Imagine trying to concentrate while scores of college girls repeatedly beg for \Sex at Six"" at the top of their lungs. Should a person give in to the demands, or hold out to make the performance all the more satisfying? The Profits, an independent band comprised of four talented Madison locals, often face this predicament at their concerts.
Naturally, Mike Drohomyreky, Scott Lamps, JP Roney and Benjamin Schaeffer eventually oblige their fans and play their popular and often-requested song, ""Sex at Six."" Drohomyreky and Roney, both seniors at UW- Madison, took this semester off and Lamps graduated in 2003 with a degree in music composition. The Profits have a sound Roney describes as ""Jack Johnson and John Mayer with vocal harmonies.""
But beneath this light pop-influenced sound lies a deep well of musical knowledge accrued from many years of education, experimentation and collaboration. Each member of The Profits adds their own musical flavor to the group.
Guitarist and vocalist Drohomyreky, 24, says his background is ""more rock/punk oriented,"" but that he can definitely appreciate other genres such as Dave Matthews, who can ""get across to you without being a heavy-metal rocker.""
Roney, 21, who also plays guitar and sings, attributes his vocal prowess to a case of colic he contracted as an infant. He mentions Pavarotti suffered the same ailment, which is believed to have strengthened his voice. Roney names his sources of inspiration as Joni Mitchell, Coldplay and John Mayer, and says the band is ""the best thing in my life.""
Lamps, the 24-year-old bassist with a penchant for wearing flip-flops (when he wears shoes at all), has been playing upright bass for four years. His influences include Tom Waits, Jon Brion and John Coltrane, as well as Latin, Indian and African music.
Percussionist Schaeffer, who has drummed for a decade, is influenced principally by Latin music, specifically citing artists Tito Puente and Giovanni Hidalgo. He also admires contemporary musicians such as Carter Beuford and Tony Williams.
Drohomyreky explains he and Roney met in Baraboo, Wis., where they both grew up. In Madison, the pair began performing cover songs for tips on State Street and eventually saved about $500 to cut a demo. Later, with the addition of Lamps on upright bass and one of Drohomyreky's co-workers playing percussion, they began to perform live and produced an album entitled The Sign of the Dollar.
As Lamps, Drohomyreky and Roney buckled down, their drummer became too busy to commit to the band. ""We were getting really serious and putting all our time into it ... we felt like we wanted a fourth member of our band,"" Drohomyreky recalls.
After over a year of playing without a permanent drummer, The Profits fourth member simply walked up to them at a student music festival they played this fall and volunteered.
""I asked them if they had ever thought of getting a percussionist and I gave them my phone number,"" Schaeffer says. After being with The Profits for less than a week, Schaeffer successfully played a sold-out show at Luther's Blues with them and the group was complete.
The Profits' next hurdle was gaining and preserving a strong fan base. They do all their own promotional work and truly have a knack for networking. A major aspect of their promotional strategy involves their Web site, www.theprofits.net, where fans can find tour information and download current songs.
The band regularly plays and promotes in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Profits have a show at Luther's Blues Jan. 28, 2005, and are eager to perform in Madison, where they say their fans are like intimate acquaintances.
""Our fan base really grew this semester when we were able to put more emphasis on it,"" Drohomyreky says.
This added emphasis is due to the fact the band members have made music their full-time jobs. ""This is our life,"" explains Drohomyreky, ""We're kind of living our dream-except for the whole being really hellish-poor.""
