Ellington

Although Jacksonians know the Church Keys for their fun performances and eccentric humor, their rare and custom-made instruments convey their musical depth and acute focus.

The Church Keys is a funky, fun-loving band with an eye, ear and capacity to play seriously good music in a not-so-serious way.

This Jackson band of fathers has five members: Kelly Adams (bass/vocals), Chris Crothers (drums), DeMatt Harkins (guitar and vocals), John Scanlon (guitar and vocals), and Nathan McHardy (percussion), who just joined the band a few months ago. McHardy and Crothers are fathers; Scanlon and Adams recently learned they are expectant fathers.

Adams, Crothers, Harkins and Scanlon joined forces in 2008 with a former drummer to form the Church Keys. However, the band's history lies in two other bands. The way in which they came together is a "cosmic alignment of the stars," Scanlon says.

"Dematt Harkins and I sort of had an acoustic duo around town called Meat and Greet. We did mostly covers, and it was a side project for both of us. We both had primary bands," says Scanlon, 36. "When my primary band began to sort of fizzle out, we took on a lot of the covers that Meat and Greet did, and we renamed ourselves the Church Keys."

They took the band name from their ardent love of good beer. A church key, as they explain, is also a bottle opener—originating from the days of prohibition when the mention of alcohol had to be discreet.

Crothers, a Gulf Coast native, joined them in February of 2008 to form the current group after the previous drummer left the band. The four made an immediate connection, given their similar music influences and love for beer.

"We thought it was appropriate because we've been accused of being beer snobs and music snobs," Scanlon says. "When Chris showed up, he had a bottle of oatmeal and coffee beer. It was very appropriate. I knew he was going to fit right in."

"We are steeped in barley, if you will," says Crothers, 40.

McHardy, 41, is a long-time Jackson resident. He became a member of the band less than a year ago and was an instant asset, being musically talented as well as a home brewer and owner of Briarwood Wine and Spirits. He now adds the percussion and auxiliary sounds to the band.

While maintaining lives and families outside of the band, when these guys come together, they convey their group dynamic through performances in local venues.

Each Tuesday, they get together at Harkins's house and practice for upcoming gigs. There, they share a few funny stories about the work days and evenings with family, and then they get down to business. A typical rehearsal begins with someone starting a little riff, and then, one by one, each of the others picks it up and adds his own instrument into the mix. They have unofficially adopted the "hey-hole" practice technique of the band Phish. They describe it as finding a hole in the rhythm and filling it in with a riff. No one overlaps sound with another member. Soon their rehearsal space will be transferred to McHardy's home. Harkin's is soon to be married and will be moving into a new home with his future wife.

The Church Keys are "music nerds," Crothers says, with a quirky sense of humor. The band's recent music video for the song "Day and Night," filmed with the Crossroads Film Society, includes a food fight that leaves an entire deck covered in mutilated food as well as various sexual innuendos under the guise of a passionate love for Twinkies and mashed potatoes. However, each song the band writes and plays is done so with careful attention, talent and intense regard for the final product being a first-rate piece of music and performance.

"In the writing, there is an element of some experimental, almost syncopated music that isn't mainstream, and I think that is what throws a curveball to a lot of folks. They catch a melody that they really like, but behind it there is a lot of stuff going on rhythmically," Crothers says. "Just the way it all comes together, we are just kind of uniquely us."

The Church Keys are not your average rock ‘n' roll band. They have a quirky vibe and a variety of musical influences that render their overall sound and persona difficult to pinpoint but easy to enjoy. In August of this year, they intend to record and produce a record at Tweed Studios in Oxford. It will include 14 original songs and will be available on iTunes.

"We are just five guys that have similar, eclectic taste in music who make time to do this outside of our professional lives and our family lives for a reason," Scanlon says. "We have to have that outlet, that extension of ourselves in our lives."

Catch the Church Keys at 6 p.m. July 30 at Fuego Mexican Cantina, a Club Fire restaurant extension, immediately following Fire's "Top of the Hop." Visit their website at http://www.thechurchkeys.com.