By DENNY DYROFF, For the Journal Register News Service
Monday, January 7, 2013
If David Uosikkinen told you the name of his current music project in one of his native languages, he would say “Taskussa”. You’d be able to understand the musician with Finnish-American roots better if he used English rather than Finnish and said “In the Pocket.” On Jan. 11, Uosikkinen will bring In the Pocket to Phoenixville for a show at the Colonial Theatre to celebrate the release of the group’s new single “I Ain’t Searchin” — a song that was originally recorded by one of Philly’s seminal rock bands the American Dream in 1970. “That song has always been one of my all-time favorite songs that came out of Philadelphia, and the American Dream is one of my all-time favorite bands,” said Uosikkinen during a phone interview last week. “The song is a real gem.” Uosikkinen is a member of one of Philadelphia’s all-time favorite bands — the Hooters. For his In the Pocket project — both live and in the studio — Uosikkinen uses a revolving lineup of Philadelphia’s most celebrated musicians to perform covers of tunes from Philly’s rich rock music history. “When I produce any song for In the Pocket, I grab a cool group of guys and do sessions,” said Uosikkinen. “I do it old school with everybody playing together. And all the sessions are saved on video. I use ProTools to record the music. I use the console and then run it through tape. It just gives it that nice hug.” All of the In the Pocket songs are available for download at songsinthepocket.org. A video documentary by award-winning producer/director Steve Acito of Bluewire Media accompanies each single. Acito’s long-form documentary was recently nominated for an Emmy award.
A portion of the proceeds benefits Settlement Music School. The show at the Colonial Theater features band members from all seven songs – “All My Mondays”, “Open My Eyes”, “You Can’t Sit Down”, “Soon You’ll Be Gone”, “Change Reaction”, “Disco Inferno” and “I Ain’t Searchin’.” In The Pocket’s core lineup includes Graham Alexander (Paul McCartney in Broadway production of “Rain”), Ben Arnold, Richard Bush (The A’s, The Peace Creeps), Steve Butler (Smash Palace) and Tommy Conwell (Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers). The cast also features Greg Davis (Beru Revue), Cliff Hillis (Ike), Charlie and Richie Ingui (Soul Survivors), TJ Tindall (Bonnie Raitt Band) and Hooters band members Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman, John Lilley, Fran Smith Jr. and Uosikkinen.
“There are about 20 of us on stage,” said Uosikkinen. “It’s grown into a little orchestra. Right now, we have a set list of 24 songs. We do songs by Eric Bazilian, Tommy Conwell, the A’s and the Nazz.”