At the 2001 Asbury Music Awards, an award was given for the Best Thing to Happen in 2000/2001: National music scene discovers Central Jersey scene.  In particular, Highway 9, was recognized for their recent signing to Sony Records, as Peter Scherer and Rob Tanico were presented with awards for Top Male Vocalist and Best Bassist, respectively.  With the Asbury music scene eagerly awaiting the national release of Highway 9's upcoming album, and The Stone Pony excited about the success of one of our favorite bands, the newsletter was lucky enough to catch up with guitarist Gordon Brown, who shared his comments about the past, present and future of the band formerly known as Samhill.  Part One of this interview will focus on the history of the band, while Part Two will share the band's recent successes and where they see themselves heading.

The Stone Pony: Many fans might know Highway 9 by your former band name, Samhill.  Samhill played a very successful show at the Pony a few months ago celebrating their signing to Sony. How did the change in name from Samhill to Highway 9 come about and how was the name selected?

Gordon Brown: Well, what happened was by the time we got to Nashville to start work on our record we thought there wasn't going to be any discussion about a name change. Peter, Rob and myself have now been through naming ourselves many times through the years, which is a really funny thing to have to continue to go through. Kevin and Dave have as well, but this is the first time they were in our band. (May God have mercy on them.)  Imagine if you had to change your first name more than 5 times in fifteen years? (We've all been in bands since we were thirteen.)  Picking a name is an amazing process because you get a bunch of guys together to all agree on one thing, after they've all come up with their own ideas on what each individual would like to express. It almost never comes out to everyone loving it and usually a few people must sacrifice their feelings for the greater good of a decision.  Let me tell you …it isn't easy at all.

The problem we had with Samhill was everyone thought that Pete (lead singer) was Sam and NOBODY ever spelled it as one word. People thought they were coming to see a solo guy singing blues songs when they weren't familiar with the name, so I was pretty happy to change it although I loved the fact that Samhill (the guy) was a historical figure that built the first highway system in our country. Everyone told him,"Your ideas are impossible and you are dreaming. It will never work." So we felt we already had a ton in common with him because everyone has always told us the same thing about being musicians. We hope that our outcome will be as good as his. Not only did he build it but also our country adopted his ideas into our culture for the rest of our lives. One of the most important advances in our American history that gave way to the saying, "What in the Sam Hill?" The new name started to come about after a decision I had made to stay true to where it is the band was trying to communicate the name idea from. Being that Sam Hill did create the first highway, I kept asking myself, "Who are we, what are we and where are we from?" keeping in mind Sam's invention and the spirit of freedom the highway gives to all of us as Americans and as a culture.

One morning right before we started some overdubbing sessions in Nashville I called Pete in his room with the highway idea. I was actually thinking Highway 35 taking it from a lyric in one of our songs ("Heroine") but I thought if I asked Pete the right questions we could come up with a better road and not have to reference a lyric in one of the songs, which I never liked when bands did. This is exactly how the conversation went:

We hung up the phone. I ran it by the guys, I called our manager Brian, he loved it, he called the label, and they loved it. I also loved the fact that it had a direct correlation to one of the greatest freedoms any American can think of - driving down the open road, going along with the spirit of the music.

20 minutes later after I threw it by everyone and they liked it, I realized the words "highway 9" are in the lyrics to one of the greatest rock and roll records in history, "Born to Run". I almost shit. This was such a strange twist of fate. I couldn't believe I was so absent minded in my excitement to not think of that and know how much crap we would probably get. Not to mention, not one person even picked it up as we were running it by them. Pete and I just started making calls and excitedly telling everyone about the name, getting everyone else excited. From that point on there was no turning back. I was convinced by the band, by management and the label that we shouldn't worry about the Springsteen reference and if anything, it will give people something to talk about. I mean, I really love the name so I decided that any second thoughts weren't holding any merit.

The Stone Pony: Highway 9 has a long history with The Stone Pony, both as a band and among individuals in or associated with the band. Can you share some of these Pony connections with our readers?

