The Great Imponderables

February 11, 2006

We interviewed Rick Creel, drummer for The Great Imponderables and Webmaster for their website. The Great Imponderables is a new band that plays a variety of music (and are our friends, too). We’ve known them well ever eleven years. The Creels are a good, honest, hard-working family (no drug overdoses or scandals for this musically-inclined family). You can read the interview here:

Who and how did you come up with the name, “The Great Imponderables?”

-The "Name" of the band is an interesting story. My son was doing some work in one of his History books. He came across the sub-heading: The Great Imponderables. It described events of the past and then went on to explain how we don't really know what's coming next or what the future may hold. I thought that sounded like our music; thus the name of the band.

Who’s all in your band?

-There are a total of 4 members in our band. Mike Zinski is our bassist. He's really a very talented individual. He's a professional dancer and used to give dance instruction. He was actually used and appears in the movie "Bagger Vance". It appears he can play just about any musical instrument that he picks up. He was the drummer in a band in Brunswick, GA and helps our drummer out considerably. He can play the piano, the guitar, the bass, and even the banjo. We hope to be able to exploit his many talents in the future.

Payton Laughlin is our lead singer. He was trained professionally to be a singer, and it shows. He is "dead on" with his Rod Stewart and John Fogerty. His wide range let's him pick up the highs from such groups as Journey and still do the smooth sounds of Al Greene. Not only is Payton a talented singer, he's and acrobat and professional street dancer (break dancing). When he was the mascot during his high school days, he would cut flips through the air while wearing their pirate’s costume. His peers voted him ‘most talented’ and it shows. Sometimes during a performance, if the floor is available, Payton will get out there and strut his stuff. This usually gets the crowds pumped up, as well as the rest of the band.

My name is Rick Creel and I’m the oldest guy in the band. I was actually the bass guitarist for a group in the late 70's and early 80's. When I had children, it was time to grow up and think of raising the family. My mom was actually a music teacher so I’ve always been around music. Growing up with classic country like Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and many others, I actually chose the Southern Rock. Listening to groups like The Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and more, was more to my liking. When I met my wife in 1975, Disco was the music of the day and that is what she liked, which forced me into listening to it as well. Combined with funk and other soulful tunes, this music history rounded out my love for music as a whole.

Nathan Creel is (you guessed it) my son. While I could play a little guitar, my son seemed to show interest, as he grew older. At about the age of 12, Nathan got his first electric guitar. The reason for the electric was because he was young, and the electric is easier to chord since it doesn't require as much pressure on the strings. I began showing him a few things. Nathan continued to show interest so a professional instructor was sought to give him lessons. Nathan seemed to understand things readily. His instructor, who was trained through the Musician’s Workshop in California, recognized Nathan's talent and ability and told his parents that he was going to be a monster. That initially put fear into his mom and me until we realized that being a monster on the guitar was a good thing. With my music background, Nathan has learned to listen to all types of music. He listens to the styles of many guitar greats like Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and others, while incorporating his own style.

How long have you had this band?

-Even though the band has only been together a little over a year, we play like we've been together longer. Nathan and I first met Mikey when he had moved to the Franklin, NC area. After talking for a while, and seeing we all had similar interests and hobbies, we all decided to get together and just play around with some music. Immediately, it was one of the most joyful jam sessions any of us had ever had.

Mikey said he had a life-long friend (Payton) that liked to sing. We all met once again to see what we could do. It was incredible. Come to find out, Mikey and Payton were in a professional band in Brunswick, Ga. where they'd played at festivals and wedding receptions. Why not do the same here? Everyone works together so well. No one is trying to be the lead dog or above the others. Everyone is in it for the fun that not only we have, but the fun that we see others have as well. A desire to listen to one another and make improvements has added to the overall harmony of the band. Often, when people hear that we've been together for such a short time, they find it hard to believe since we all work so well together.

Do your write your own songs?

-Boy, do we! Sometimes it's hard to get through a practice session without writing another one. After a while of practicing, we sort of take a break by getting a snack, coffee, pit stop, etc. As we wander back towards the equipment, somebody will usually start something up; a drum beat, little guitar lick, bass riff, etc. Everyone else will just start to chime in. We then come up with more ideas, transitions, etc. and start making adjustments. We'll usually record what we've started and then take it to a new level at our next practice. Payton is quite a lyricist. He will begin working on the lyrics and have them ready. Once again, we will listen to everyone's input, make adjustments, and it just keeps getting better everyday.

Here is a sample of our original copywrited music: click play.

Run Away - Great Imponderables

The Great Imponderables Website

How far will you travel for a gig?

-While most of our gigs have been in Western North Carolina, we will travel much further, like to Branson, MO. Already arrangements are being made to get us to Massachusetts, Minnesota, and beyond. The travel's not a problem, as long as there is some means to justify the expense. It could be as simple as getting a place to stay and free lift tickets at a resort to something like some friends having an anniversary and wanting us to be there. Of course, if there is some big producer that would like us to come do a television show or something like that, we will consider that offer as well.

Is your fan base growing?

-The fan base is growing. It's now outside of our immediate family. Some of our friends have actually started to listen to us. Really, it goes beyond that. We had a recent concert at the Asheville Civic Center, which helped to increase the fan base. The concerts we have at the Sapphire Valley Ski Resort have also exposed us to many people from many different areas. We are getting several requests now for a CD.

How is your blog doing?

-Since we've changed the look of our web site (thanks to some good advice from some good friends) we have been able to put up a blog with some updates on our front page. These have been fun, as well as informative. Our biggest problem is getting pictures to put on the page since none of us has a digital camera. We have a lot of interesting things to say, and since the band practices or plays every week, there are always opportunities for more updates (stories). We just need a camera. Got any extra ones floating around?

(Message to Rick: No. But I’ll let you you know when Touch-Doug's-Camera-Day is.)

Do you like living in the Cashiers, NC area (technically Sapphire)?

-Our family moved to Cashiers almost 12 years ago. It's the longest we have ever stayed in one place. No one wants to go anywhere else. Cashiers, NC is beautiful. It's very unique, even when compared with the rest of Western North Carolina. We're somewhat removed, but not so far away. Asheville, and even Greenville, SC are not far away. We have many friends here and couldn't stand the thought of being without them.

What’s the biggest crowd you’ve performed for?

-The biggest crowd that we've had was probably at the Asheville Civic Center. We just performed for a few hours during the afternoon for an event for the Department of Social Services. The event was to raise awareness about the possibilities for families to foster or adopt children in our area. I think they told us the count was around five hundred visitors. It was a lot of fun.

Do you have your own album?

We are currently working on an album of just our original music. Recording has been scheduled and we hope to have everything completed by February of 2006. We have several other "cover" songs recorded. But you have to get permission before you can sell any of these since they are copyrighted by other performers.

Who leads the band?

-The band is a collective. To say who leads the band…I don't know if we could answer that. Everyone does his or her part in assisting. Not only is it just the guys; the wives do a lot in assisting as well. Giving, or should I say, allowing us time and space to get together, making phone calls to potential clients, encouraging us through their personal observations… I don't know if we'll ever have a leader or not. We're just a bunch of guys that enjoy what we’re doing, and hope we can keep doing it.

What are your future goals for The Great Imponderables?

-All of us would like to have more time to spend with our families. It would be nice to have a place we could all get together, lounge around, play some cards, play with the kids, and just enjoy one another’s company while we continue to play music. That would be the ultimate goal. Oh yeah, to get paid really good for doing it would be nice too!