If there’s a band in this town that personifies the common man, it may very well be Definitely Gary. That’s not to say that these guys aren’t unique, it’s just that they’re down-to-Earth and easy to talk to. With one listen to their admittedly weird mix of grooving guitar rock, groovier funk and punchy jazz, you’ll be scratching your head and bobbing it simultaneously. Humble, hilarious and always self-deprecating, Definitely Gary’s secret to happiness is the ability to laugh at themselves.

Although they wear their sense of humor on their collective sleeve, make no mistake; these guys are extremely talented musicians. Guitarist/vocalist Zach Smith joined grade school buddies Casey Stansifer (vocals, bass) and Jon Ross (drums) in 2000 to form Definitely Gary. Stansifer’s manic basslines, Ross’ complex rhythms and Smith’s dirty guitar and schizophrenic vocals meld together, resulting in some kind of Frankenstein music monster made up from pieces of Primus, Frank Zappa and old Jane’s Addiction.

“Casey and I have been friends since third grade,” said Ross. “We had a band, and we started writing songs with some other guy, then he left. He flaked out on us and went to Boston, so we picked up Zach.”

“We defaulted to Zach,” said Casey, initiating the long line of friendly insults that would be exchanged during the course of the interview. “Zach took some work,” Ross added.

Whatever “work” was done on Smith, it seems to be paying off, in a musical sense, anyway.

“We know we’re not going to make money playing original songs in this town, so when we do practice, if we choose to write a song, it’s pretty quick,” said Smith. “Or, sometimes it’s not pretty quick, sometimes it takes a while, but those usually end up on the cutting room floor. We just get together, do something, and have fun with it.”

Ross is sure to point out that they are by no means a parody act.

“We’re not writing Weird Al songs,” he said. “You know when you hear something that’s weird, but it’s kind of cool at the same time? [That’s what we shoot for.]”

Definitely Gary’s lyrical inspiration ranges from rodeo clowns to deja vu to puppets from defunct local kids’ shows.

“We have a song about Froggy’s Pad,” said Smith, referring to the rubber frog hand-puppet made famous among local 20-somethings through the now-canceled WFFT kids’ show, “Happy’s Place.”

“I worked with [the voice of] Froggy, yeah. We were going to get him out for a show sometime, but it just didn’t work out.”

“We were beaten.”

After Definitely Gary’s second-round elimination during the recent whatzup Battle of the Bands, a small controversy was ignited, primarily by some of Definitely Gary’s loyal fans.

“We were beaten,” insisted Ross, answering the question of whether or not they felt robbed after they were eliminated earlier than expected.

Stansifer made their views on the matter even more profound, adding “We were defeated by the bands who defeated us.”

Ross continued, “We got mad about getting beat, but we’re not mad at any of the bands. You know, there was a lot of stuff being said. There were a lot of people [saying things], and we’re not affiliated with any of them.”

Once again, Stansifer chimed in, “We’re the last band that anyone’s going to piss off. We love everyone. We’re like The Beatles.”

While they are perhaps more like The Beatles in the sense that they have love, love, love, as opposed to being “bigger than Jesus,” there’s no doubt that they can put on show befitting of the name “The Fab Three.” Although they were eliminated from the battle of the bands early, it wasn’t because of a lacking performance. In fact, they earned a judges’ score of 89 out of 100, the highest score to that point in the competition. With a high judges’ score combined with the interpretive dancing of a surprisingly legit-looking Star Wars Stormtrooper and Tusken Raider, you’d think that they were a shoe-in. However, the audience vote swayed out of their favor.

“We did rock everyone’s ... asses off more than we’ve rocked in quite a long time,” Ross wrote on the FortWayneMusic.com message boards shortly after their loss. “It was quite possibly one of the best shows we’ve ever put on, and I did have an absolute blast. If you weren’t there, I do feel sorry for you and your non-rocked off face.”

Although the band took the loss in stride, there was still the slightest hint of regret from Smith, even nearly four months after their elimination.

“I blame Cookiepuss for not playing that night,” he said half-jokingly. “If there was a four band spread, we might have had a better chance ... but they broke up. I’m just saying the ratio would’ve been better.”

“[If they would’ve played], then we would’ve lost to them!” Ross shot back, laughing.

Music or kettle corn

It’s obvious that the men of Definitely Gary play because they simply love music. At their recent show for the Midwest Original Music Showcase at Columbia Street West, there were only about 15 people present. Regardless, those 15 people were there to see Gary, and the band played for them. If you were to judge only by their stage presence, with no indication as to how many people were actually watching them, you’d think they were playing to a packed house. With on-stage banter that was actually entertaining, impromptu “clapping contests” and, of course, energetic music, it’s hard not to have a good time at a Definitely Gary show.

“We’ve never worked so hard for such little money,” Stansifer said. “But, it’s either this or ... you know the guys who make the kettle corn at Johnny Appleseed? It’d be one of the two. Yeah, otherwise, I’d be the guy mixing the kettle corn. You have to wear a hat and pants all the time. I want to wear shorts.”

“He makes kettle corn, I make chain mail,” added Ross. He continued in a more serious tone, “It’s fun, though. We never talk about quitting.”

Ross in particular is keeping busy with music, as he is currently the hired drumming hand of four different bands, all of which happen to be some of the most renowned in the area.

“[Definitely Gary are] friends with three or four other bands in town because we all share the same drummer,” Smith laughed. “It’s true: Us, the Brown Bottle Band, [The Mike] Conley Band and [The Legendary] Trainhoppers. We’re just friends with Sturm because we’re all dorks, music dorks.”

It’s also worth mentioning that Ross just returned from San Francisco, after a recording session with the Trainhoppers and the legendary producer, Scott Mathews.

On the music scene

Although Definitely Gary has been known to play popular Indianapolis venues such as Birdy’s and The Rock Lobster, they are drawn to the close-knit Fort Wayne music scene.

“I really like the Fort Wayne music scene,” Stansifer said, almost as if he felt like he would have to defend himself after admitting such a thing. “I mean, everyone is interconnected, and they play shows with whomever, you know what I mean?”

Ross brought up an example.

“Mid City’s turned into the meeting ground nowadays for musicians. On Sunday nights, the Taj Maholics are there, and there are always a ton of people there.”

Stansifer continued, “Yeah, you’ll see the Taj Maholics, then Sturm will get up, and then the Brown Bottle Band will get up, and then somebody else will get up. It’s a very friendly environment.”

Although they admire Fort Wayne’s music scene, they recall that the best Definitely Gary moment happened outside of town, albeit with a now defunct Fort Wayne band.

“[That show] in Decatur, the one with Strut Train ...” Ross began to recount, reaching back into his memory.

“Oh, that was monumental,” Stansifer said, finishing Ross’ thought as if they were an old married couple. “In the summer of 2001, we played a show with Strut Train in Decatur. It was the most kick-ass show ever.”

Ross continued, “It was some shitty old bar that they had just gutted, and I knew the guy who owned it... There were like 200 kids in this shitty old bar.”

“They [Strut Train] got there. It was a [crappy] bar, and they were feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing, but it rocked. That place rocked.”

That seems to be the primary mission of Definitely Gary: to rock. However, Smith added another goal: “to get people to listen.” One way they plan on meeting both of those goals is through the release of their upcoming album, The New Deal, which is set to be released this December.

Outside of “rocking” and getting people to listen, what’s the point of Definitely Gary?