March 4, 2002 – New York blues, improv, roots and rock are shakin' St. Croix this week, as the trio Gent Treadly makes the rounds of various venues.
The band, formed in 1994, consists of leader Greg Koerner on bass, Tom Kaelin on drums and Mike Jaimes on guitar. "Roots-based rock 'n' roll" is what it's all about.
Koerner is a veteran of New York bands Uncle Buzz, The Joneses, Crimson Rose and the Dark Star Orchestra. Kaelin formerly played with Gravity, Dreamspeak and The Hatters. Jaimes has been a mainstay of the New York scene for more than a decade as a founding member of Native and more recently as a sideman for Craig Dreyer and Fiends.
"This is not Gent Treadly's first trip to St. Croix," Koerner says. Aided by Crucian friends and fellow New York transplants Dean Fennessey and Karl Wiklund, he says, the trio visited two years ago and enjoyed themselves so much they decided they had to do it again. Most of their bookings this time are return engagements from that tour.
Now, if this sounds like the kind of sounds you like, the bad news is you've already missed their first appearances at Club 54 (Friday), the Divi Carina Bay Casino (Saturday) and the Lost Dog Saloon (Sunday). The good news is they've got additional gigs at all those night spots and more still to come this week. Here's the remainder of the schedule:
Monday – Divi Carina Bay Casino
Tuesday – Cane Bay Beach Club, 7:30-11:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Club 54
Friday – early show at the Christiansted Brew Pub, late show at Divi Carina Bay Casino
Saturday – Club 54
Sunday – early show Changes in Latitude; late show the Lost Dog Saloon.
"Gent Treadly is truly a unique act, and the players are the real deal," their publicity states. "Together, they've evolved into one of the most heralded units in Manhattan, offering a precocious blend of bluesy improvisational roots rock." Among those who've sat in with them over the years are members of The Grateful Dead, Phish, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Merl Saunders, The Band, Jorma Kaukonen, The Neville Brothers, Leftover Salmon and Milo Z.
The band is "truly a collaborative effort," Koerner says, promising that the "incendiary improvisational skills of each musician, an extensive and eclectic cover repertoire and creative original songs are sure to light up Cruzan nightlife."
