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Alex Hall's Figurehead unites veterans
By John Benson
A veteran of the Youngstown area music scene, Dave Lynn may have finally found his calling with relatively new group Alex Hall’s Figurehead.
Formerly of Mystic Whip Hustler, Dutch Monkey and Jones For Revival, the 1999 Boardman High School and 2004 Youngstown State graduate helped form the new band exactly a year ago.
“I was playing bass in Jones For Revival, but I wanted to play more guitar,” said the Boardman resident. “So I kind of quit Jones For Revival to do my own project, and that ended up being this group.”
Lynn said it was soon after leaving the band that he saw singer-guitarist Alex Hall also was leaving his band at the time. Ironically, Hall had seen Lynn play with his former band at a Columbus area music festival. It was one of the few times Lynn played guitar with Jones For Revival.
So Lynn reached out to Hall. They quickly agreed to jam and see how it worked. This was exactly a year ago. Now the quintet — Hall, Lynn (guitar, vocals), Tim Wilderoder (bass), Albert Santilli (keyboards) and Mark Modarelli (drums) — is readying the release of its debut album, “At the Movies.”
“We’re a good fit because what’s interesting about this group, every other band I’ve been in, usually people are fighting to get their song played,” Lynn said “There’s a lot of politics involved in what you play. Who made it up? Does this part go in this song?
“The nice thing working with Alex, that I didn’t necessarily know was going to happen, we’re all just very professional. Nobody has any misplaced ambition. Everybody knows their role in this band. For instance, my role is more like I don’t author a lot of the music but I help run the rehearsals. I’m kind of like the music director. I’m not the author of music. It’s like, that’s Alex’s job.”
Unlike the jam-based sounds of Jones For Revival, Figurehead features more of a rock sound. For instance, the new album’s title track has a progressive or epic feel, while the Lynn-penned “Credit Hole” boasts a ’50s rock and ’60s R&B vibe.
In discussing the current band, Hall talks about its moniker as being quite literal.
“In some ways I think of myself as the figurehead in the band name,” Hall said. “A band may have a band leader, and in this case I may be he, but these guys fit well in the band. Not least because they bring their considerable talents to bear on the songs I write, which I find elevates them.
“I really consider myself lucky to have the band I do, and I hope the quality of the music we produce speaks for itself.”
Lynn doesn’t disagree with Hall. He’s just happy to be not only playing guitar but also playing music in a band where everyone is focused on having a blast.
“Yeah, none of us are 21,” Lynn said. “We’re all kind of later in life, and we don’t, again, have misplaced ambitions. Everything is scaled to an appropriate level. We play 12 to 20 shows a year that are all rocking. We don’t necessarily tour.
“We just try to focus on doing what we want to do. Nobody is making a living from this. It’s just fun.”