Q&A in DeLand with 1980s cover band The A+Team

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Fans love to dance — The A+Team plays for adoring fans during a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municipal Airport. From left are keyboardist Stephen Shanafelt, guitarist Brett Walker, vocalist Pierson Rintz and bass player Rusty Hamil. Drummer Simon Knapke is in back.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
GuitaristThe A+Team guitarist Brett Walker, at a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municpal Airport.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Drums and bass — The A+Team drummer Simon Knapke, and bass player Rusty Hamil at a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municpal Airport.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Keyboardist — The A+Team keyboardist Stephen Shanafelt at a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municpal Airport.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
VocalistThe A+Team vocalist Pierson Rintz at a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municpal Airport.

BEACON PHOTO/JEFF SHEPHERD
Fans love to dance — The A+Team plays for adoring fans during a recent gig at the Gin Mill on the DeLand Municipal Airport. From left are keyboardist Stephen Shanafelt, guitarist Brett Walker, vocalist Pierson Rintz and bass player Rusty Hamil. Drummer Simon Knapke is in back.

By Jeff Shepherd
BEACON COLUMNIST

posted Jul 18, 2009 - 9:48:02am

This is a series of questions and answers with members of the local 1980s cover band The A+Team, which consists of lead singer Pierson Rintz, guitarist Brett Walker, bass player Rusty Hamil, keyboard player Stephen Shanafelt, and drummer Simon Knapke.

For more about this popular group, read Jeff Shepherd's "Ad-Libbing" column in the July 16-19 Weekend edition of The Beacon.

Watch video of the A+Team.

To Pierson Rintz: Where did you learn to sing?

I started singing in the church children's choir at a young age and was in a couple of musicals at the Sands Theater. But my first real formal training came from a local voice teacher: Marilyn Jones. I also studied voice at Berklee College of Music, where I learned about rock, jazz, and blues vocal style; but I still attribute most of what I learned about voice to Marilyn: how to breathe, focus your tone, and use all parts of the voice to sing. Having a good foundation and creating good habits is the key.

Did you perform prior to joining the band?

I had composed a few avant-garde pieces for my voice and electronics in school (you can check out "www.myspace.com/personi" for a sample), but had no real experience fronting a band. After graduating from Berklee, I worked a few jobs singing for weddings and private parties in the area. I had no intentions of joining an '80s cover band until Brett gave me a call. He said his mom had seen me sing at the Krewe of Amalee ball one year and just kept dropping my name until an opportunity arose. I guess I have Mrs. Walker to thank for the audition.

You have an incredible range (it may be no more than the standard 2-plus octaves) and durability.

To be honest, I don't even know what my actual range is right now. I feel as though it changes from day to day. I just try to keep things as comfortable as possible by using my voice in different ways.

When you do a show with The A+Team, are you pushing your voice to the limit?

It can feel that way sometimes. I am considered a baritone/tenor (or bari-tenor). This means I kind of sit in the middle, rangewise. Almost all pop-rock singers are tenors, which makes my job even harder. I can fake it for a few songs, but after three hours of belting at the top of my range, it can get vocally exhausting. When I first joined the group, I would go hoarse after almost every show. Being an elementary music teacher didn't help, since I was using my voice all day and then singing all night. But singing to me is just like a sport: You have to work and train your muscles to work more efficiently and effectively. Now I am much more comfortable with the singing style and have learned how to manipulate my tone and placement to work for what the song needs ... and every now and then you just have to go for it, or learn to fake it.

Sounds like you use a falsetto very effectively. If so, does that help both your range and durability?

Most definitely! When it gets too high, you just have to flip. The trick is to work with your falsetto, or head voice, to make it more full and loud. With a microphone, you have a great advantage because you can use certain mic techniques to make it sound like you're singing much louder than you really are. This not only comes in handy when using falsetto, but also when screaming or using a more throaty placement. You really have to work all areas of your voice to not only get a wider array of sound, but to also avoid wearing out any one part.

Are any of the members in other bands?

I also play keyboards in a band with my two cousins: the Winnebago Indian Uprising.

Rumors abound that The A+Team's run may be over. Any truth to it?

When I joined the band, I told Brett that I may only be around for a year. My wife and I had been planning to pursue our artistic careers out West. That was four years ago. We still want to follow that dream but are conflicted by the great friends and opportunities we've found here. I love each and every one of these guys and enjoy every minute I have on stage with them. If I do end up moving, I will miss them very much. But I'm sure they will carry on without Simon and me. They are the most professional and hardworking group of musicians I've ever met.

Simon Knapke speaks

Simon: I understand you have played your last gig with the band. What circumstances led to your departure? What are your plans musically? otherwise?

My last gig with the A+Team was bittersweet. I had a lot of good times with the band brothers and I love them, but it was a nice feeling after that last cymbal crash, knowing I would never have to play Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" ever again!

