Jan 4, 2008

Stevie now marches to own drum

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

After honing his percussive skills, becoming a much in demand studio drummer for bands like the Beach Boys, Stevie Heger is currently focusing on his own band - Hey Stevie. With a sophisticated Steely Dan flavor, the group has just released its fifth album, "Eloquence." Heger is the band's lead singer and songwriter.

Friend and original Beach Boy Al Jardine sings the tune "Big Sur Christmas" on the new Hey Stevie record. Monterey native Heger says the song is "a little bit on the schmaltzy side" for the band's style, but that everyone loves it. "Of course, Al singing lead on it is another attractive point to releasing it," he said.

Jardine will also debut his first solo album, "A Postcard from California" in March, which Heger is producing. Heger's partner and Hey Stevie band member Scott Slaughter is also involved. Guest stars on the upcoming Jardine album include Brian Wilson and Glen Campbell (who played on Beach Boys sessions and toured with the band when Brian abandoned the road).

The album will have its own identity, with a "nod of the hat" to the Beach Boys. "The first six songs are all connected together in a collage, kind of an ode to the history to the band," Heger said.

Heger has drummed and engineered for Jardine for years. When Jardine left the Beach Boys in '97 and formed Al Jardine's Beach Boys Family and Friends (which included his sons and Brian Wilson's daughters), Heger was on board. Now the touring group is called Al Jardine's Endless Summer Band.

The Beach Boys have fractured into several factions. "Lately it's been so quiet, it's kind of eerie. There's not much talk among the camps," Heger said. "Earlier this year, Al went out with Brian Wilson's group. That made things kind of joyful and reminiscent of the good old days."

Heger's musical joy started when he banged on the drums at age 3. "For my birthday each year, I got another drum until, at 12, I had a full kit."

His parents invested in drum lessons and Heger learned to sight-read. "Thank God I did, because I'm not the best drummer in the world," Heger said, "but I can read charts, which gets me a lot of work."

He left eighth grade to go on tour with a country band. Heger's mother landed him a gig backing Dinah Shore when he was just 17. In '79, he went to music school in Hollywood and stayed in Southern California for nine years. "That was the heyday of the studio drummer, which I more or less became."

Heger worked as a studio drummer at Al Jardine's Big Sur studio. They had met through the late, legendary record producer Terry Melcher. "Terry was also from Monterey. His mom (Doris Day) and my mom are friends," Heger said. "(Jardine) was producing a record called 'Kokomo' for a movie. No one really gave it much thought - also kind of schmaltzy. I played drums on it and suddenly had a name, from that point on."

Heger moved to San Francisco and, in 1989, formed the initial incarnation of Hey Stevie with another Beach Boys' backing musician, Tom Jacob. Heger offered his drumming and engineering skills to Jardine in exchange for studio time, to record Hey Stevie albums. "He has such a nice studio. I could never have afforded it, otherwise."

Heger is again based in Monterey. The current Hey Stevie lineup has an international element, including drummer Jonas Bachman from Finland and keyboardist Howard Woolly and guitarist Dave Cartwright from Manchester, England. Also in the band are bassist Paul Logan and percussionist/vocalist Luana Pedota from Santa Cruz.

Hey Stevie recently completed a U.K. tour. The band has achieved impressive popularity on that side of the pond. Beach Boys fans have flocked to Hey Stevie shows, perhaps initially drawn by the band's sparkling cover of "Sail On Sailor."

The release of Jardine's album should further heighten Hey Stevie's profile.

"I do enjoy working in the studio, but it's always a lot of fun for me to get out on the road with Hey Stevie," Heger said. "Especially with some new songs we haven't performed live before."

Hey Stevie performs tonight in Monterey at Monterey Live as part of its Northern California tour. For more performance dates, visit www.heystevie.com.