Rockers dream big with a small label

Jim Abbott | Sentinel Pop Music Writer
Posted July 3, 2001

He's supposed to be doing an interview, but when Donovan Lyman is within reach of a
guitar he can't resist the temptation to perform.

So it is that Lyman - singer, songwriter and primal force behind Orlando modern rock
outfit Blue Meridian - is strumming on an acoustic guitar, taking requests for Neil Diamond
songs in the living room of his cozy home near Colonial Plaza.

A closet fan?

"I have a dream," Lyman says. "I want to do a show at Lake Eola in August, on a hot
August night, in a jumpsuit and a wig. I want to re-create the whole concert, with horns
and strings, and make it free."

If big ideas lead to big success, then Blue Meridian - which performs Wednesday at an
Independence Day celebration at Fort Mellon Park in Sanford - is already equipped for greatness.

A fixture on the local scene for six years, the band is working this summer on a national debut
CD, the first in a multiple album deal with fledgling Orlando independent label Phurst Degree Records.

After talking with major labels, the twentysomething Lyman and his bandmates - guitarist Mike Grier,
bassist Adam Sentz and drummer Kevin Kirkwood - are taking the calculated risk that small-label attention
is better than getting lost with a media giant.

It's an idea that is reinforced by Orlando's Seven Mary Three, which returned to independent
Mammoth Records this year after falling through the cracks at Atlantic. Likewise, Orlando's
My Friend Steve watched its career stall on a national level despite a powerful hometown buzz.

Such developments weren't lost on Lyman, a former radio programmer with an acute business sense.

"I'm happy with the whole concept of it," he says of the band's decision. "The idea of what an
indie has to offer appeals to me."

Blue Meridian is one of only three acts under contract to Phurst Degree, a company launched
by John Piccione, a businessman who is making the transition from commercial real estate to
the recording industry.

There's teen-pop group Triple Deep, which is on the bill for the Red, Hot & Boom event today
at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, and Kaley, a 14-year-old country singer that
Piccione envisions crossing over into mainstream pop.

A Fort Lauderdale resident who moved to Orlando six years ago, Piccione, 41, has cultivated
a variety of show business connections over the years.

He talks about meeting with Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin to bring the songwriter
aboard for Phurst Degree. The idea died, though, when Taupin wanted to base the company
in Los Angeles.

Piccione was adamant about Central Florida.

"If you could launch a group here and can be semi-successful with them breaking, I think it
would be a lot easier," Piccione says. "There's so much talent here in Orlando and so many
people involved in the music business for the past five or six years that have been successful
worldwide. Why go to L.A. when it's in your back yard?"

To get the acts into the national spotlight, Phurst Degree plans to invest heavily in promotion.
Piccione knows that it typically requires at least $200,000 to mount the kind of media blitz that
sells albums and gets a band played on radio.

"You need to be prepared to put together a well-structured promotional campaign, and it takes
money to do that," Piccione says. "So you really have to believe in your artists."

Piccione has been a believer in Blue Meridian since last fall when he saw the band performing
at a local event on a TV newscast. He was in the studio working on Triple Deep's debut album,
Version 1.0, now cracking the playlist at Orlando Top 40 station 106.7 FM (WXXL).

"I think that Donovan has a profound ability as a songwriter. We love his songs and his ability as
a lyricist. There are some artists out there that, when you hear them on the radio, you know exactly
who it is. There's a certain style in the vocals that is recognizable, and I think Donovan has that."

Likewise, Lyman is pleased with the company's approach. The band has limited its performance
schedule since opening for the Wallflowers in April at Hard Rock Live, rehearsing songs for an
album that should be in stores by Christmas.

The yet-to-be-titled release will be a blend of new songs such as "Higher Than My Vertigo" and
local radio staples such as "Sideways Silverjet." The band is grading its older songs through
meticulous fan surveys on its Internet site - Bluemeridian.net. " 'Helly' is huge with the girls," Lyman notes.

It will be marketing rather than a musical makeover that will propel the new album above the 2,500 sales
plateau of the band's three locally distributed releases, Lyman says.

"I want to see full-page ads in the trades and the best indie-promotion people doing what they do best,
getting the album to 100 radio stations out of the box. That's what will make us blow up."

Not that Lyman - ever the ambitious performer - discounts his role in the process:

"I don't care how corporate it gets, I'm always going to believe it depends on how good the song is.
The song can be bigger than the band and the label combined."


Jim Abbott can be reached at jabbott@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6213.
Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel