By Christine Sampson
“I think everyone on our block might be” aspiring musicans, said Starke, 26, who himself has an aspiring opera singer as a roommate. “I think it's becoming a different sort of Williamsburg music-art place. I always see people walking around with guitars.”These days, though, Starke isn't so much harboring musical ambitions as he is striking out in hot pursuit of them. After years of floating through bands that possessed little in the way of direction or connections, he knows he's got his best shot yet as the bassist for Sputniks Down, a new local band that happily defies classification.Its debut album, “Going Down,” feels like a little bit of everything – classic rock, indie rock, jazz. It even lists opera among its influences, by way of its Princeton-trained lead singer, Jaymes Welsh. The band, which also includes drummer Ilan Harel, guitarist Al Domingo, and pianist Adam Zirkin, celebrated its album release Feb. 12 at Crash Mansion in Manhattan – the same venue that has hosted release parties for the likes of Norah Jones, 3 Doors Down and Gavin DeGraw.Which is quite a range in demographic for one venue – all too appropriate when talking about Sputniks Down. Their shows are attended by everyone from people their parents' age, to teenagers bearing X's on their hands denoting their actual ages to bartenders, and everyone in between.”That's one very unique point in terms of talent,” said the band's audio-engineer-come-general-manager, Marvin Welkowitz. “If you can appeal to high school girls, and a college market, and the so-called baby boom market – that's very unusual.”Welkowitz is someone who knows what he's talking about. The Hewlett resident has toured with a host of major recording artists, including Carly Simon, James Taylor, Jethro Tull Ð and a five-year stint with the original Beach Boys, working sound and eventually getting into tour management as well.He can recognize potential when he hears it Ð as he did the first time he heard Sputniks Down play. Welkowitz was doing some sound mixing for the Dublin Pub in New Hyde Park for a gig late last summer when the band's songs “Devil in my Cup” and “Kiss Me” caught his attention.”It had a major impact on me, and I'm referencing this from the major artists that I've worked with,” he said.That show represented a significant turning point in the band's history. The recording of “Going Down” was nearing completion at VuDu Studios in Freeport, Domingo was in the lineup as the replacement for the band's original guitarist, and Welkowitz was interested. And now, his connections Ð culled from a 30-year career in the music industry Ð are interested, too.He can't say who they are Ð “It's not sometimes good to do that, mentioning the names of the labels,” he said Ð but can say this with a great deal of assuredness: It's really only a matter of time.In the meantime, gigging all over the place Ð from Long Island and New York City to upstate Binghamton, N.Y. and Boston, building a fan base at every college and concert venue that will have them Ð is the first thing on the band's collective mind right now. A close second is getting signed by a record label Ð the signal that you've graduated from the local music scene.Rumors were circulating that night at Crash Mansion Ð rumors which, naturally, no one could confirm Ð that representatives were on hand from major labels. Should that not be the case, however, Sputniks Down is fine with that. “If we can just sustain ourselves somewhat comfortably playing music, rather than doing anything else in the world, we'd be happy,” said Harel, originally of Bayside, who works at his father's Meineke shop in Levittown.For now, they're all regular guys with Ð take 'em or leave 'em Ð day jobs. Welsh is a voice teacher and student at Queens College, Domingo is an architect, Starke writes children's software for a non-profit, and Zirkin is a junk bond analyst.”We're in no way scared of not getting a record contract,” said Zirkin, 25, who is in the process of moving to Sunnyside from Stamford, Conn. “I think our attitude is, 'Let's just write good music and stay together, and we'll be fine.'”Call it a necessary evil at this point in their career as Sputniks Down. Those day jobs, together with some support from their families, are what's propelled (read: financed) Sputniks Down thus far Ð financing the production on its 14-track album, a run of 3,000 CDs with a professional press. When they launch their college tour later this year, they'll be going with over $50,000 worth of professional-level equipment.”They're doing this the right way,” said Welkowitz, who is largely volunteering his services and connections to help the band get started.”And it shows. At the Crash Mansion show, Sputniks Down's new fans raved about their sound.”Even in their slow songs, you can hear those powerful elements of rock,” said Juliana Merola, 18, a student at NYU, who compared the band's sound to Creed and the Dave Matthews Band. “I like the keyboards. It creates a more unique sound than any other hand. And I'm really impressed with [Welsh's] voice.”Christina Gianino, 26, of Dix Hills, didn't know anything about the band before the show, but had heard they were good. “This is my type of music,” she said. “It's easy to listen to, and you can listen to it for a while and not get sick of it.”And there were those who weren't impressed, like Greg Raffo, 24, and Alex MacKay, 21, both students at Columbia.”Everyone's sitting down at a rock show? What's that all about?” Raffo said. “I'm looking for someone who will reach out to the crowd.”MacKay agreed, saying, “[Welsh] should've been doing the whole wasted Joe Cocker thing during [their cover of “The Letter”]. He should've been sweating.”For the record, Raffo and MacKay said they were really at Crash Mansion to see the Meatloaf tribute band headlining the fetish party which was to start immediately after Sputniks Down finished their set.A few days after the show, the five guys from Sputniks Down sat down at a diner in Syosset and had a conversation about the past, present and future of the band, which Starke, Harel and Welsh (who writes the majority of the band's lyrics) formed with original guitarist Joe Kane in early 2003, with the mission to write a song for “a weird independent movie which you most surely have not seen,” they said.Their growth since then has been “exponential,” said Zirkin.Added Starke: “A while ago, we made a commitment to take this as far as we can, and I think we're still all in.”Everyone else just nodded.
