MAURY — Forming a band isn’t just a matter of finding a variety of singers and musicians and putting them together. The way they harmonize together just has to click.
At least that’s what Brian Stark has concluded.
After the death of a friend, Stark, 44, was one of a group helping that friend’s wife remodel her house. One of them, Ray Lota of Raleigh, was playing guitar. They sang a song together.
“We sang ‘If you could only see” by Tonic,” he said. “… We looked at each other and said, ‘This sounds pretty good.’ ”
That realization led to hours of practice and an opportunity to play regularly at a gig in Snow Hill.
“We found out we had similar musical tastes,” Stark said, “and our voices singing together matched very well.”
There was open mic night that weekend at the former Cheryl’s Place and they started with a list of songs that has grown into a large book.
They were a hit and were asked to come back. They had that magic when they sang together, where they “hit that groove,” knowing where the music would take them, he said.
To come up with a band name, they posted a request for suggestions on Facebook. A friend, Jim Gianolis of Boston, Mass., came up with the name StarkRayvenMad — encompassing both their names in it.
Stark was so excited about the name, he bought business cards and T-shirts with the name stamped on them.
Ray had a friend, Art Jeavons of Kitty Hawk, who wanted to play guitar with the two of them. He didn’t make it to their practice session, but showed up at Cheryl’s, looked briefly at the song list and casually said he could do that.
“I thought to myself, ‘That’s kind of cocky,’ ” Stark said. “He started playing and I almost fell out of my chair because he’s just so good. … He’s not just a guy that’s plays in his living room, like I do.”
They planned to play 40 songs for three hours the next weekend.
“And we ended up playing from 6 o’clock until, like, one in the morning,” Stark said, “virtually every song that we knew.”
When Cheryl’s closed Dec. 21, their professional appearances ended, temporarily. Stark said Cheryl’s may be reopening in another venue, and he’s been asked to bring in musicians.
StarkRayvenMad plans to return, as well as search out other venues, but possibly with a new guitarist. Stark, once intimidated by the instrument, has been practicing his acoustic guitar with its dark hole in the center looking to him like an eye.
“Where I sit,” he said with a whimsical smile, “I can see the eye looking at me, telling me ‘How dare you buy me and not play me.’ ”
Stark also plays percussion, having started with drums in high school. He was lead vocalist in a band that played at school dances and parties in New Hampshire.
“I was the only one with guts to sing in front of people,” he said.
Growing up, his family traveled quite a bit. Walstonburg was home to him and his parents, Mary and the late Daniel Stark.
Stark said singing and playing music is what he loves to do.
“To me, there’s no better feeling than the synchronicity that you get when three people are singing and playing,” he said. “It’s like a dream to me.”
Meet Me Monday
Who: Brian Stark
Age: 44
Residence: Maury
Work: Haas Group International
Band: StarkRayvenMad
Wife: Stephanie
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.