Metrolites are rockin' the house with unique sounds

The Metrolites will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and June 25 at Copia Martini & Wine Bar, 124 18th St., Rock Island.

By Mark McLaughlin

A businessman in a fez, a mad scientist in silver pants, a soccer hooligan, a schoolgirl in a plaid skirt and a young hepcat in sunglasses walk into a bar ...

You may think that's the start of a really complex joke, but actually, that’s how every performance by the lounge retro-pop group The Metrolites begins -- with the Fashionable Five entering the building as their band personas.

However, the band isn’t all image and no eccentric substance. It may be the only group in the Quad-Cities that includes a theremin among its instruments. "The theremin was invented in 1919," said Scott Morschhauser, 40, the group's lead singer. "It's the oldest of the electronic instruments. You move your hand around the antennae to bend its radio waves, creating some sounds that are really fun and eerie. It's used in a lot of old sci-fi shows."

The band's members are Mr. Morschhauser, the businessman, on digital xylophone, auxiliary percussion, theremin, rhythm guitar and vocals; "Nervous" Neal Smith, 41, the mad scientist, on saxes, electric violin and vocals; Josh Duffee, 25, soccer hooligan, on drums; Kathleen Gallagher, 23, schoolgirl, on guitar, electric ukulele and vocals; and Devin Kirby-Hansen, 21, hepcat, on bass and vocals.

The Metrolites came together in the spring of 2002. The band was formed to give its members an outlet to play the different music genres they love. This group was the next step in the musical evolution of the well-known Quad-Cities band The Kabalas, which was formed in the early '90s by Mr. Smith and Mr. Morschhauser.

"The Kabalas was a hepcat band with a punk-klezmer-polka sound," Mr. Morschhauser said. In time, the polkadelic vibe of The Kabalas began turning into more of a pop/lounge sound, and The Metrolites are now exploring that sound, which includes retro hints of surf, spy, jazz and sci-fi music.

Members of The Metrolites currently are writing music for a debut CD, which has the working title "The Metrolites in Spy-Fi." "We're still looking for a label," said Mr. Morschhauser. "Online downloading is hurting the music industry right now, so it's getting harder to find a label." But he is confident the project will find a good home in the industry. "We work hard, so we're ready to give any record label a good reason to invest their money in us."

"We believe an album isn't just a collection of various songs," Mr. Morschhauser said. "The 15 songs in the new CD will have a very cinematic feel, like a movie soundtrack." He added that songs on the new CD have influences that include "rockabilly, lounge tunes, crime jazz, spaghetti Westerns, and bongo-heavy spy tunes."

Songs on the CD will include "Cyclops Optometrist," about an eye doctor whose vision only needs one lens; "The Abominable Dr. Vibes"; and "The Man from M.E.T.R.O.," which is "very heavy on the bongos -- way over the top!" Mr. Morschhauser said with a laugh.

To contact Mr. Morschhauser, e-mail him at metrolites@metrolites.com. To find out more about The Metrolites, visit the band's Web site at www.metrolites.com.

Copyright 2004, Moline Dispatch Publishing Co.