Uncanny Precision, Full-Bodied Sound
Back when a gallon of gas cost 36 cents, "peace was at hand" inVietnam and you were 10 years younger, a bunch of friends in Lowell decided to form a rock band to make music on weekends and pick up some extra spending money. Some of them were music students in college, others had just graduated from high school and one member worked in a General Motors plant.
Initially they didn't dare look too much past their next gig. But, gradually, part-time work became full-time and the group has been booked steadily in the area ever since.
Alive & Well, back in town for the first time since November, is playing at the Hoffman House. The popular six-member group also will be the opening act when the Osmond Family visits Wyoming's Fort Lamar Aug. 20.
Among other compliments, it might be said no other band playing the Grand Rapids area performs radio's Top 40 hits with the same uncanny precision and full-bodied sound attained by Alive & Well. One obvious explanation is that few other bands have spent as much time copying hundreds of artists ranging from Abba to ZZ Top. With enthusiasm few Top 40 bands display, the group copies everything from laid-back love songs to the frenzied beat of new wave-influenced hits.
Concentrating on funky, dance-oriented tunes, the Lowell group has polished an act displaying a depth of instrumental and vocal talent well beyond that of most bar bands. Listeners familiar with current tunes soon realize the musicians have paid strict attention to details on everything from instrumental licks to supporting vocal harmonies. Four of the six members sing the lead parts, depending on which artist is being copied.
Now ranging from 27 to 35 years old, Alive & Well's six members are indeed alive and well.
"Things have kept getting better money wise and we're playing better clubs," said the group's only female member, vocalist Cindy Adams Kropf, 30 --- sister to vocalist Jerry Adams, and wife to bassist Dale Kropf, 30. The personal ties help explain how the group has been able to stick together so long. Dale Kropf and keyboard player Dave Jones first formed a band 17 years ago when they were Lowell eighth-graders. The band's youngest members, drummer Carl Andrews Jr. and lead guitarist Dan Lomas, both 27, did the same thing a few years later, then they all joined forces.
The good-natured barbs they tossed at each other during an interview reveal a band with personal relationships as tightly knit as its music.
"There are no ego problems and there are no stars in this band," summed up Andrews. "We're good friends. We get together on our nights off and go to each other's houses and so on."
For most of its history, the group was a staple at Stephanie's Lounge, packing the place night after night with little promotion other than word of mouth. The band since has moved on to larger clubs in Portage, Mount Pleasant, Shelbyville and Grand Rapids.
"Our band's philosophy is that after 10 years in the same place it's time to move on," deadpanned Lomas.
Three years ago Alive & Well produced an album of original music that gained critical acclaim and local airplay --- but not enough sales to pay its way. Copies were sent to producers in hopes of signing with a major record label, but the crunch was on in the music business and nothing happened. But Lomas and Jones, who work out instrumental and vocal arrangements, have begun to write new music in anticipation of recording.
The band members can't foresee extending the act another 10 years, but neither did a whole decade together seem possible when they began.
Ron Hovingh.....The Grand Rapids Press
Initially they didn't dare look too much past their next gig. But, gradually, part-time work became full-time and the group has been booked steadily in the area ever since.
Alive & Well, back in town for the first time since November, is playing at the Hoffman House. The popular six-member group also will be the opening act when the Osmond Family visits Wyoming's Fort Lamar Aug. 20.
Among other compliments, it might be said no other band playing the Grand Rapids area performs radio's Top 40 hits with the same uncanny precision and full-bodied sound attained by Alive & Well. One obvious explanation is that few other bands have spent as much time copying hundreds of artists ranging from Abba to ZZ Top. With enthusiasm few Top 40 bands display, the group copies everything from laid-back love songs to the frenzied beat of new wave-influenced hits.
Concentrating on funky, dance-oriented tunes, the Lowell group has polished an act displaying a depth of instrumental and vocal talent well beyond that of most bar bands. Listeners familiar with current tunes soon realize the musicians have paid strict attention to details on everything from instrumental licks to supporting vocal harmonies. Four of the six members sing the lead parts, depending on which artist is being copied.
Now ranging from 27 to 35 years old, Alive & Well's six members are indeed alive and well.
"Things have kept getting better money wise and we're playing better clubs," said the group's only female member, vocalist Cindy Adams Kropf, 30 --- sister to vocalist Jerry Adams, and wife to bassist Dale Kropf, 30. The personal ties help explain how the group has been able to stick together so long. Dale Kropf and keyboard player Dave Jones first formed a band 17 years ago when they were Lowell eighth-graders. The band's youngest members, drummer Carl Andrews Jr. and lead guitarist Dan Lomas, both 27, did the same thing a few years later, then they all joined forces.
The good-natured barbs they tossed at each other during an interview reveal a band with personal relationships as tightly knit as its music.
"There are no ego problems and there are no stars in this band," summed up Andrews. "We're good friends. We get together on our nights off and go to each other's houses and so on."
For most of its history, the group was a staple at Stephanie's Lounge, packing the place night after night with little promotion other than word of mouth. The band since has moved on to larger clubs in Portage, Mount Pleasant, Shelbyville and Grand Rapids.
"Our band's philosophy is that after 10 years in the same place it's time to move on," deadpanned Lomas.
Three years ago Alive & Well produced an album of original music that gained critical acclaim and local airplay --- but not enough sales to pay its way. Copies were sent to producers in hopes of signing with a major record label, but the crunch was on in the music business and nothing happened. But Lomas and Jones, who work out instrumental and vocal arrangements, have begun to write new music in anticipation of recording.
The band members can't foresee extending the act another 10 years, but neither did a whole decade together seem possible when they began.
Ron Hovingh.....The Grand Rapids Press
