War Poetry

Two years ago while looking for a new lead singer, the three original members of an Elk Grove rock band made an unusual decision.

The group, called Beyond the Grove and known for their alternative rock-rap style, was socializing with friends during a karaoke night at the in 2009.  At the microphone was a local man named Jermaine Starks who was belting out tracks from Papa Roach—and apparently doing a bang-up job at it.

Guitarist Chris Hampton remembers what happened next.

"We heard him sing and we talked to him," said Hampton, a 2003 graduate of .  "He knew us from being in the band.  One day, we just decided to jam together and that's just history."

Starks, a former U.S. Marine who graduated from Laguna Creek in 2000, jumped at the chance to join Beyond the Grove.  Despite lacking a formal background in music, Starks thought his combat experience in Iraq combined with a passion for writing poetry would compliment the band's angry-but-uplifting style.

"The only musical training I had is that I used to sit for hours and hours and hours, high on coffee, and I would just sit up on the watch tower (on duty in Iraq) and rap to myself and sing and write lyrics," said Starks.

Beyond the Grove performed their a live gig at Coach's Bar and Grill inside the June 9, their third at the venue.  During a show that also featured other local acts like Elk Grove heavy metal group and In The Meantime, a cover band from Lodi, the group played several songs from their debut record, "Devotion," released last January.  The tracks on the album reflect a style noticeably influenced by Rage Against the Machine, Incubus and Jamie's Elsewhere, a post-hardcore band from Sacramento whose lead vocalist, Aaron Pauley, produced Beyond the Grove's record.

Most of the band's songs first started as poems by Starks, who enlisted in the Marines after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and based many of the album's lyrics on his experience in the military from 2002 to 2006.  While the band's members are quick to explain that the album is meant to convey messages of "positive growth," many of the influences clearly come from a traumatic place in Starks's life.

"A lot of the earlier songs have a lot of military [references] in it," said Starks during an interview after the group's recent show.  "Not necessarily talking about going out and shooting someone—talking about missing things, talking about having your girl cheating on you while you're [deployed]."

Sure, distilling wartime lyrics into music is a common genre in pop culture.  But Starks's military background combined with the band's obvious local roots—all four members graduated from Elk Grove high schools—make Beyond the Grove's unique brand of alternative rock and rap metal tunes stand apart in the local music scene.  At the same time, the group is a classic example of a garage band—Hampton and drummer Matt Storm, who graduated from Laguna Creek in 2002, first began jamming in Storm's garage several years ago. 

The duo added a bass guitarist when Storm's younger brother, Alex, wandered into their jam session one day.

"He walked out to grab something out of the fridge in the garage," remembered Hampton with a chuckle. "I go, 'Matt, go get ask your brother to pick up the bass.'  We literally forced him to pick up the bass and play it."

Alex Storm, a 2005 graduate who played piano but had never picked up a guitar until his brother drafted him into the band, eventually became the third band member.  (Before finding Starks, the group was known as Bad Rocket and had a different lead singer until changing the name in 2009.)

Beyond the Grove has already completed two tours across the western United States and some of their songs have been played on Sacramento's 98 Rock radio station. 

Despite the group's name, which might suggest a desire to leave the friendly confines of Elk Grove, bandmembers said their message is to "think locally, act globally."

"We try as hard as we can to let everybody know to follow their heart, end of subject," Starks said. "We want [our fans] to know that there's something more outside of the Grove."

Local fans seem to appreciate the heartfelt connection to Beyond the Grove's hometown.  Jennell Sprenger, from Elk Grove, had already purchased "Devotion" before attending the show on June 9 for her first opportunity to watch the band live.

"They make sure to show their roots," said Sprenger, who said she first started following Beyond the Grove about six months ago.  "They don't want to lose themselves." 

Next up for the band is a live show at the Distillery in Sacramento on July 22, followed by a third tour in August.  While they have no immediate plans for a follow-up album, bandmembers said they will soon head back to the studio to beef up the effects and vocals on "Devotion."

The goal?  It's pretty straightforward, said Matt Storm.

"We want to make this a living," he said.  "We just want to go on tour, sell records and play music for the rest of our lives."

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