A Different Kind of Dad Rock
- Haley Ramsey
- 25 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Tawny suede cowboy boots gently tap to the beat, as the man with a white Buffalo Bill mustache hunches over a metal chair in a nearly forgotten corner of the room.
He’s only here because the band needed his roughed-up public address system. He’s not a part of The Superstation, though; he gave up touring when he got married and had two sons.
“We started a family, we got a real child and the rest is history,” said Randy Campbell.
Ian Campbell, the reserved man’s son, performs last-minute equipment checks and bounces between his dad sitting contentedly and his three eager band members geeking over sitcoms most people left behind 40 years ago.
“They play TV shows,” said Randy Campbell, which is why he doesn’t join in, despite his background as a touring bassist.
But when Ian Campbell was in high school and became friends with The Superstation drummer Sonny Harding, the teens played music with the old man, bonding over classic rock from the ‘60s to the ‘90s.
Now the band operates with a strict setlist of TV show themes only, from “Party of Five” to “Malcolm in the Middle.” They settled on the concept after being asked to play at a ‘90s tribute show nine or 10 years ago, as Ian Campbell remembers.
“One of us thought, ‘What about TV show songs?’ And so we started doing that. It just kind of took off from there.”
Jerrod McBrayer, who comes alive behind his cherry-colored guitar, only plays themes he and his bandmates have a penchant for, he said.
“I think our rule is that, like, we'll only do it if we actually like it,” said McBrayer.
“These are the songs that weirdly mean a lot to us, just as much as, like, some of our favorite bands.”
Of the songs they actually like, several have hit home with fellow nostalgics on Spotify. They’ve amassed over 800,000 on their most popular cover, “Everywhere You Look” from “Full House.”
“It's wild how this has taken up. We all wish we had done this when we were younger, so we could have done something more with this, but it's still super fun,” said Ian Campbell.
Bassist Oscar Velez is punk rock all the way, but found a niche in spinning TV show themes into heavier tunes in McBrayer’s Nashville, Tennessee studio.
“When we started taking on these songs, like Power Rangers, you know, not only did I grow up listening to it, but that song rips,” said Velez.
“Go Go Power Rangers” composer Ron Wasserman has heard an array of covers since the song’s 1994 release, but still prefers the classic sound, he said.
“It just survives almost in any format, but for me, my heart's always going to be that it should rock as hard as possible.”
Despite never hearing of The Superstation’s rendition, Wasserman thinks he’d enjoy their interpretation.
“It's very, very flattering and lovely and wonderful, and I'm glad to be part of, you know, the legacy still living on,” he said.
As thick guitar riffs fill the room, the band members each transform, not unlike the Power Rangers, and dig into their hour-long set.
Among the crowd of student journalists, photographers and advisers, scattered rows quickly formed, starting with avid headbangers in the front, followed by groups of friends swaying back and forth, occasionally joining in on the lyrics they recognized.
Randy Campbell drifts to the back of the room, now bopping his head, and only looks away from the band to take a swig from his half-empty Coke Zero.
Cameras in hand, multimedia contestants rush side to side, struggling to match the band’s buzzing energy.
A mop-haired blonde student thrashes next to the grey-haired event organizer who recites every lyric with ease.
Southeast Journalism Conference president Katie Baxter wanted to book a group that both the young students and the Generation X educators would appreciate.
“I wanted it to be enjoyable for everybody. I wanted it to be fun. I wanted it to be outside the box. And so finding something a little niche really did that,” she said.
The theme of the convention, “From Front Porches to Front Pages: Southern Storytelling,” also had an impact on booking The Superstation.
“We think about telling stories. Maybe we're telling stories about our childhood. We're telling stories about growing up, little moments in our lives, and so it just, to me, struck that chord of having that connection, that nostalgia, storytelling.”
Passing the show’s crest, the band winds down with “I’ll Be There for You” from Generation X’s beloved story of community, “Friends.”
Packing up their precious stringed instruments, the band chatters about who’s cooking dinner and who will stay the night.
Velez revels in the energy reverberating from students and teachers alike.
“My little slice of heaven,” he sighs.
Ian Campbell's father reclaims his seat, once again undisturbed. Never quite breaking focus, his eyes wander between the band and the integral PA system.
“Well, I like to take a little bit of credit.”
This article was written by Haley Ramsey