Being onstage is nothing new to a single member of Head Case. Dave Zienkiewicz (lead vocals), Joe Nelson (guitar, back-up vocals), John Golzari (guitar, back-up vocals), Earl Ruppert (bass) and Ryan Bencak (drums) have had previous individual experiences in local bands, but Head Case is a bit newer. The group has only been together since the summer of 2005. Still, the members have settled comfortably into their positions in Head Case, a cover band looking to be something more.
Based out of York, Pa., Head Case plays a show consisting mainly of modern rock. The band covers tunes from leading metal artists like Godsmack, Disturbed and Linkin Park. Songs like these make up a fairly large portion of Head Case’s shows. “We’re about 80 percent cover and about 20 percent original,” says Zienkiewicz.
Everyone in Head Case contributes to the band’s originals. Nelson, Golzari and Zienkiewicz generally start the songs out. By the end of the process, however, everyone has made an effort toward the final product.
But what happens when a cover band is rocking out with well-known songs and throws in something new? Zienkiewicz feels that crowds react positively to Head Case’s original work. “Sometimes we don’t even announce that it’s an original. We just go out there, we play it and then people are like, ‘What was that song? Who was that?’ and we’re just like, ‘Well, that was us.’”
The members of Head Case are so confident about the reactions they’ve received that they are currently trying to acquire a record deal. Zienkiewicz says the band is in discussions relating to this goal, but hasn’t yet established a deal. Despite that fact, Head Case has already recorded and released a CD of original songs, Outside Looking In, which the band regularly distributes at shows.
Zienkiewicz reinforces that no matter what Head Case plays, pleasing the crowd with a show of pure energy is the goal. Not only are the members of Head Case comfortable getting on stage and giving the crowd what it wants, Head Case is fueled by it. It’s somewhat of a cycle, Zienkiewicz explains: “The crowd feeds us and then we feed it back to them.”