The Matt Gerovac Implosion to stir up reggae-funk at Bell's

By Ron Riekki
A&E Writer
January 27, 2005

Looking for a band with a reggae-funk-calypso groove?

Sure, if you're in Chicago, you have no further to go than Clark Street, but if you're in the same nine-lettered city that begins with a K along with the rest of us, that may mean you're awaiting The Matt Gerovac Implosion's upcoming Bell's Eccentric Caf�/Kalamazoo Brewing Company gig.

Bassist Corbet Hein, keyboardist "Cutty," drummer Phillip Torres and guitarist/vocalist/brain child Matt Gerovac will bring their Latin jazz soul groove thanks to the eclectic background of its group members.

Gerovac was raised in the St. Thomas, Virgin Islands area where he picked up his calypso affinities. Torres brings a fresh jazz feel to the band and Cutty adds flair.

"Genre-wise, we're kinda all over the place -- reggae, funk, whatever," Gerovac said.

Those diverse musical tastes manifest in the outward physical appearance of each group member, Gerovac said, stating that they have not undergone the boy band, cookie-cutter, "poser look" image.

"Any kind of homogenization leaves a nasty taste in my mouth," Gerovac said.

This diversity is apparent in The Matt Gerovac Implosion's music.

"From song to song, you never can guess what's gonna happen next," Gerovac said.

Yet somehow, according to Gerovac, the band still inexplicably gets categorically handcuffed.

"We get lumped in the whole ever-change-y jam band bracket," Gerovac said. "But we're not Phish-y -- we're not Grateful Dead-y."

But what the band does offer is complexity. That comes from Gerovac's almost therapeutic approach to song writing.

"I feel like I want to cry; I want to scream," Gerovac said. "Music is the best outlet for me."

That outlet comes from being an outspoken, politically active Democrat living in recent red state Ohio -- Cleveland to be exact.

Gerovac said his politics and music are interwoven and in many ways inseparable.

Those wanting to listen in on his percussive pieces can attend Bell's at 9 p.m. Saturday or seek out further information at www.mattgerovac.com.