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"Out of the lab: It's a musical 40-lb. Head"
Jerry Kishbaugh — Off the Record
Citizens Voice — April 11, 1997
Most of you probably have heard the joke about the woman who gave birth to an eight pound eye (if you haven't, give me a call).
In Line with that, some six months the area witnessed the birth of a 40-lb Head, which is quite large by most standards (actually thare are some people out there who have a hard time fitting their heads through the door).
But, in this particular instance we're not talking with people with swelled heads... we're talking about a musical foursome that has taken on the strange, but catchy name of 40-lb. Head.
For the record, 40-lb. Head very easily could have been called Four Skis since three of the four members carry the surname Egenski - the brothers Brian, Steve and Jason - while the non-sibling member is Mike Zubritski.
So how did the band come up with such an odd moniker? "We were just starting out and someone wanted us to play a gig. We had about 22 songs in our repertoire, but the problem was that we didn't have a name for the band yet," Steve Egenski explained. "We were sitting around at a practice session in the basement of our business. Yes, the Egenskis have day jobs (enviromental) as does Zubritski (education). Somehow, the topic of discussion zeroed in on the human head. Before long, everyone was curious as to how much a head weighed.
Being the troopers they are, Steve and Jason decided to weigh their heads (while they were still attached, of course). The Egenski brothers came up with a weight of 10-pounds per head. So since there are four guys in the band and each member's head weighs 10 pounds (by the Egenski calculation), four times 10 is 40.
Under presuure to come up with a name before playing their first engagement, the boys in the band tossed around some ideas (Steve and the Roadies and Wholesome Goodness, among others). But, when Steve yelled out 40-lb. Head, that was it. That was their new name.
The 40-lb. Head line up features the youngest Egenski, Jason, as lead vocalist and keyboardist, while Steve is guitarist/backing vocalist and Brian is bassist/backing vocalist. Zubritski handles the drumming chores.
The rock foursome, which prides itself on harmonies, has a songlist that ranges from the eraly 60's to the present. Among the artists covered by 40-lb. Head are the Beatles, David Bowie, the Kinks, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, and Men at Work. In the realm of the '90's, 40-lb. Head tackles the music of such bands as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Dishwallah, Everclear and others.
We do obscure songs that you've heard, but really didn't get much radio airplay," one of the Egenskis pointed out (with three brothers it gets hard to differentiate who's who).
At any rate, 40-lb. Head will be showcasing its wares tommorrow night (April 22) when the band plays the San Souci Lounge in Hanover Township. If you can't make tommorrow night,the band will be playing back-to-back nights at Jitterbugs next week: Thursday, April 17, and on Friday, April 18, as the opening act for the Pink Floyd, Pulse. If you're adventurous, 40-lb. Head also will be performing at the Dorrance Inn on Saturday, April 19.
Ironically, only one member of 40-lb. Head has previous band experience: Steve used to be the drummer for Tazz. However, all four band members were connected with Tazz as the other Egenskis and Zubritski served as roadies for the band (thus the suggested band name of Steve and the Roadies).
Making this band even more interesting is the fact that Steve was the only musician in the group. "When Tazz broke up, Steve convinced us to learn how to play instruments," Brian offered.
"All of us had piano lessons thanks to our Mom (Audrey). But, that was a long time ago. Luckily, we have in-bred musical talent. Our Mother used to be in a band. Because of her influence, we do a lot of Beatles' tunes," Jason added.
"We're definitely not by-the-book musicians, but we do manage to get through the songs. I guess it helped that Jason played cymbals in high school," Steve joked.
As it turned out, 40-lb. Head's non-musicians studied their respective instruments for about three months before starting to play out. Like two two of the three Egenkis, this also is Zubritski's first band.
Though the Egenskis say the band was formed because "we're all close friends," Zubritski claims he's in it for the money and the chicks. "But, I'm getting neither," the head drummer emphasized.
The band members concur that Steve is the driving force behind 40-lb. Head. After all, he's a multi-instrumentalist: He played bass in crossfire, drums in Tazz and, now, he's playing guitar 40-lb Head. What instrument does he prefer? "I'm really liking the guitar. It's great to use when writing songs." he commented.
As for writing songs, 40-lb. Head has seven origianl compositions in its repertoire. Like it's cover tunes, the band's originals are pop-oriented and feature two and three-partr harmonies, which happensto be one of the group's real strenghts.
So where is 40-lb. Head headed? "I don't forsee us breaking up untill we're dead. We'll be around forever," Jason emphasized.
"We,re gonna push our originals and go wherever the music takes us," Steve added.
Foe now, the band is happy playing out two or three nights a week. They say the crowds have been picking up everywhere they play.
And how could 40-lb. Head go anywhere but up. After all, the Egenski trio's Mom has labled the foursome as the "best band in the world."