Previously Be That Way were called Johnny Vermont, playing esoteric rock n' roll covers throughout the early nineties. Once they started doing all originals, they
realized that this name was obsolete. So the name Be That Way was chosen. For now, Mr Messing seems to be heading once again in the direction of solo artistry - he says that this allows him to make the sound available to more people because the band never put across a fully unified vision.
Charlie Messing is not your typical high school muso, desperate to get on the music scene. At 54, he is a contemporary of Tom Waits,
Dylan, Newman, and Zevon. He has followed the greats - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead have all had the pleasure of his attention - and in the sixties he could be found on the heels of The Who, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. This guy knows how to find a concert, that's for sure! But has it rubbed off on his music?
The first thing to strike me is that Charlie Messing has that finely honed sense of humour so important in modern music - he doesn't take himself too seriously. The album contains such gems as "Get your Butt off my desk" and "Sleepy sleep", the latter sounding suspiciously as though it's going to be a lullaby until you actually hear it! The name of his new recording company, and I love this, is "Starna Pismiof Music" - think about it…
The band as portrayed on this album include Pam Dickey (who was found playing Marimba at a Jazz Jam), Kate Hirka (who Charlie had known since the seventies), Jamie Shefer, and Stacy Starkweather (What a superb name). A lot of production time and remixing has gone into the finished product, and it does show. Be That Way have taken their actual music very seriously, and the end result is something which you can listen to again and again. Honestly, I'm really not quite sure who to compare it to - you can feel the influences mentioned earlier coming through, and it is certainly not what you would call modern pop. The audience for "What Happened" is likely to be those who enjoyed lying around on the grass at festivals in the sixties and seventies, or to whom WoodStock is more than just a word. It is a sound which you will either appreciate straight away or which will grow on you after one or two listens, depending on your age and musical tastes. Kinda like Bob Dylan - very few people listen to Bob Dylan for the first time and immediately cream their pants, to coin a phrase. But people do love him. Charlie Messing can't really be compared to any present day musicians, having his own distinct style which more embodies flavours of Dylan and the sixties and seventies in general. Check out the sounds on the official site and make up your own mind.
Both the solo and band albums can be purchased on-line for (at the time of writing) $12 on-line by visiting the site at http://www.bethatwaydotcom.com