The thought of moving on has been with me for a while, but I always said I would just do a few more shows to make a few more bills. I grew tired of the weekends and holidays being shot, so that was one motivation. The final decision came over the past year, though, after God systematically broke me down and humbled me so that I would remember Him and the oaths I made to Him in my youth.

I am an all-or-nothing type guy, so after this happened a change was inevitable. It has birthed a lifestyle where all I want to do is worship Jesus and go to church, which remains a mystery to me but it's for real. Its a kind of "I ran so far away" like the flock of seagulls but now "I just can't get enough," like the Depeche Mode story.

Besides that, I just started school at Florida Tech to get a degree in the IT field, so Ive been pretty busy with that. I plan on being the first guy to plant a computer chip in a goat and then program it to catch a football with its horns, because I believe America needs that.

Musically I'm inspired to go on and write and would like to get involved in a original Christian project, because there isn't a whole lot to choose from in that market for fans of eclectic music, unless you dig deep.

The A+Team will always be a very significant chapter in my life. Whenever I am shopping at Walmart and I hear Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight," I will remember the A+Team and have a little chuckle, and that's something no one can take away.

Shoutout to all the fans of the A+Team who came to shows and helped me put food in my belly and a roof over my head for so long!

Love everybody; God Bless.

My 2 cents by Steven Shanafelt

When and how did the band come together?

It was a joke to me. Simon Knapke, Danny Vance and I played in a band called The Metric System. Never really took off, though we did win an award from the SSA for best song of the year at one point. We rehearsed in a space owned by Rusty Hamil, who was playing in another group, and we were all acquainted with Brett Walker through his other original projects the he had been a part of. Apparently, Simon had been planting a seed in a few of us about starting a cover band that would do '80s music. I scoffed every time it was mentioned. At one point, while I was present, Simon and Danny set a date for a rehearsal. I jokingly responded with, "I’ve got a keyboard; I’ll be there!”

Keep in mind, I have never played keys before. No real piano lessons besides maybe the very basics at different points in my childhood, but really, I was (and still feel) as green as Kriss Kross at a bridge tournament. We rehearsed. We learned "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," "Take on Me" and "I Ran," I believe. It worked. We sounded good.

So we started writing up lists of '80s songs — all compiled, I believe it was nearly 200 songs — and we started knocking them off until we had a workable set that we were all happy and comfortable with.

Has The A+Team changed its lineup, or are the current members also the original members?

Original singer Danny Vance told us he was thinking of leaving the group to focus on another original project (Vox Palma). We had some tryouts with a singer or two, but when Pierson Rintz belted out his first song (I think we tried some tough ones at first), we were hooked. Not only was his range and tone unbelievable, it turned out he was organized, motivated and super-friendly. I can honestly say that working with him over the last couple of years have been spectacular, and I’m sad that it may come to an end, at least with the current lineup.

Didn't the name used to be The A Team? If so, why did you change it to The A+Team?

Funny story about that. Our name was “The A-Team,” just like the popular '80s show. We had a MySpace page that started getting some traction as far as the pure count of friends in the area. Then one day, MySpace shut it down. The only reason we can imagine that happened was from some sort of copyright infringing going on. It’s not like we were hosting porn or inciting people to take down the government. The trick, we guess, with copyright is that you have to change stuff just enough to make it your own. Just look at the hip-hop scene. So, we put a plus in the name to be very clear. We’re not The A-Team, we’re The A+Team. The plus is because we’re better.

Although, if anyone were to peruse our MySpace page or even purchase a T-shirt, we’re still one of the most copyright-infringiest bands in Central Florida.

Do any members of the band make a living on music?

Brett did for a while, is that correct? The rest of us pretty much have jobs.

What are the day jobs?

I work at a marketing company in Daytona Beach as a product developer / account manager / whatever anyone needs to stay busy and keep my job and salary.

You have the '80s covered. When you played at the Airport Restaurant, I believe you played one or two non-'80s tunes, I think one by Nine Inch Nails (what was the tune?) and maybe another. Does the band ever think about going more outside the '80s?

Hold on there — "Head Like a Hole" by Nine Inch Nails was released in 1989. We did an interview with a local newsletter or zine or what have you (called The Grotto) back in early 2006. We were pumped because, hey, we were being interviewed! It was a neat experience. The article, on the other hand, did not turn out as uplifting as we had expected. The author said, “They … do many covers of popular 1980s bands, ranging from Stigmata and The Cars to The Church. However, you will always hear the '80s classics (and one song from 1979), like 'Whip It!' and 'Take on Me.'"

OK, so they called us out on one song — which was Gary Numan’s “Cars” off of The Pleasure Principle, which was, yes, released in 1979 for chrissakes. But I guarantee that if you poll some people on the street, they will most certainly identify it as an '80s new-wave song that belongs with all of the rest. Cut us a break on that one.

However, all of the members of the band attended a Radiohead concert in Tampa May 6, 2008. We all love Radiohead a lot, so we bent the rules to pay some sort of homage to them. We play the song "Creep," which was 1992. We continued to play it because it does get a good reception from the audience and, ultimately, isn’t that the point?

