Happy The Man

[Roger -Dot- Lee(Admin)]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


HAPPY THE MAN RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM 'THE MUSE AWAKENS'
ON OCTOBER 26, 2004, THROUGH INSIDEOUT MUSIC AMERICA

SELECT TOUR DATES TO FOLLOW


Happy The Man's story could have ended in disappointment like that of other talented bands that had the odds stacked against them. However, the latest chapter in the phoenix-like history of this U.S.-based progressive rock band is a triumphant one: the release of the aptly titled new studio album 'The Muse Awakens' on InsideOut Music America. 'The Muse Awakens' arrives in stores on October 26, 2004.

For nearly five years the lineup of original members Stanley Whitaker (guitars, vocals), Frank Wyatt (saxophones, keyboards, woodwinds), Rick Kennell (bass guitar) and new members David Rosenthal (keyboards) and Joe Bergamini (drums) has worked toward this shining moment. Rosenthal is best known for his work with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Billy Joel and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's post-Deep Purple hard-rock band Rainbow. Bergamini plays in the band for the Broadway musical "Movin' Out" based on Joel's unforgettable catalog of songs, the instrumental rock/fusion band 4Front and he also performed in a Rush tribute band called Power Windows.

The 11 songs on 'The Muse Awakens' are: "Contemporary Insanity," "The Muse Awakens," "Stepping Through Time," "Kindred Spirits," "Lunch At The Psychedelicatessen," "Slipstream," "Barking Spiders," "Adrift," "Shadowlites," "Maui Sunset" and "Il Quinto Mare."

'The Muse Awakens' is the culmination of a series of grassroots events leading to Happy The Man's reformation. The band signed with the legendary Clive Davis' Arista Records and released two albums, 'Happy The Man' (1977) and 'Crafty Hands' (1978), both produced by Ken Scott, previously known for his work with Supertramp, Elton John, and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Happy The Man embarked on ill-fated tours with the likes of Foreigner and Hot Tuna, but the lack of promotion and the surging disco movement were the death blows to Happy The Man. Many other talent-saturated bands in the same boat found themselves erased from the popular music map too.

"We disbanded in 1979 after our Arista deal fell apart," Whitaker says. "We were not bitter about it, but it hurt being slapped down by disco. All of us were 21 or 22 years old when we were signed -- young and naive."

In the ensuing years the progressive rock fan base -- let's go ahead and acknowledge that it was a powerful enough force to label as a subculture -- embraced Happy The Man and word of mouth spread to the point that the original albums became highly sought-after collector's items.

Interest in Happy The Man grew to a point that the band was more popular years after its demise than it was during its original lifetime. The most surprising thing about this is that the band members had absolutely no idea this resurgence was happening.

"Frank, Rick and I had always stayed in touch but we didn't realize we had all these new fans from all over the world. In the early 1990s I moved to the West Coast and pursued more commercial musical ventures. I was in a band playing a reception at a hotel in Baja, Mexico, where there was a progressive rock festival being held. There were all these French, German, and Italian fans there I met who were stunned to meet somebody from Happy The Man," says Whitaker.

"Then Chad Hutchinson and Rob LeDuca, the founders of NEARfest (North East Art Rock Festival), told me if Happy The Man ever got back together that we'd be headlining these progressive rock festivals. I said, 'Yeah, right.' Then we got a letter with an offer to headline NEARfest in 2000. At that point, Frank was living in Hawaii and he didn't even own a piano, but we decided to do it!"

Even with festival offers in place, the band members were still surprised to discover more evidence of Happy The Man's popularity.

"At that time there were about 20 or 30 unofficial web sites all over the world devoted to Happy The Man," Whitaker says.

To make the Happy The Man reunion happen, Whitaker moved back to Virginia to work closely with Wyatt and write new songs. Longtime drummer Ron Riddle participated in the NEARfest show, but he eventually decided to keep working full time scoring documentary films. Original keyboardist Kit Watkins was intrigued by the prospect of recording a new album, but that was all.

"Kit had no interest in playing live again. For the rest of us, our favorite thing was playing live," Whitaker says.

With the blessings of Riddle and Watkins, Happy The Man was on the hunt for a new keyboardist and drummer. Actually, there was no searching high and low for a keyboardist because Rosenthal was ready to go. In fact, since the early 1980s he'd been aching for the chance to join a reunited Happy The Man.

"Happy The Man is my favorite band of all time. I remember the first time I heard them. I was at a party in New Jersey and somebody played 'Happy The Man' and 'Crafty Hands' back to back from beginning to end. I was hooked from the first note. Since you couldn't find those first two albums I recorded them on to cassettes that I wore out," Rosenthal remembers. "I can't even begin to tell you how many people I then turned on to Happy The Man myself."

Rosenthal was a student at Berklee School of Music in Boston when he went to a Poughkeepsie, NY, show by Whitaker and Kennell's post-Happy The Man band Vision.

"He showed us all these manuscripts of sheet music he'd written out for our music. We were blown away because we didn't even take the time to write them out ourselves!" chuckles Whitaker. "David also was in a band at Berklee with guitarist Steve Vai, and they played our song 'Knee Bitten Nymphs In Limbo.' "

"Over the years I became friends with Stanley and Rick and I told them if Happy The Man ever reformed and needed a keyboardist that I was their man," says Rosenthal.

Happy The Man has only performed eight shows since reforming, and that includes NEARfest. The desire to create new music consumed the band.

Virtually all of Happy The Man's music has been instrumental. Only a few songs in the early days included vocals from Whitaker, and that was because Arista requested it. Vocals are scarce on 'The Muse Awakens' too. The focus is always on deftly arranged instrumental songs.

"Even when we play live there is not a lot of improvisation. All of our songs are carefully arranged, and that includes the solos. We spend a great amount of time in rehearsals," Whitaker says.

"To me, instrumental music is what Happy The Man is all about; the occasional vocals functioned as another instrument. A lot of the thinking that went into 'The Muse Awakens' was that we were picking up where Happy The Man left off. Live, we want to be a tribute to the original music and not reinvent it. We pretty much stick to the songs the way they were recorded," Rosenthal says.

Happy The Man plans to perform live as much as possible. Three shows are set for November 2004, and the first one on November 11 in Alexandria, VA, is a release party for 'The Muse Awakens.'

More information about Happy The Man and upcoming tour dates can be found at www.happytheman.com.

DATE CITY VENUE
Thursday, November 11th Alexandria, VA Birchmere Theater
Saturday, November 13th Metuchen, NJ NJ Proghouse/Forum Theater
Friday, November 26th Annapolis, MD Rams Head Tavern


www.happytheman.com
www.insideoutmusic.com

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