Stepping out from Big Sister’s shadow: Gray Reinhard performs with Bruce and Doc

How many musicians can boast of performing with Doc Severinsen and Bruce Springsteen?

Both legends were added recently to the impressive résumé of Gray Reinhard, the other Reinhard in the Blaire Reinhard Band coming to Morristown’s Famished Frog on Jan. 28.

His big sister’s amazing pipes are a major reason why the Frog will be packed on Saturday night. But Gray is emerging as a formidable singer, songwriter, keyboard player and guitarist in his own right.

Over the holidays, the two Morristown High School grads wrote a song with their grandfather, former Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen, and performed with him in Minneapolis. The siblings also are collaborating on an album with Clinton Curtis.

Meanwhile, Gray has been playing keys for Garland Jeffreys (Wild in the Streets). . . who was joined onstage at an Asbury Park benefit this month by Bruce Springsteen.

We asked Gray, who turned 28 last week, about Doc, the Boss, Blaire, MHS, Princeton, and his most challenging role so far: Uncle.

Gray Reinhard of the Blaire Reinhard Band. Click icon below for captions.

MorristownGreen.com: What was it like playing with your Grandpa, Doc Severinsen?

Gray Reinhard: I had never had the chance to perform with him live at a formal venue before, let alone with the entire Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Chorale behind us, so the entire thing felt really big to me.  The best thing about the weekend was getting the chance to see him do what he does behind the scenes for these shows.  Watching him direct the orchestra and chorale in the few hours of rehearsal time that was scheduled for the show was truly amazing.  I’ve seen him perform at so many similar shows, but never really thought about him pulling the whole thing together with the orchestra in a few hours the day before the show.  He knows exactly what he wants and his way of communicating with the musicians is remarkable.  It’s no wonder so many orchestras love working with him as a conductor.

Did Doc critique your performances?  Any chance you will join him on the rest of his tour?

After the show he said, “Well, thanks for making me look good,” which was really nice to hear.  I think just by asking us to do this show, he must’ve had the confidence that we knew what we were doing, and so I think he just wanted to enjoy the shows and let us do our thing.

I don’t know exactly what will come next with him because he’s about to go on a big midwest tour with his big band.  I’m hoping at the very least though that the songs we wrote for the Christmas show will be recorded and released for next Christmas.

And . . . what was it like playing with the Boss?

My dad brought me to a Giants Stadium Bruce show a few years ago because he kept telling me, “You’ll never understand just how great Bruce is until you see him play in front of a New Jersey crowd.”  Well there is something really hard to describe about the sound of an Asbury Park crowd cheering for Bruce.  When he first walked out on stage during our set and the crowd starting yelling I actually was getting sort of scared for a moment…like “is this room going to get out of control?”  And what’s amazing is that a few songs later Bruce could go into an acoustic version of Thunder Road and you’d be able to hear a guy coughing in the last row. . . Amazing.

How did that come about?  Did you get any hang time with Bruce? What did you learn from him?

Recently I began playing in Garland Jeffreys’ band, and we had a show at the Light of Day benefit at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park.  Garland had casually mentioned that Bruce might be performing on the bill, but he failed to mention to me that Bruce might be joining us on stage.  When we showed up for soundcheck, there were about 20 tweed Fender guitar cases and just as many acoustic cases backstage . . . I couldn’t help but be optimistic that this must be Bruce’s gear.  He ended up arriving at the show just in time to jump on stage with us for one of Garland’s biggest songs, Wild In the Streets.  You can imagine the intensity of a jam-packed theater in Asbury Park first realizing that they were in for an unannounced night of Bruce Springsteen. . . very awesome.  Bruce also couldn’t have been a nicer and more normal and personable guy backstage and at the after-party (for which he was still partying at when we left at God knows when in the morning).  Amazing that he’s had such a long and successful career yet he doesn’t seem to be even the slightest bit jaded by any of it.

Doc and Bruce have been entertainers for a long time. How would you compare/contrast them as showmen and musicians?

Well, they definitely both carry themselves with that self-assured confidence that only comes from a long successful career of performing in front of large crowds.  They both have this similar stage presence that immediately lets the whole audience know, “No matter what happens this is going to be a fantastic night.”  I think a lot of this stems from them both having a great sense of humor up on stage.  You know that even if the power goes out they’ll still be able to make something entertaining out of it.

The biggest difference between them is probably that Bruce wore jeans and a flannel shirt while Doc wore an embroidered velvet red suit. I think that probably sums it up best.

Wild in the Streets

Blaire says the Curtis/Reinhard project stemmed from your playing with Curtis’ band. How did you guys get together?  What excites you about this album collaboration?

