdown of the top
10 local strokers on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Greg Garing is not a
household name, yet his promo posters call him legendary. He has
worked with some of the most heralded names in country music, yet
his first album of country songs used extensive digital sampling.
In other words, the man is a bit of a contradiction — but
bless him for it, ’cause he takes chances like other folks
take breaths. After a stint in Nashville and a run in New York
City, he’s on a cross-country tour, connecting with the
hardcore country-music faithful and serving up heaping helpings of
sad songs done right with an honesty and sincerity found in only a
few performers. He makes a honky-tonk stop at the Underground City
Tavern (700 E. Adams St., 217-789-1530) on Friday, Oct. 7, between
shows in Nashville and St. Louis.
Remember the Western
swing-jazz band that was traveling Route 66 from Chicago to Los
Angeles last year? Cow Bop started with $100 and lots of faith in
the goodness of others, hoping to make it all the way to the
Pacific Ocean. They must have fulfilled their quest, because now
they’re doing it again. Cow Bop rolls into Springfield on
Friday, Oct. 7, for a 7-10 p.m. show at Gabatoni’s (300 E.
Laurel St., 217-522-0371) and another gig at Turasky’s (Old
Route 36, Dawson), 8-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.
No setting Suns
Original members join up for reunion shows on Friday and Saturday
The original Suns of Circumstance
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