GB: Absolutely, well, we've all grown up in that club, made many friends in that room, and basically learned a lot about life and music. We've all been sneaking in there since we were fifteen. The experiences we've had there have enriched our lives through music and we know every crack and crevice of the landscape. We're always excited to come back to play the Pony because it is our history as well as the history of all the guys that have given us inspiration to make a success out of your dreams. We've watched so many great shows and moments happen there and we are proud to have a musical home. Most musicians don't have something like that were they come from. They don't have a place that gives way to hopes and dreams and a playground for all the people of the area to come and be a part of. We are very lucky to have that as our musical "living room" if you will. Not only is it our history but also our heritage. We're proud to have a home and a place to belong to and my heart goes to Domenic and everyone there that believes in the legacy of it as much as we do.

The Stone Pony: How about a brief history of the band? Can you introduce our readers to the members of the group and how they all met each other to become Highway 9?

GB: Sure, well we got Kevin Ansell who is our lead guitar player. Kevin joined up with us as we started to get things rolling when we did the first Samhill recordings. We worked him in slowly so he could really get a feel on the kind of playing that would compliment the songs structures and the vocal arrangements. He really is an amazing player to be able to get the certain textures that we're always looking for. It's not an easy job but he handles it with great sensitivity and really adds all the color to make it come alive. The guy's resilience is incredible, he's like a rock when it comes to working the ideas out. We work very well together because he really comes from the more schooled, technical side of music.  He attended Berklee and has been all over the world playing music. He plays all kinds of styles really well and incorporates them into his own unique thing. Kevin is really a guitarist's guitar player. I'm always able to bounce things off him because his angle is so completely different. He compliments the band and the songs very well.

Dave Halpern is our drummer extraordinaire. I met Dave through an old friend hanging at the Pony years ago that used to tell me how great this guy was and if my band was ever looking to look no further than him. Well, it turned out she was right and Dave auditioned for our acoustic band Mr. Reality when we started to expand the line-up. I think I've recorded hundreds of songs with him through the years, not to mention worked on other projects with him and the guy is just the consummate professional. He can do anything on the drums and hands down is probably one of the best drummers out there. Not to mention he can brake his set down and change his style of playing and basically take your ideas and really make the rhythm an art.

Rob and I met when we were kids putting our first original band together called Gallery. We played all the battle of the band contests in our area and basically did anything we could to get gigs. Playing the high schools and a club called the Fastlane all the time. We were learning how to play, learning how to drink and seeing and hearing what it meant to be good. Then we saw Pete at a club one night called Murphy's Law in Long Branch and I knew that I had to look no further, he was the best voice I had ever heard. He emulated all the things that I loved about music. We started getting together to work on songs I had been writing and when we sat down for the first time and sang together, something happened. Something that you can only describe as magic. We knew right then and there that our lives would never be the same because we now felt something really special that no one else could do the way we did. We had our own sound. The three of us went on to form Mr. Reality and then Samhill and now Highway 9. Imagine if I didn't give you a brief history?

Watch for Part Two of our exclusive Q&A with Gordon Brown of Highway 9 in the next issue of the newsletter!  Sign up for the Highway 9 mailing list by going to www.highwaynine.com. The full web site should be running in the next few weeks, and the band will e-mail fans to let them know when it's available.

Mark your calendar for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In the last issue of the newsletter, we reported on the Concert for World Hunger Year (WHY) being held at the club on Saturday evening, November 24th.  This concert will include a stellar line-up of musicians and proceeds will go towards the fight against poverty and hunger.  We are also happy to announce that the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties will be on-hand at the show to accept donations of food. If you are planning to attend, please bring a non-perishable package of food and leave it at the Food Bank table. It's especially important for the Food Bank to be able to replenish their supply of food right after the Thanksgiving Holiday.  The newsletter managed to catch up with Joe D'Urso between tours of Europe to share more about this very special concert event and the organization that it is supporting.

The Stone Pony: What is the mission of World Hunger Year?

Joe D'Urso: First and foremost, to eliminate hunger here in America.  As the richest nation in the world we should not be sending any one person to bed at night hungry.  No excuse. WHY's co-founder Harry Chapin once said that "hunger in America is the ultimate obscenity".  WHY is convinced that solutions to hunger and poverty can be found at the grassroots level. WHY advances long-term solutions to hunger and poverty by supporting community-based organizations that empower individuals and build self-reliance, i.e., offering job training, education and after-school programs; increasing access to housing and healthcare; providing microcredit and entrepreneurial opportunities; teaching people to grow their own food; and assisting small farmers.  WHY connects these organizations to funders, media and legislators.