Clinton and I were working with the same producer at the time, and I had kept hearing his name and that he had this amazing band, etc., so finally I went and checked him out at a show he was playing in a small bar in the lower east side.  The show totally blew my mind, and to top it off, Norah Jones closed out the night with a couple Tom Petty covers . . . not a bad night of music.  After the show I sat at the bar waiting to talk to Clinton (and staring at Norah Jones from across the bar with my mouth probably wide open) and when he came out we started talking and immediately hit it off.  After a few beers he told me he had a show in a couple days at the Whiskey in Hoboken and that I should come and join them at the show.  I don’t think Clinton even knew what instrument I played when he invited me in, but that was the beginning of it.

What hasn’t excited me about this collaboration?  The musicians we worked with are all incredible, I got to write songs with my absolute favorite two songwriters, we recorded in a fantastic studio, and most importantly, our producer encouraged us to work quickly, not second-guess ourselves for a moment, not try to play things perfectly, and just have fun with it.  My least favorite part of making an album is when you start getting anal about it at the end and pick it apart every which way to find faults in it.  We decided to skip that step with this one.  There was something also really liberating about writing and recording songs for a brand new group that has no restrictions or preconceived notions of what it’s supposed to sound like.  I think that was particularly nice for Blaire and Clinton who have been the front men of their own bands for years.  I really think something special came out of it and I really hope a lot of people get to hear this album.

Do you prefer keyboard or guitar?  Which came first?  Do you have formal training?

Piano came first for me by about 12 years and the only formal music training I’ve had has been for keyboards.  In a lot of ways, however, guitar has become more fun for me to perform with and often easier for me to write a song on.  I think I like moving too much when I play to be stuck behind a keyboard.  At the same time, I don’t think there’s a better sound in rock than a screaming Hammond Organ.

What was the best thing about your time at Morristown High?

I graduated Class of ’02 and my favorite thing about my experience in Morristown High School was the diversity of people I got to grow up with there.  Also my track coach Paul Buccino was an extremely important figure in my life and I’m grateful for that.

What did you study at Princeton?  Were your folks surprised when you pursued a musical career after graduation?

At Princeton I majored in architecture which was, and still is, something that I’m extremely interested in.  Unfortunately, when I began working in both as a profession, it was no longer possible to balance the two.  It was difficult for me to leave architecture for such an unpredictable career as music, but my parents have only ever encouraged me to do what I thought I’d be happiest doing.

You hooked up Blaire and her husband Wade, right?  Why did you think they were the right match?

Ha, I guess I did hook them up.  I was more interested in Wade as the best bassist on campus, than a future brother in law, but I guess it turned out a win-win. [Wade Perrin plays bass in the Blaire Reinhard Band.]  I don’t know why they ended up the right match, but I do know that the fact that Wade’s vocal sweet spot is exactly a third above Blaire’s certainly never hurt them.

Has Blaire returned the favor and hooked you up with anyone?  

Ha no way.  I don’t think older sisters do that.  They only tell you which girls aren’t good enough for you. . . which doesn’t really help the cause at all.

Onstage you and Blaire seem very natural together–no signs of sibling rivalry.  How would you describe your relationship with Blaire?  And how do you approach writing songs together? Are you equal partners?  If so, are you still comfortable calling it the Blaire Reinhard Band?

No, Blaire and I don’t really have the sibling rivalry thing going for us. I save that for my little brother [Richard, a bass player studying to follow their father into dentistry] who seems to be beating me at everything these days.  Whenever someone hears that I’m in a band with my sister, they want to know about all the fighting that must go on, and I always feel like I’m a big letdown in this area.  I think the Oasis brothers have set the bar way too high for any of us other siblings to compete.

As far as songwriting is concerned, we have always considered each other equals.  I don’t think either of us feel comfortable calling a song done until the other has put their influence on it.  We started out calling ourselves the Blaire Reinhard Band because we thought it would be the easiest thing for new fans to understand and remember us by considering Blaire’s voice is sort of the most signature thing about our sound, and it just kinda stuck.  If anyone were to be uncomfortable with being called the Blaire Reinhard Band it’d be Blaire herself.

Doc Severinsen is on your Mom’s side of the family. But your Dad’s the one who occasionally sings with the band.  Who do you and your sister (and kid brother) get your musical chops from?

You are correct Doc is on my Mom’s side of the family and my Dad is the one who you see singing his heart out on stage.  To be honest though, I don’t know anyone on either side of my family who doesn’t love music . . . there is no more high profile show for me each year than the Reinhard Christmas party.

Lastly, with Blaire and Wade expecting, how are you preparing for your new role as Uncle Gray?

Ha well, as a band we’ve all turned our amps down from 11 to 10 so that this baby isn’t sick of mom’s music from day one.  I’ve also brought out the swear jar in my apartment to start getting used to that, and have been trying to silently communicate with strangers’ babies I see around town to sort of get an idea of how those little guys work.  To my surprise, it seems like widely opened eyes and big smiles are scarier than they are amusing. I’m going to shave my beard and see if this alters any results.

The Blaire Reinhard Band performs on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 9:30 pm in the Famished Frog on 18 Washington St. Admission is free; you must be 21 or over. The band returns to the Frog on Feb. 11.

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