Big goals
from the Outset

By Diane Villano
Times Staff Writer

For Northeast Philly band Outset, 2007 may prove to be a harmonious year as the musicians strive to promote their sound.
The group has just released a new CD, Dreaming Out Loud. It winds down what has been a banner ’06 for Outset, composed of lead singer/guitarist and Ryan grad Phil Murphy; Little Flower grad Susan Steen, a vocalist and bass player; Judge grad Brett Talley on electric guitar; and drummer Josh Dannin.
The band’s debut CD, Define a New Beginning, was released in early 2006, and there were frequent performances at Grape Street in Manayunk. Outset also opened for the Rembrandts (of Friends TV theme-song fame), Sister Hazel, the Spin Doctors and IKE. They also got their first radio spin with the song Yesterday Night, after playing in a Valentine’s Day show sponsored by WMMR radio. DJ Jaxon had chosen them for his Wednesday night Local Shot spot, which features a song from a local rock band.
"The next night on our way to a show at Philadelphia University, (Phil and I) are in the car when we hear it," Talley recalled. "We start screaming, cell phones are ringing . . ."
Steen was at home with her dog when she heard her band on WMMR and got on the phone.
"I knew we were on the radio but I didn’t really hear it. We were too busy screaming," Steen said.
According to Talley, the scene was something straight out of That Thing You Do, a 1996 film comedy about a fictional one-hit band from Erie, Pa.
"We’re screaming and the car is drifting and I was yelling ‘Phil, you still have to drive,’" Talley said. "If Outset ended today, that would be one of my favorite moments."
While the group and its three-part harmony have occasionally been compared to ’90s pop bands, such as the Goo Goo Dolls, the musicians would like to think they’re refining their own sound.
Outset’s manager, Victor Pospischil, thinks the group combines some of the original pop sound with its own musical edge.
"They’re in a niche all their own," the manager boasted.
Pospischil was impressed with the band from the outset, when he saw how patrons and bartenders at Grape Street gravitated to the stage in the back room where Outset was playing. Subsequently, the band was moved to Grape Street’s main stage.
Talley and his mates take a down-to-earth approach to their craft, and manager Pospischil thinks it’s this lack of drama that has made a Outset choice when venues have needed a band to fill in at the last minute.
Outset’s music also crosses generations, with catchy tunes and lyrics that people can sing along to.
"Phil is the pop master. He’s never written a bad song," Talley said of Murphy, who was out of town during the holidays.
The rest of the band were together in Talley’s living room. They make their music in the basement, recording in Talley’s Hand in Hand Studios. He produced both CDs.
Steen thinks that Talley’s guitar work gives the band its different sound.
"If you take one of us out and insert another band member, it wouldn’t be Outset," Steen said.
The musicians started celebrating the new year a little early, with a CD-release party on Dec. 30 for Dreaming Out Loud. In 2007, they hope to live those dreams, keep playing consistently and sign with a label. Steen and Talley also plan to sign a marriage contract, with a wedding in September.
"I want us to all have our instruments with us and take a photo all dressed up and me and my bass in a big wedding dress," Steen said.
Sounds like a keeper. ••
For more information on Outset and to get a listen, check out www.outsetband.com and www.myspace.com/outsetband
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com