Mighty Purple adds color to struggling rock scene

Band names aren't often born among liquid Tide and late-night spin cycles. Then again, nobody ever claimed that doing the laundry isn't a creative, highly-specialized talent possessed only by a blessed, Snuggle-endowed few. Hey, there are people out there who have haphazardly placed a pair of bright purple pants in a washing machine, not knowing that they would soon become the proud owner of an instantly-coordinated lavender wardrobe. It happened to long-time Mighty Purple bassist Adrian Van De Graaff.

The M&M-munching, New Havenite bassist tended to wear outfits each day of high school that had a distinct purple hue. Of course, his concerned and genuine adolescent peers would ask, "What happened?" or "Adrian, how are you doing today?" while pretending not to eye his purple-tinted ensemble.

One fateful fall day in 1991, Van De Graaff's perpetually-optimistic response changed from, "I'm feeling mighty fine," to "I'm feeling mighty purple," giving birth to the name of his band.

Eventually, the attention paid to Van De Graaff's purple clothing began to fade, as people tuned into the refreshing, unadulterated, acoustic rock of one of New Haven's longest-standing local bands, the Mighty Purple, which made its debut in 1992 with the album Revolution.

Describing the Purple sound, Drummer Dave Keith called the band a "cross between Smashing Pumpkins and Simon & Garfunkel." Lead singer Steve Rodgers added that the major inspirations behind their music are feelings and people.

MP's performance at Toad's Place on Thurs., Sept. 17, proved that six years later, the purple people still have a place here. But while the show may have been representative of some of the more fertile aspects of New Haven music, both Van De Graaff and Rodgers spoke prior to the show about the scene's decline.

"It's been falling off," Van De Graaff explained. "It's not as good as it used to be, especially with the emergence of punk, and with no radio support in Connecticut."

Both he and Rodgers cited a general lack of support from the Yale community as one reason for the change. "Yalies tend to stay within Yale, but things can change for the better," Van De Graaff said.

Rodgers suggested that collaborating with the Yale music scene could be healthy for the New Haven music scene as a whole. "Yale students definitely need to be more involved in the music," he said. "We need to mix it up with other Yale bands to unify the New Haven scene."

Despite all the talk of the slow death of the New Haven music scene, Mighty Purple continued last week to provide fans with an energy-driven performance, following the sets of fellow locals Smoke the Prophet, Invisible Jet, and Splice.

The crystal clear sound and interwoven vocals of Steve Rodgers and his brother, guitarist Jon Rodgers, were amplified by the pulsating laser-lights and rhythm section of Keith and Van De Graaff. Purple opened the show with the "The Light," from their recently released self-titled acoustic album, and followed with the emotionally intense "Brother," from 1996's Black River Falls. The band continued with other songs from their Thursday set including "Flying Solo," and various Mighty Purple gems from the past. Among the crowd favorites was the unreleased song, "Breathe" and an untitled new song. Both contain the melodic pop vein featured in the band's prior efforts.

Feeding off the vibes of a large dancing and chanting crowd, Mighty Purple returned to the stage for a 20-minute encore, which featured the rare surprise of Van De Graaff on vocals and also a cover of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter."

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