by: Shane Arthur

The Breakfast Club
Friday, July 3rd, 9pm
Soapbox Laundro Lounge, $10 adv, $12 day of
www.thebreakfastclub.com

I am convinced that anyone who voluntarily participated in the 1980s took the whole “I wear my sunglasses at night” thing a little too seriously. There simply is no other viable excuse for how a single decade could produce such large amounts of straight-up ugliness in every aspect of the visual arts. From architecture to fashion, everything was either very square and very bright or had too much hair, wore tight leather and appeared to have poor leg circulation. Fortunately, the ‘80s made up for its shortsightedness with other sensibilities, producing some of the 20th century’s finest achievements in music and movies.

There are few symbols of pop culture more indicative of the ‘80s’ land of confusion than teen-movie classic The Breakfast Club (Molly Ringwald plays one of the leading roles for chrissake!). And what makes The Breakfast Club a film for all generations is how effortlessly it emulates the social conditions of being a teenager in high school. In much the same way that this film is successful in its realistic portrayals of existing situations, the ‘80s cover band of the same name captures the essence of the decade’s best and most popular music.

There can be little doubt that The Breakfast Club picked a suitable name for themselves, but what really matters is how they sound. Being a cover band is a whole different beast than an original band covering a couple of their favorite artists’ hit tunes. To be successful, one requires a near-flawless copy of the original, while the latter encourages creative personal twists. The highest praise I can give any cover band is that they perform their source material in a way that doesn’t leave the audience wincing or wishing that they were seeing the real thing. The Breakfast Club does this, and they do it well. In fact, on some songs the band steps into the oh-so-rare territory of nearly bettering the originals. (Yeah, I know—I was surprised, too.)

Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that The Breakfast Club has the credentials to go along with their musical achievements. Formed in late 1993 in Winston-Salem, the band has since become popular enough to have played for British royalty, as well as several celebrities and top corporations. The band unabashedly proclaims itself “the longest-running, most successful ‘80s tribute band in the country.” And, really, I doubt anyone’s going to challenge them.

With instrument emulation well within the range of any knowledgeable musician, vocals often end up as the foundation for a cover band’s success. In this, Breakfast Club members Steve Campbell, DavayRay and Jerry Finley (the band founder) lend their voices to appropriate songs. Between the three of them, they cover a huge vocal range, from AC/DC to Bon Jovi to Eurythmics (“Sweet Dreams”). While the band has a list of ‘80s hits linked from their Web site, www.thebreakfastclub.com—all of which is far too long for me to list here—it includes practically every popular song from the era. Some of the more notable covers are Ozzy’s “Crazy Train,” “Every Breath You Take” by The Police and the recently deceased Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” (may he rest in Zombie-and-street-dancing peace).

What has me most excited about seeing The Breakfast Club at The Soapbox on July 3rd is the same thing that makes them a step above an average bar band. Bars are rarely known for their acoustics, so it will be nice to at least be able to mentally fill in the gaps for songs we all know and love between the usual overbearing bass and percussion. The Breakfast Club is bound to be a crowd-pleaser, the likes of which is rarely seen in Wilmington.

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"Then, every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one. Who will dance on the floor in the round?"
Michael Jackson, King of Pop
1958-2009