Preston Clark Edmands

By Dana Pearson
dpearson@seacoastonline.com
July 12, 2007 6:00 AM

Alanis Morrisette has played the Astor Place Starbucks in Manhattan. It's ironic that Preston Edmands has, too, considering the very job that he felt was getting in the way of his musical career was the reason he got the gig. The June 19 show proved fruitful beyond the Kennebunk High School grad's dreams, for it secured him a slot on a Brooklyn stage for a concert next week that may see him performing for up to 8,000 people.

It's all heady stuff for a modest 23-year-old who just two years ago risked moving from Maine to New York to pursue his art, and who, since finding digs in Queens and a job at Starbucks, has sung his songs on acoustic guitar at an open mic or coffeehouse from time to time.

"I want to support myself with my music," says Edmands, dropping by the Coast Star office at the tail end of a trip home to visit his family. "I don't want to fill stadiums, but I would like a down payment on a house." With NYC serving as a mecca for aspiring artists of all stripes, Edmands found it a tough slog — until a contest brought him the type of exposure that other musicians would kill for. "[Making a living through music] seems possible to me now; before it was out of reach."

That was before he learned of Starbucks' music contest, open to bands that had at least one Starbucks employee on the roster. Though not in a band, Edmands did have several demos he had been crafting at home on his digital recording equipment. He finalized the top three contenders — "Incident After," "Steel Trap Attacks!" and "My Fire" — and sent off the CD.

"They called me a week later and said I'd have to perform in five days in a live show," says Edmands, who was now faced with the enviable dilemma of having to scrape together a band and rehearse three tunes for an actual audience in less than a week. Six bands would be playing at the Astor Place Starbucks in mid-June; of the lot, one band would go on to play at Celebrate Brooklyn, and another would perform at Central Park SummerStage, two outdoor performing arts festivals sponsored by Starbucks.

Edmands had stayed in touch with KHS classmate and fellow musician Jake Chamberlain, and had even played occasionally with the drummer since their graduation; the USM student agreed to be his temporary sideman, and along with bassist Kyle Marshall, keyboardist Aaron Butler, rhythm guitarist Chris Ashworth, and percussionist Mike Romanowski, Edmands and his de facto band worked on the three numbers in preparation for the June 19 show — though not as extensively as a fledgling musician would like.

"It was more people I've ever played in front of," says Edmands of that fateful night. "Pretty nerve-wracking. We only rehearsed just a few hours before playing together live for the first time." That nervous energy — no doubt aided by talented players and decent original material — translated into a winning performance.

And it's not over yet.

Founded in 1979, Celebrate Brooklyn is a summer-long festival that has seen the likes of Richie Havens, The Neville Brothers, Prince, and Ani DiFranco grace the stage of the Prospect Park Bandshell. On Thursday, July 19, singer-songwriter Morley will be performing, as will the Alloy Orchestra, which creates live music for silent movies, this time Alfred Hitchcock's final silent film, "Blackmail." And, having done so well in the Astor Place Starbucks competition, Preston Edmands's band will find itself on that very same stage.

A few years ago, Preston Edmands would have been found at Savannah College of Art and Design — and then he wouldn't have been found there, having decided to drop out. After a summer living behind a friend's house on Martha's Vineyard, he came back to Kennebunk and did some landscaping before deciding he had to take a chance in the Big Apple.

"I needed a drastic change," he says. Becoming your garden variety starving artist, he found that drastic change. It wasn't long before he was working at Starbucks, gradually increasing his hours to make ends meet in the expensive city, and finding himself regretting the time not spent playing out. And then along came the contest.

His recent advances have given Edmands hope for the future.

"It has inspired me to write more," says Edmands, describing his lyrics as "ambiguous, abstract, open to interpretation, mostly cerebral." "I feel vindicated. Someone out there liked my stuff."

Those close to him have been encouraging, though Edmands says, "I'm not sure if they're being positive because they're family and friends. I have a totally supportive mother. She's always said to me, 'We have our avocations and we have our vocations. And if your avocation ever becomes your vocation, great'."

