by Ernie Thomas

While there are a lot of local musicians beating around the Northwest Indiana area, only 26-year-old David Perry of rural Cedar Lake has concocted a full album based upon a troubled man from an alternate dimension who gets stuck in our world and whose story we learn through “flashback” songs after his death by suicide.    

Perry’s abstract 13-song concept CD, Plasticine Man, first came together as a solo project in early 2001 with assorted musical friends guesting on the sessions he produced in the home studio he calls, Starstruck.  

 Now that Perry has assembled a full time band –– Purple Tree –– to back him, he is in the process of re-recording his sci-fi opus.  “The songs will be performed a little different than they were on that first demo,” he said.   “This time we will be playing them the way we do live on stage with a lot of energy.” 

    Jamming behind keyboardist/vocalist Perry on the newly tweaked songs are –– 44-year-old drummer Pat McGraw (of Cedar Lake), 30-year-old bassist Steve Rempis (of Sneider) and 23-year-old guitarist Jeremy Boilek (of Griffith) –– who collectively are Purple Tree, a name a strange as the music they make. 

     Born the son of a classical accordion teacher and a professional touring musician, it would seem that music was in Perry’s genes.  With training from his mother, Perry began playing accordion at age 3 and by the time he was 12, he had competed in dozens of competitions and has more than 50 trophies to show for it.   Although he still pulls out the accordion on stage for a pair of songs from Plasticine Man, his fascination with the instrument was displace by the piano at age 14.

      “That’s when I discovered Jerry Lee Lewis and started playing piano,” he said, noting that his desire to learn guitar did not set well with his mom, so he settled for piano.   “I really, really got into the Beatles and John Lennon a lot about that time and Pink Floyd too.   Those are my biggest influences.”   Perry has since learned guitar and plays rhythm to Boilek’s lead in the group on many songs.

      While the Floyd elements of his youthful fancy came out in Plasticine Man,  his Beatles roots emerged earlier in the self-titled solo CD he recorded in the late ‘90s.   “That first CD was just old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll,” he reflected, “with some rockabilly and a lot of Beatles like songs.”

       Both of his CDs feature songs that were written exclusively by Perry.  “This project [David Perry’s Purple Tree] will be a vehicle for my songs,” he said.  “I am the primary songwriter, but Jeremy wrote a lot of the guitar parts.  Perry said that any future music from The Purple Tree project will also be of the trippy space rock variety.    

     While he is committed to the Purple Tree project, Jeremy is currently looking to assemble his own side band that will be more alternative pop like Radiohead.       

      “We don’t play out too often right now,” said Perry, citing the aversion most region clubs have to all original bands.  “At the moment we are playing out about once a month at mostly Chicago clubs, but I hope to play more locally in the Region once people catch on to what I’m doing and what we’re all about.”  

Back To Top

Web Design By:
6 String Design