Thanks to Voltaire, every aspiring lit-snob knows as well as any Red or White Sox fan that all things worth hoping for and working towards will pay off in due time (just don’t say that within earshot of a Cubs fan). As Voltaire himself would say, “Everything is settled. Everything is the necessary effect of some previous cause.” Hard work, the right attitude, persistence and (of course) some talent will do you right in the end. This is not something George Castanza of "Seinfeld" would go for, but, then again, he never really tried, did he?

      Flashback to this year’s Whammy Awards show, specifically the “after-show,” a bonus set designed to keep the smiles, beer and good times flowing after all the awards have been bestowed. This year’s show saw Definitely Gary taking the bonus stage looking a tad disappointed with the night’s events. For the third year in a row the boys left the awards show the most popular band to get entirely shut out. And who do they invite on stage to collaborate? None other than Stephen “Sankofa” Bryden, another uber-popular artist that went home that night sans the shiny stuff.

      This is hardly the first time the boys of Definitely Gary left an event feeling a bit shafted. If you feel like doing a bit of research, hit the whatzup Battle of the Bands section on the fortwaynemusic.com message boards.

      So here’s the thing: Casey Stansifer (bass, vocals), Jon Ross (tubs) and Zach Smith (guitar, vocals) just won the third annual whatzup Battle of the Bands, edging out their good-buddy Sankofa by a beard hair. Big deal, right? On the short drive from my downtown pigsty to the Clinton Street Wooden Nickel (a store Smith manages) I had a very clear thought. Still within 48 hours of the awards ceremony, it finally sets in how unlikely it is for, as Smith himself would say, a “heavy hitter” to win the battle. Rather than sticking around to ask superficial questions about non-existent cocaine habits and hookers, I drop off a questionnaire, buy a Long Winters album Smith has recommended to me and head home to figure out exactly how the Gary boys pulled it off. (For you audiophiles out there, The Long Winters album was decent enough, but not as good as their latest release, Putting the Days to Bed.)

      The aforementioned “heavy-hitter syndrome” is simple. Basically, already-established bands are upset due to either a less-than-hungry performance (resulting in a low score from the judges) or an all-too-comfortable approach to crowd gathering. This didn’t happen to Definitely Gary. Not even close, they wouldn’t let it. Instead, Definitely Gary did what no other band has been able to do by winning both the crowd and judge score in every round of the battle aside from the finals (Sankofa’s two point judge advantage in the finals couldn’t overcome Gary’s dominant crowd score). So really, it’s simple. The crowd, the judges – even the other bands and their fans – loved the funky trio. Jeremy Gerardot of Sketch Machine was very candid in his remarks about the band, hailing them as his “favorite band in the area! I love those guys. They have so much fun on stage. And it takes a certain kind of man to be confident up there wearing a bunny outfit.”

      One of the key elements to both the Gary’s success and drive is their shared affinity for comedy. Simply put, Stansifer, Ross and Smith like to laugh, and, even more so, they like to make others laugh.

      “I know for sure that in certain eyes and circles we are considered a novelty." says Smith about his band's modus operandi. "This is just who we are. We aren’t writing 'Disco Duck' or 'Monster Mash.' Does humor belong in music? Perhaps not. Does humor belong in our music? You bet it does.”

      Definitely Gary have their own brand of soul, and, if you can’t handle them using comedy as their catalyst, well, you probably need to lighten up. For example, the hilarious “My Baby Loves Fat Free Butter Spread” is brilliant, albeit in an ironic and even somewhat jaded sort of way.

      Getting back to the big night, the scene was one to remember. Looking across the crowd you’d find young folks, some of the young folks’ parents, camcorders, press-types, b-boys, metal-heads, rocker dads, dozens of Fort Wayne musicians (both active and ancient), studio producers, starter fan clubs and, more than anything else, the shiny glow of smiling faces and wide eyes. Front row during Brad Kelsey and Triple Tornado’s fiery blues set was a dancing Casey Stansifer. On the other side of the room was a Zen-like Sankofa plotting his attack as he slid into a home-made Definitely Gary shirt. Smack dab in the middle of the crowd for a good portion of the night were Kris Graft and Philip Kurut of Between the Rooms – hands in their pockets – easily the nicest guys in the room, as per their usual. The energy and sense of community was undeniable and, given the context of a competition, a very beautiful thing for a thriving new generation of scenesters with Stratocasters and greasy hair – or rather, turntables, gigantic bass drums and dinosaur costumes.

      “All these people here tonight are friends,” fellow judge Andrew Driscoll said to the doorman, a sentiment later extrapolated on by regular crowd-dweller R. Mike Horan via post-battle cyber banter, “I really dug the love between D. Gary, Sankofa and their fans. It’s no surprise they took the top two spots – that’s called ‘community.’”

      Sure, the scene is as active and friendly as it has been in recent memory, but what about diversity and originality? Looking at the line-up of this year’s final round, one couldn’t help but be impressed by where the local scene is right now. In one night, out of the 60 bands entered, the event ended up with a world-class blues rock outfit, a progressive-minded rapper, a funky hodgepodge rock trio and an explosive two-piece capable of bringing back memories of the once great Pixies, but with the loudest drums you’ve ever heard. No one – not the organizers, the bands, the staff at Columbia Street West or the fans in the audience – could have made a clear-headed bet on who was going to win until the words ever so slowly trickled out of the mouth of emcee Jerrdog of 98.9 The Bear. The quality, diversity, energy and positive attitude of the scene is so impressive, and Definitely Gary’s inner dynamic, more than anyone else’s right now, seems to very naturally epitomize all of the said qualities.