What were the two Michael Jackson songs you played at the airport? ("Beat It" and ?)

We played "Beat It" and "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)." We also played "Human Nature," albeit in a very low-fi manner at that particular show. Before the next show at Beachside Tavern, we polished that one off and performed it. Three songs for MJ is the least we can do for the guy; he just died recently, you know. I think it was food poisoning, right?

Do you play any originals? If not, which members write their own material?

No. We have tried a few times, but personally, I don’t think it gelled the way we all would’ve liked. I believe all of us have the bug — we all write original material, but if you were to put it all together, it’s all in different directions. Writing music with a group of people is not as easy as it sounds (jamming – sounds simple enough), but none of us were ready to put our foot down on any material, so we stuck with learning more '80s songs. At least, that’s my take on it.

Rumors abound that The A+Team's run may be over. Any truth to it?

The era of this lineup is definitely over. With Simon’s departure, we will be trying out some new drummers. There is a hint that Pierson may make an out-of-state move, but the decision has not been made yet. If not, we will keep it rolling with a new drummer. If he does decide to move, we’ll try out some singers and see how far we can get without him. I think it will be tough to replace his voice.

What is the band's philosophy?

I don’t think we’ve ever discussed an actual band philosophy. From my point of view, our priorities are to have fun, make a little money, and ... [we deleted this — the editors].

Besides answering my questions, please add any info or comments you want. Sometimes I may not know the right questions.

The most interesting thing I would have to add is my complete lack of training with keyboards. We joked in a past interview with Rick DeYampert at The News-Journal about my role in the band being called “synthesist” instead of keyboardist or piano player because a synthesist only uses one finger at a time. My musical experience started with voice as a child (I was a member of the Stetson Children’s Choir until I hit puberty and my voice started changing). Then as a teen, I picked up guitar to be like Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan. Then I played bass in a few bands because bass players were a little more scarce than guitarists. I got a drum set for a while, and I really enjoyed playing them — that was until our rehearsal space burned down with my equipment in it. Now keyboard is my main thing. I think if I had my druthers, I would play bass in the next band I’m in.

Factoids:

- Did you know we opened for The Romantics at the House of Blues Sept. 6, 2008?

- Did you know that The A+Team was the backup band for Eddie Money at a benefit for the Children’s Hospital Dec. 1, 2007? Brett was on a vacation at the time, and we had a stand-in guitar player (Carlos). We learned five of his songs, played them like two to three keys lower than the recordings. Eddie was trashed when he arrived at the benefit. After we got done playing "Baby Hold On to Me," he says, "Let's play 'Baby Hold On To Me!'” We had fun at that show. Since we’d only agreed to do five specific songs and only learned those, we didn’t know what to do when we got done, and Eddie looks back at us and says, “C’mon, we’re not done, you p------; what else do you know?” Carlos saved us by playing the guitar to a song Eddie could sing.

When and how did the band come together?

The band started practicing somewhere around late spring/early summer 2005. I believe our first show was Halloween 2005. The first actual discussion occurred when Simon Knapke our drummer and longtime friend/band mate called me and asked what I thought about starting an '80s cover band. Ironic enough, my reaction to the question was comparable to that of Doc Brown from Back to the Future bumping his head, leading to the invention of the flux capacitor ... great Scott, what an original idea! ... I thought. We quickly found singer Danny Vance, a previous band mate of Knapke who had coincidentally sang "Private Eyes" by Hall and Oates at a karaoke party years before. Steve Shanafelt our keyboardist was the next installment. Shanafelt, another former band mate of Knapke and friend to the group, was actually a great bass player, wanted to try out playing a different instrument; he had only been playing keys for four months before we got him. Rusty Hamil, bassist, was soon to follow. After two or three rehearsals as a threesome, Hamil, the only member who actually went to high school during the '80s, caught wind of the idea and sat in on a practice, immediately bonding with the group. After four or five shows with the initial lineup, Vance decided to step down as lead singer and pursue other musical endeavors ... enter Pierson Rintz. Growing up, I had always heard about what an amazing talent Rintz was. His parents and my parents were great friends. My parents would always rave about his opera performances at various parties and how he was also involved in theater. We tried out one singer before Pierson who didn't make the cut, and the rest is history.

Has The A+Team changed its lineup, or are the current members also the original members?

One lineup change: Danny Vance, original singer.

Didn't the name used to be The A Team? If so, why did you change it to The A+Team?

No, the name was A-Team, and we still call ourselves The A-Team, but the information superhighway knows us as A+Team for copyright reasons.

Find the A+Team on myspace.

Note (from Rusty):

The name The A+Team actually came from a fan who saw us perform in Orlando. We were calling ourselves The A-Team, just like the TV show. He left us a comment that said something like "after last night's show, more like THE A+TEAM" or something to that effect. It just stuck.

— shepz@mpinet.net

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