Nervous Rex
David James - Drums, Vocals
Jerry Heard - Bass, Vocals
Robert Geiger - Guitar
Formerly: Mark Taber - Keyboards, Vocals
http://community.goqc.com/main.wsi?group_id=327
"Actually, we just tell people we play neurotic rock, and when they ask
what we mean, we explain it this way: Our sets are schizophrenic - we
can play hard rock, reggae, pop, blues, jazz, and some country-infused
songs (although, heaven forbid we admit to playing Country music, though
"Heaven" was a hit on the country charts before it made the pop charts).
We have enough songs that we can tailor our sets to the particular
crowd or venue. When we play Fargo this weekend, people will see a
very different show from what they saw at Hunter's Club 2 weeks ago.
Because of that, it is difficult to tell people what they can expect
unless we know what show they are coming to. 'Versatile' is one way
to describe us, but the nervous schizophrenics that we are, 'neurotic'
is pretty apt." - David James
Jerry Heard at Sturgis on the River 2005 Rally.
- David James at Mojo's 8-3-05
- Jerry and David at Mojo's 8-3-05
- Robert Geiger at Mojo's 8-3-05
- David James at Sturgis
- Jerry Heard at Sturgis
- Mark Taber at Sturgis
- Robert Geiger at Sturgis
- Monica sitting in with NR at Mojo's 8-3-05
- Monica sitting in with NR at Bent River
- Monica sitting in with NR at Bent River
- Monica and Jerry at Bent River
Booking
David James
nervousrexrocks@gmail.com
721-7000
News
This Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9, Nervous Rex will be at Fargo Dance and Sports in Moline, performing for the last time with our very own Mark Taber. Mark is moving to California to follow his dream of becoming a session player. Join us this weekend at Fargo to see him off with a bang. We are playing from 9:30pm to 2:00am both nights. If you play an instrument or sing, you are welcome to come out and jam with us. This is going to be Mark's last opportunity to play with all of his friends on the local music scene, before he goes to L.A. to play with famous people.
Jerry, Robert, and I got together to discuss the future. We had been looking for someone to replace Mark, but finding a replacement and getting him/her up to speed would have meant cancelling gigs. As a trio, we already have a lot of stuff in our repertoire that we can play, and we are looking at a lot of new songs that we are really excited about. Considering that we have 3 weeks, and we put together our first show in one week, I think we are good to go. - David James
Press
You can say this about the four members of the Quad-City band Nervous Rex: They're quick learners. Circumstances a year ago forced three of the band members - keyboard player Mark Taber, drummer David James and bassist Jerry Heard - to learn 38 songs in a week. "Most bands take two months to do that, and we did it in a week," Taber said. The three were in the disbanded Whatever Blues Band, and picked up a Whatever gig with its original guitarist. When he wanted to go in more of a blues direction - and the band got invited back the next week - they called on Robert Geiger to take over on guitar. And he learned the band's repertoire in one night. "Lots of Mountain Dew," Geiger said.