      So they're funny, talented guys – we've established that much. But long before the Whammy letdowns, funky albums (2003's Pleased to Meet You and their still recent release, The New Deal) and legendary battles, what exactly was Definitely Gary up to? Where did these weirdos come from?

      "Jon and I have been playing music together since middle school. We were in a jazz band and ended up forming a trio in high school called 'Ping,'" explained a seemingly always-perky Stansifer. "It began to seem like all the songs were either written by Jon and I or [original Ping member] Kevin. I can't think of one tune we actually wrote as a band."

      Kevin eventually moved to Boston, thus opening the doors for Smith to try his luck with Ping. According to Stansifer, they had to work awhile with their new member before things seemed right. "Soon enough we wrote a few songs together, changed our name and had an almost immediate response," he said.

      So that's how it all started, but how did the trio get to where they are today?

      As is the case with any successful band, it all starts with the songs. Stansifer had no problem elaborating on the band's creative process, "We have a method to our songwriting madness. Things usually start out with a simple idea from either Zach or myself. We then get together in Jon's living room and sort things out. After a half-hour or so of screwing around and bouncing ideas off each other, the song usually ends up writing itself. Very rarely do we write songs individually."

      With a slew of attention, awards and opportunity suddenly in their buttery palms, Smith said that the band plans to “split up some of the prize money and save the rest for the band.” Later he added, “We have things in the works.” As far as the generous studio time offered by producer Jon Gillespie (at his Monastic Chambers recording studio) goes, Smith assured the band’s fans that they plan to “wait until there are 10 to15 tracks ready to go before we schedule anything,” continuing with an assured “we like to be prepared.”

                        When asked specifically about the next step for the band, Smith started with a firm announcement, “I think we are done with competitions. We have played Indianapolis quite a bit and would love to play Chicago or Cleveland.”

                        For the time being the Gary boys are keeping their big plans a secret. However, Stansifer did say that the band "has not changed our plans at all since the big win. We hope to continue putting on entertaining shows and simply creating music that makes us happy," adding, "but really, that's what we've been doing all along."

                        This is all fine and dandy, but how can a band so original, developed, successful and (most of all) fun not think about trying for a little more?

                        When the obligatory question about major-label deal aspirations came up, Smith did his best to speak for the group, “With guys like Sufjan [Stevens] writing, playing, recording and publishing their own works and achieving the success they do, it’d be foolish to actively pursue a ‘deal’ at this point. There has never been a big push to ‘get signed.’ It’s almost like a sign of weakness.” As Dignan (from Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket film) would say, "Smart."

                        In addition to their Monastic Chambers studio time and whatzup-issued $2,500 prize check, the Gary took home $500 in advertising credit with whatzup, a $400 gift certificate complete with memberships for all three band members from the Jam Crib and the collective respect and admiration of a thriving community of arts-admiring steadies. Not a bad week for the Gary guys, who are no doubt already looking forward to the next Whammy Awards show, slated for March 2007.

      Due to its lengthy format (spanning nearly six months from beginning to end) the conclusion of the battle came with mixed emotions. Surprisingly, the judges and organizers – whom you could find stage-side every night – seemed just as tired and emotional as the band members when it was all said and done. Driscoll put it best with a funny-yet-emotional rant the next day at whatzup’s 10 Year Anniversary Party at the Botanical Conservatory, “I didn’t really even realize it was all over until I saw Zach onstage, seemingly the last man standing, ragged and tired, but stylish anyways. He said ‘it’s finally f***ing over.’ Being there each week was almost like a sitcom. We had our devout regulars like Brenn Beck (Left Lane Cruiser) and Jake Wilhelm (Waking Abbott) who were there each week despite being knocked out in previous rounds. They were there to support the scene despite being upset just nights earlier. That’s what it’s all about.”

      Continuing his analogy a few beers and funny tears later was Driscoll, “This is like a cliffhanger to me. I feel like I just watched ‘Lost Season 2’ and have to wait until next year to see what happens to all these people. My friends. It’s sad, how am I going to see all my friends now that the Battle of the Bands is over?”

      For the time being, the closest action to the BOTB you’re likely to find will take place on October 3 at Columbia Street West when Superhunk (a stoner-rock band fronted by Gary’s Jon Ross), Sankofa and Definitely Gary all take the stage. But really, there’s only one Battle of the Bands.

      And there's only one Definitely Gary. “Those guys [Definitely Gary] are three goofballs playing the Clutch song Clutch never recorded," said runner-up Bryden, who will be featured on these pages next week. "The night they played the semis, I attended and went home shortly after their set. [At this point, Sankofa was already a finalist, joined by Definitely Gary after their winning performance that night.] I hit the bed at midnight and couldn’t fall asleep until 4 a.m. My mind wouldn’t shut up and my heart wouldn’t slow down. Standing on the stage with them at the very end was all I could have hoped for. I was up on stage with my friends.”

      Kind words from a notoriously hard-to-impress Sankofa. The prizes just keep coming. The hard work and persistence have finally paid off, just like ol’ Voltaire said they would.

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