The Stone Pony: What is planned for the November 24th Concert for World Hunger Year at The Stone Pony and what are you hoping to accomplish at this event?  What is your role in putting the concert together?

JD: Planned for the 24th is a great night of music with Danny White, Michael McDermott, The Jen Chapin Band, Boccigalupe & The Bad Boys and myself with my band, Stone Caravan. I also have spoken with and invited some area musicians to join us that night. There is a chance we may add someone else to the bill but we are still waiting. What we are hoping to accomplish is to further educate people about World Hunger Year and The Monmouth Food Bank and raise money to help these organizations continue on their paths.  My job on this event has been organizing and coordinating the musicians involved which is something I truly enjoy doing.

The Stone Pony: How long have you been working with World Hunger Year and how did you initially become involved with the organization and its efforts?

JD: I have been involved with World Hunger Year since 1997 when I contributed a track to the EMI Capitol/The Right Stuff Records release "One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs of Bruce Springsteen" as Bruce has been incredibly generous to W.H.Y. over the years and continues to be.  Myself and Stone Caravan then participated in two benefit concerts for W.H.Y. that year, one at The Beacon Theater in New York and the other at The Motown Cafe. Both were great evenings of music with Southside Johnny, Nils Lofgren, Max Weinberg, Ben E. King, The Smithereens and other great bands and musicians.  That was the start of it and then I became more involved as a volunteer answering phones during the annual HUNGERTHON pledge drive.  I am a founding member of Artists Against Poverty which is one of WHY's program and recently became a Supervisor for the annual HUNGERTHON.

The Stone Pony: What has your involvement with WHY taught you about the issues of hunger and poverty around the world and what would you describe as some of the greatest successes of their efforts? What are some of the most difficult challenges that the group has to overcome?

JD: What has struck me most is the amount of hunger and poverty here in the United States. A country as financially wealthy as we are and rich in resources should not be sending as many hungry children/people to bed each night.  W.H.Y.'s greatest achievements so far has been educating people and helping grass roots organizations get in contact with other organizations and helping them reach their goals.  W.H.Y has created programs like Reinvesting In America, Artists Against Poverty, Harry Chapin Media Awards and other programs that make it easier for people to find help and information about hunger and poverty. The challenge for W.H.Y., that I have observed, is that most Americans, especially in good times, find it hard to believe that many other Americans got to bed hungry or don't know how to go about helping themselves.

The Stone Pony: How would you describe the rewards of being involved with a cause such as WHY and how have you been affected personally by your participation?

JD: I have been rewarded by the knowledge of knowing that so may people in our country really do care about the hunger and poverty issue.  That people do care about their brothers and sisters in this land.  I have met some incredible people involved at WHY who work every single day to make the country a better place for everyone.  There are some truly remarkable people within the walls of WHY and throughout it's extended family.

The Stone Pony: How can people donate to WHY or become involved with your efforts to fight against hunger and poverty?  Will donations of any sort be accepted at the Concert for World Hunger Year being held at the Pony?

JD: Yes, all monetary donations are helpful and we will be even collecting canned food for the Monmouth Food Bank that evening as well.  The best way I would suggest for people to become involved with WHY is to start by going to their website: www.worldhungeryear.org, as this site explains more about the programs that I mentioned as well as many others that I didn't touch upon.

The Stone Pony: Any closing comments for fans who will be attending the Concert for World Hunger Year at The Stone Pony on November 24th?

JD: It's gonna be a great night for a great cause.  With the amount of talented people who will be on the stage at the Pony that night, the $20/$23 ticket price will among the best buys of the Holiday Season. Come on out for a great night of music!

For more information about World Hunger Year (WHY), you can visit their web site at www.worldhungeryear.org.  The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties maintain their own web presence at www.lonekeep.com/FoodBank.  You can learn more about Joe D'Urso and Stone Caravan at their official web site, www.jdcaravan.com.