Besides that, the band - all of which plays by ear - prides itself in taking songs hot of the radio and adding them to its setlist before the sheet music is available. They've done so with "Sunday Morning" and "This Love" by Maroon 5 and "Take Your Mama" by the Scissor Sisters. "That really helps us, because we can hear a brand new song on the radio and learn it," Heard said. "A song will just come out, and we'll be playing it at our next gig." All except Geiger switch off on vocals. Each has different influences, from Taber's piano-based pop to Heard's reggae to Geiger's blues and James' classic rock, with a dash of Spanish rock added. It has a growing list of signature songs, including covers of Blues Deluxe by Jeff Beck, Rollin' by Jimi Hendrix, Stuck in the Middle by Stealer's Wheel, Spirit of Radio by Rush, The Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band and The Beatles' Drive My Car. "We try to do covers in an original way," Taber said. "We do covers that no longer sound like the originals, but people still recognize them as covers." - David Burke
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The final stop of the night was at the Fargo in Moline to see Nervous Rex. This was the first time I had been in the Fargo since the middle 80's, except for a christmas party in one of the many party rooms. While House Arrest plays more 80's hard rock, and Nitrix is more danceable classic rock, I really don't know how to describe Nervous Rex. There's not much these guys don't play. One of the widest varieties I've ever heard in a band. Blues, Country, Classic Rock, Classic Hard Rock, to current hits fresh off the radio, they play it all, and very well. They play a lot of songs that I don't think have ever been covered by a local band which is very refreshing. Nervous Rex features David James on drums and vocals, Jerry Heard on bass and vocals, Mark Taber on keyboards and vocals, and Robert Geiger on guitar. Their playlist features such songs like Margaritaville/ The Joker/ Mustang Sally/ Rosanna/ Spirit Of Radio/ You May Be Right/ Beautiful Girls/ What Is And What Should Never Be/ Badhisattva, and many more. The song that impressed me the most was The Devil Went Down To Georgia. When they said they were gonna play this song I was thinking how are they gonna pull this off without the fiddle parts. Robert did an excellent job playing the fiddle parts on the guitar, which couldn't have been an easy task. That's what you get with Nervous Rex, very accomplished musicians. It was nice being in the Fargo and not have to listen to The Heat Is On, or Morris Day and the Time, which is what every band played at the Fargo back in the 80's. While I can't dance, I don't think my foot stopped moving the whole set of Nervous Rex's. Jim and I were even singing "Ride Sally Ride" at our table during Mustang Sally. I can't sing, but we couldn't help ourselves. Thanks guys, you capped our night out perfectly. - John Pepping, Rock Beat July 11, 2005
Partial Song List
- Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
- You May Be Right - Billy Joel
- Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
- Better Now - Collective Soul
- Crossroads - Cream
- Down On The Corner - Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Feelin' Alright - Dave Mason/Traffic/Joe Cocker
- Drift Away - Dobie Grey
- Cocaine - Eric Clapton
- Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
- Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
- Mama Let Him Play - Gerry Doucette
- Some Kind Of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
- The Breakup Song - Greg Kihn
- Sara Smile - Hall And Oates
- Hold My Hand - Hootie And The Blowfish
- Let Her Cry - Hootie And The Blowfish
- El Lado Oscuro - Jarabe De Palo
- Good Friends Along The Way - Jerry Heard/Nervous Rex
- Jackie Marie - Jerry Heard/Nervous Rex
- Our Way - Jerry Heard/Nervous Rex
- Slippin' Away - Jerry Heard/Nervous Rex
- Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix
- The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix
- Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett
- Satch Boogie - Joe Satriani
- The Ocean - Led Zeppelin
- What Is And What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin
- Hot Dog - Led Zeppelin
- Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz
- Gimme 3 Steps - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Sunday Morning - Maroon 5
- This Love - Maroon 5
- Rockin' In The Free World - Neil Young
- Smoking Gun - Robert Cray
- Bad Case Of Loving You - Robert Palmer
- Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
- New World Man - Rush
- Spirit Of Radio - Rush
- Black Magic Woman - Santana
- Stuck In The Middle - Steeler's Wheel
- Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
- Mary Had A Little Lamb - Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Pride And Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Superstition - Stevie Wonder
- Santeria - Sublime
- Birthday - The Beatles
- Come Together - The Beatles
- Drive My Car - The Beatles
- Taxman - The Beatles
- Jive Talkin' - The Bee Gees
- Hard To Handle - The Black Crowes
- Remedy - The Black Crowes
- December '63 - The Four Seasons
- Save It For A Rainy Day - The Jayhawks
- You Really Got Me - The Kinks
- Glad And Sorry - The Small Faces
- Mony Mony - Tommy James
- Vertigo - U2
- Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
- Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
- Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett
- I Thank You - Zz Top
- Tush - Zz Top