Edmands's avocation was inspired by the music he heard growing up, from the early '90s grunge played by older brother Lance to the Motown, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, and Beatles tunes favored by his father.

"Writing music, playing music has always been very therapeutic to me," he says.

Those interested in trekking down to Brooklyn to catch Preston Edmands's upcoming therapy session can find all the information they need by logging onto www.brooklynx.org/celebrate/ - York County Coast Star

by Liz Skalka, arts@qchron.com
07/12/2007

The band at Starbucks’ Avante-Grande competition in June. From left: Jake Chamberlain, Chris Ashworth), Preston Edmands, Kyle Marshall and Mike Romanowski.
Preston Edmands had what one might call the typical coming-of-age experience for a musician. At 18, he left his small hometown of Kennebunk, Maine and traveled south to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. Two years passed before the audio engineering major realized he hadn’t connected with the school and wanted instead to focus on becoming a musician.
“I had the drive,” he said, “and I wanted music to be my vehicle.”

So he spent the summer of 2004 living behind a house in Martha’s Vineyard and playing guitar. After returning home for a year, Edmands decided to try New York. He moved to Long Island City and sought a route traveled by many aspiring musicians looking to supplement their nighttime gigs — he began working at Starbucks.
Fortunately for Edmands, the coffee chain has given him the biggest break of his music career so far.
Edmands, 23, along with a band comprised of several Queens Starbucks employees, won the company’s Avant-Grande music competition on June 19, held at the Astor Place Starbucks in Manhattan. Edmands' band — tentatively called Preston Edmands and the Wonderful Undertones — won the opportunity to perform at the Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival on July 19 at Prospect Park.
Although Edmands is the group's lead vocalist and has written all the songs they currently perform, the band is more of a collaboration among friends than a solo effort. He plays with three fellow employees from his Starbucks at 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, another from the Continental Avenue, Forest Hills location, and a longtime friend who traveled from Maine to perform in the competition.
The band formed and began practicing only days before the Avant-Grande contest, after Edmands saw a flier in his coffeehouse. To enter, at least one group member had to be a company employee. Edmands, a shift supervisor, sought out the accompaniment of several good friends once he learned that he was chosen to perform in the competition's final round after submitting a demo tape.
Mike Romanowski, who lives in Astoria and works at the Ditmars Starbucks, met Preston eight months ago when he started working at the coffeehouse. He plays percussion with the band. The other group members are Jake Chamberlain on drums, Chris Ashworth on rhythm guitar, Kyle Marshall on bass and back-up vocals, and Aaron Butler on keyboards.
“He asked me to join into the band the week he found out about the competition,” said Romanowski of Edmands “It was very exciting and nerve-racking.” But, he adds, “we have momentum together.”
Even though their coming together was perhaps haphazard and the group’s lineup may be subject to change, each musician has been practicing music on his own for years, and some perform with other bands.
Edmands explained that his musical chops emerged at an early age.
“I was 6 or 7 when I recorded my first song,” he joked. “I was singing ‘Baby, Won’t You Drive My Car’ into a Fisher Price tape recorder.”
Now, he says Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Spoon are his favorite artists. Edmands’ own songs are “indie rock with a real pop sensibility. They're memorable without beating you over the head with it,” said Marshall, 24, who lives in Astoria and works at the Starbucks in Forest Hills.
Indeed, Edmands’ favorite song that he’s composed, “Incident After,” came about following the conception of a “groove” melody. “I could do lyrics or melody first. I have no idea where to start, it’s very organic,” he said, adding that he’s finished fewer than 10 songs recently, but has dozens more in the works.
As a solo artist, Edmands has performed in Astoria at Freeze Peach Café at 22-00 29th St. and at Waltz-Astoria at 23-14 Ditmars Blvd.
Even though the band is excited about their upcoming performance at Celebrate Brooklyn and the doors it might open, Edmands’ goals are still modest.
“Ideally, just to support myself on my music and be able to travel with it,” he said. “I don't want to have millions of dollars — just enough to get by.”
As a musician eager to focus solely on his career, Edmands has another aspiration: “to never have to clock in again,” he said. - Queens Chronicle