Get ready to hear all of your favorite classic rock tunes from the 60s and 70s, as the local four-piece group Dead Simple returns to Selinsgrove for a performance on Saturday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Selin’s Grove Brewing Co., 121 N. Market St.
The original Dead Simple band was founded years ago on Long Island, New York by bassist/vocalist Paul Precht, who eventually made the move to Central Pa. and reformed the band in Nantico*ke in 2008.
Music has always been a part of Precht’s life, as his mother was a piano and vocal instructor in Manhattan, while the family lived in Brooklyn.
“My mom and my grandmother would go into studios in Manhattan and make records,” he said. “My mother, my grandmother, and sometimes my mother’s next-to-oldest sister would harmonize, all with my mom playing piano. She was 14 or 15 when she was doing that. The voices were there — my mom and my grandmother. I can still hear that myself.”
Although Precht never really took to the piano, he eventually became interested in the drums and other instruments while in school and sitting in with a band his older cousin had in the 60s that played surfing music. Precht sat down at the drum set and became interested in the hi-hat and snare.
“That was the beginnings planted in my brain,” he recalled. “And then The Beatles came on Ed Sullivan. It was a Sunday night, and my cousins were coming over. My father said there was going to be a good band on tonight. My father was a big music fan. It was about a week after The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan that they bought me my first drum set.”
Precht formed Dead Simple with the intention of creating a group that played popular songs from the 60s and 70s that typical bands didn’t perform live. He had noticed that many local bands tended to focus on lead guitar centric blues-rock music. The idea behind Dead Simple was to place focus on vocal harmony and instrumental cohesion, with influences drawn from groups like The Beatles, The Four Seasons, and The Doobie Brothers.
Changing members
The first lineup of Dead Simple played around Nantico*ke for two to three years, until Precht made the move to Elysburg in 2018. The band’s current lineup consists of Precht on bass and lead vocals, Leo Bradley on guitar and lead vocals, Valentine “Val” Mountjoy on keyboards, and Jeremiah Gould on drums.
Although he was born in Tennessee and spent a few years living in upstate New York, Leo Bradley has lived the majority of his life in Elysburg and currently lives in Kulpmont. Bradley joined the second version of Dead Simple in 2019 as the group’s rhythm guitarist, before taking over on lead guitar and also sharing much of the lead vocals with Precht. Bradley started playing guitar seriously around age 19, and he doesn’t think the flame that began burning back then has ever dimmed.
“I learned a lot from Dead Simple’s original lead guitarist, Duane Dulk,” he said. “Duane’s still a very good friend of mine, although he’s living in New Jersey currently. He’s a great guitar player, and I look forward to any chance I get to jam with him.”
It was through a Craigslist posting that Bradley met Precht and Dead Simple, a week or two after he had left his job to focus more on his degree. Bradley had a technical writing professor who was also an accomplished jazz drummer.
“One day he and I talked about his experience playing in bands, and he told me that if I had the opportunity, playing with a group of people would be the most fun you can have with an instrument,” Bradley said. “That night, I was browsing Craigslist for old stereo equipment and decided to look at one of the other sections of the site that listed gigs and job opportunities. There was a listing right in Elysburg, about a mile from my house, that read ‘Rhythm Guitarist Wanted.’ I suppose the rest is history at this point!”
“Leo learned to sing with me and harmonize very well,” Precht said. “He learns fast. He and Duane were so good together.”
Mostly self-taught on guitar, Bradley tends to center around classic rock, folk, and blues and is particularly influenced by artists like The Beatles, David Bowie, Steve Miller, and The Doors.
“I’m really inspired by any artist who isn’t afraid to try to show something new to the world,” he said. “The people that listen may like it or they may hate it. There’s a sort of bravery that goes along with creating music with a new noise or rhythm that I really admire.”
A self-taught piano player and classical composer at heart, Mountjoy joined Dead Simple in 2021, and provides the band with a small personal orchestra, lending her virtuosic keyboard playing and vocal talents to Dead Simple’s rock and roll.
It wasn’t long after Bradley joined the group and began playing gigs with them that Mountjoy came down to see them when they were performing at Selin’s Grove Brewing.
“She knew that Leo’s band was going to be playing there, so she came down with a friend to see us,” Precht said. “She’s used to playing solo and had never played in a rock band.”
But Precht thought there was potential, and he decided to give it a shot.
“She showed up a week later, and she knew about five or six songs,” Precht said. “I liked a couple of things, but it didn’t fit with the timing. I told her I could teach her some basic drum stuff and it would really help her understand the timing. She loves the drums, and she’s currently playing at least one song with us on drums.”
After coming off tour with a popular show band, Gould began jamming with Dead Simple for fun at an occasional rehearsal in late 2022, and this year became the heartbeat of the band as their new drummer.
Classic rock setlist
Today, Dead Simple continues to serve its purpose of providing a great, classic rock experience to those in search of a good time. Their set lists consist mainly of classic rock from the ‘60s and ‘70s, with hits from The Beatles, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, and many more great artists that people can expect to hear at a Dead Simple show.
“On our little winter break this year we were able to add some new songs to our rotation too,” Bradley said. “We were able to add in an old Pink Floyd song, as well as one new one. We have some new Tom Petty, some Stray Cats, and a classic from Santana too!”
Dead Simple has performed mostly in Northumberland and Snyder counties, as well as the Tioga County Fair last year.
With the pandemic subsiding, 2022 was the first year that Dead Simple played regularly, and Selin’s Grove Brewing Co. was one of the band’s regular stops. Since then, the band has been back to play at the brewery many times, and every single time it’s a pleasure for them to see the crowd that comes out to listen to their music.
“We always have a great time with them,” Bradley said. “The brewery has some really great beer and food, and we’re happy to add good music to that mix. I think it’s a great time for everyone there all around.”
Bradley admits that he’s very lucky to be playing with Dead Simple, and he hopes to be with the band for a long time.
“Everybody that I’ve played with in Dead Simple has been super talented and committed to putting on a good show,” he said. “We all get along really well, and I think we do a good job of inspiring each other. I’ve learned a lot more from my bandmates than I could have ever learned on my own, and I’m very thankful for that.”
