A Gift Of Music

Royal Oak's Hope Orchestra celebrates the release of a new CD.

While at Maccabees, he teamed up
in 1988 with three co-workers and
Special to The Jewish News
formed the group Of All Things.
"There, in the confines of a life
ary Sosnick is glad to be
insurance
company, we formed a rock
back from the wilderness.
and roll band," Sosnick said. "It seems
Following a motorcycle trip
unlikely, but it happened."
to Canada, the chief song-
The band dissolved, but Sosnick
writer and guitarist for the Royal Oak-
and
its lead singer, Lithuanian emigre
based Hope Orchestra found battling
Asta, continued in a fairly
thick swarms of mosquitoes
C legendary local group,
and biting black flies to be
Walk the Dogma, with
more difficult than launch-
Cary Gluckman, who now
E
ing the group's third record-
pounds the drums for Jill
ing, Gift. The alternative
Jack.
That group stayed
pop band will celebrate its
together
for a longer
release with a party at the
stretch
but
also dissolved.
Magic Bag in Ferndale on
Again, Asta and Sosnick
July 17.
stayed together, forming
While the clouds of bugs
the Hope Orchestra in
are gone, Sosnick and his
1990 with three other
bandmates face the same
members:
lead guitarist
struggle that other musical
George Schuster, bassist
groups have measured up
Joe Stover and drummer
against since the dawn of
Charles Miller.
the recording industry —
In addition to his role as
gaining wider acceptance.
guitarist,
Sosnick adopted
The band built up a
the
role
of
chief songwriter,
local following in the past
a
position
which
allows
few years with its first
him
to
draw
on
his
vari-
recordings, Lingo and
ous
and
decidedly
diver-
The Hope Orchestra: Lead guitarist George Schuster, bassist Joe Stover, lead singer Asta and guitarist Gary
Detroit Head, as well as
gent interests — which
Sosnick. Not pictured is drummer Charles Miller.
with performances at a
include everything from
number_of local, state and
motorcycling to politics to
regional venues.
playing
squash.
college
days
studying
ence. "If you
At one festival in Bowling Green,
For Gift, he wrote songs about
geography at Wayne
can't get a siz-
the band played to its largest audience
Central
American lovers, ecology, a
State
University.
able
crowd
to
— 5,000 people — in part because it
motorcycle
trek and a night at the
He
graduated
and
enjoy
your
was sandwiched between Leon
dance
club.
obtained
work
in
the
music, you are
Redbone and Junior Walker and the
"These are not simple love songs
field of graphic arts, a
doing something
All-Stars.
that
teenagers can understand. They
job
unrelated
to
his
wrong," he said.
But the group's following has failed
make
you think a little bit," he said,
degree
but
in
tune
Sosnick has
to go national, a problem Sosnick
conceding
that the mantra of the
with
some
inborn
even
gained
a
lit-
attributes to the bandmates' insistence
recording
industry
is to make songs
interests.
Sosnick's
tle
notoriety.
on trying to "make it" from-Their cur-
simpler for the target audience —
newfound
career
"One
Sunday
rent base.
retord-buying teenagers — to grasp.
took him to
morning, I was
"One of the problems we have is
"The executives tell you to keep it
Maccabees
Life
going for bagels
that we are from Detroit. In theory it
simple.
That is great, but after a while
Insurance,
where
he
at the bagel facto-
is an asset. Motown. People know it
you
realize
that you want to use your
created
brochures
and
other
ry and one of the
all over the world," he said.
brain."
sales
materials.
other customers recognized me from a
"But the reality of the situation is
Sosnick and bandmates look for-
that the music business is centered
ward
to using their brains and talents
around New York and Los Angeles. In
The Hope Orchestra performs S p.m. Friday, July 17, in a CD release
this
summer
during a Midwestern
order to attract interest, you need to
party at The Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward. Ave., Ferndale. $5 cover. (248)
tour to promote the album. Tentative
be in a market outside of Detroit.
544-3030. For more information on the band, visit its Web site at
dates have been scheduled in Chicago,
"Our band members are dedicated
http://www.concentric.neti-lopeorch. The Web site includes a listing of
Traverse
City, Cincinnati and
to their families and they don't want
stores that carry the band's CDs, concert dates and an order form for CDs
Cleveland
as well as a slew of other
to move," he said. "It can be done
and band-related merchandise.
smaller
towns.
El
from here, but it is a lot [harder]."

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR

7/10
1998

76

Still, Sosnick is happy with the suc-
cess the band has achieved thus far,
breaking even on both previous
recordings. "People don't understand
that breaking even is considered a suc-
cess. It means that we aren't in the
hole," Sosnick said.
Additionally, he defines success as
being able to appeal to a large audi-

gig I played the night before," he said.
"But that doesn't happen every day."
The stages of the metro Detroit
region are the end of a whirlwind life
path for Sosnick. The son of Irving
and Joan Sosnick of Detroit, a bar
mitzvah at Adat Shalom Synagogue
and a graduate of Mumford High
School in the 1970s, Sosnick spent his