Loyal following makes band the people's choice
Freehold resident Jim Garcia brings fun to Nerds shows
BY AMY ROSEN Staff Writer
Jim Garcia seems like a typical family man living in Freehold Township. But on Aug. 15, 1985 something happened that changed his life. Ever since that day, whenever he goes to work he becomes - a Nerd! And his family couldn't be prouder.

The Nerds play hit songs and infuse the well-known tunes with a unique style that has entertained audiences in clubs, at community days, private parties and corporate affairs since 1985.

Garcia's alter ego is Spaz, the lead vocalist and bassist for The Nerds, a popular cover band with a twist and a following of fans too numerous to count. The band's first show was Aug. 15, 1985, which, Garcia says he recently found out, happened to be exactly 20 years after the Beatles played Shea Stadium.

Garcia had been working with drummer Jack Yocum (Biff) in a band called Romance. Through mutual friends they hooked up with guitar player Peter Oltmanns (Stretch) and keyboardist and vocalist Mike Spiro (Mongo), who were playing in a touring lounge band at the time. They decided to get together on an original project.

Freehold Township resident Jim Garcia is a founding member of The Nerds, a popular cover band that has developed a loyal following during a career that has lasted for nearly a quarter of a century.

The idea for The Nerds' image came to them from the band's manager, Steve Tarkanish, who saw a segment on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

Garcia said, "Steve had seen a sketch on 'Saturday Night Live' about a band that called themselves Nerd Rock. I think it was with BillMurray and Gilda Radner. He said to us, 'Why don't you put together a band called The Nerds and go in a direction nerds aren't expected to go?' We'd found our niche. Instead of the techno rock you would expect nerds to play, we do contemporary classics, not necessarily just top 40 hits, but a good quality of standard music."

Add mismatched plaid shorts and shirts, nerdy hair and glasses and a lighthearted comedic feeling, and you've got The Nerds.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the band is not just the image; it's the sound that the talented musicians put forth. People in The Nerds audiences often comment about the way the music and vocals so closely resemble the original artists who recorded the songs, whether it is Queen, the Ramones, Billy Idol or the Bee Gees, to name a few.

When asked how they do it, Garcia responded, "It's really not an effort on my part, just a curse. I hear it and it comes out. If you ask me to sing in my own voice I probably can't. Because of that we've been accused of using special effects. People don't believe it's really us and on occasion I've had to take people aside during a break and sing for them and they say, 'Oh my God, it's really you!' It's fun - really fun."

Another trademark of The Nerds is the way the band members combine songs that one would never think of putting together and conceive a unique musical creation.

"We have a lot of fun reconstructing songs - taking something that's not as important in a song and making it more important, and taking something that's very important and making it not as important - and seeing what it sounds like. Basically we have fun and go the other way. For instance we fused 'Dancing Queen' by Abba with 'L.A. Woman,' by The Doors and it sounds phenomenal," he said.

Another notable example of two diverse genres reconstructed by the band, to the surprise and delight of their fans, is the ingenious fusion of the country sound of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" with the traditional Jewish sound of "Hava Nagilah." People can't help but clap their hands, stamp their feet and circle to the left.

According to Garcia, The Nerds started playing in northern New Jersey and over the years traveled south down Route 9 until they wound up at the

shore. There they established themselves as what people believe to be a shore band, playing places like Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach weekly during the summer and monthly on Saturdays in the winter. They also play at Joe Pop's in Long Beach Island on a regular basis during the summer.

"They think we're a shore band, but we aren't really," Garcia explained. "We play everywhere - Philadelphia, Long Island, all over. We also enjoy doing all kinds of private parties from weddings to corporate events. We even do bar mitzvahs!"

The band's hectic schedule takes them well beyond the Jersey shore. In the past two months, in addition to venues ranging from north to south Jersey, The Nerds have entertained people in Vermont, Florida, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Mexico.

"We have fun doing the corporate events and private parties," Garcia observed. "People there are like us. We are so much not like rock stars. We actually suited the concept of being nerds more than the idea suited us. Our backstage conversations are about sports, finance, our kids, and other stuff.

"People don't expect us to be like that. We also get to meet interesting people at these events. Colin Powell will be the guest speaker at an upcoming show and a few years back we did a party at Rockefeller Center for theA&E Network and the stars of 'The Sopranos' were there and so was (illusionist) Criss Angel," he said.

The band's schedule takes the musicians to colleges, clubs, fairs and local events such as the Monmouth County Fair; community days in Howell, Freehold Township, Freehold Borough, Brick, Jackson and Marlboro; and as far away as Las Vegas, the Bahamas and through the magic of television, the world.

The Nerds even played to a sold out audience at Carnegie Hall in New York.

"It's been crazy," Garcia added. "In 2000 we performed as the house band for MTV's Ultimate Cover Band Contest. We didn't compete. We got amazing exposure from that. We got e-mails from people as far away as Germany and Australia."

The Nerds have also been guest performers on many television shows including "The View" several times, the "Carson Daly Show" and "The Regis Show."

"Sooner or later we just might wind up as a fixture on a television show, but it hasn't happened yet," Garcia said. "That would be wonderful!"

Despite their busy schedule the members of The Nerds have all managed to settle down and have families. They make the best of their time away from the band and concentrate on normal family life.

Yocum lives in Carlstadt with his wife and two sons, Oltmanns lives in Ridgewood with his wife and three sons, and Spiro lives in Lake Hopatcong with his wife, two daughters and two sons.

Garcia, who grew up in Hoboken, says he loves living in Freehold with his wife, Thea, and their sons, Evan, 14, and Jesse, 8.

"Freehold is a little bit of a throwback of a small town kind of thing," Garcia observed. "We have chickens in our back yard."

The influence of the arts is not limited to just Jim in the Garcia family. His wife is a professional photographer and has her own studio, Thea's Photographic Art, and in addition to capturing portraits and special events, she is the official photographer of The Nerds Internet Web site.

Jim said, "My kids grew up with music. They watch me play and perform and to them it seems like that's what people do. Jesse plays the piano and guitar and Evan plays piano, guitar, drums and bass.

"When he was in fourth grade, Evan came to me and asked, 'Dad, can I have a band?' - like he was asking for ice cream. He wanted to put together something for a talent show. I told him to get together some friends who can play and they formed The Punks. Over the course of time they learned to play together well. It's been a lot of fun for them and me."

The Punks open up for The Nerds at many outdoor summer events.

The Punks will open for The Nerds on March 2 at a brunch fundraiser for children at a school in Uganda who have been left orphaned because of AIDS. The event, sponsored by the nonprofit organization Sylvia's Children, of Holmdel, in conjunction with Home Away From Home Academy, of Aberdeen, is called Children Helping Children and will be held at the LakesideManor in Hazlet. For details and reservations call (732) 946-2711.

The Nerds recently released the band's newest CD, "Voo Doo Banana Chicken," a compilation of all of their most requested cover songs. The CD was recorded at live performances.

Garcia offered the following advice to young musicians: "Practice a lot and listen to each other while performing. It makes all the difference between a loose or tight performance. Everyone must get their moment to shine. Let everybody's strengths show. Listen to a lot of music, no matter where it's from. The number of musical influences you can draw from is endless."

As for The Nerds, Garcia said, "We've been very fortunate. We've been around almost 24 years. It's been a lot of fun."

For more information about The Nerds visit www.the-nerds.com.