Artist Biography
by Steve Huey
Although Maryland power-poppers
the Greenberry Woods
seemed to have the right ingredients for success -- songwriting and
musical talent, a quickly secured major-label contract, and a positive
reaction from power pop fans -- the band self-destructed after only two
albums. Songwriters/vocalists/guitarists
Ira Katz and
Matt Huseman formed
the Greenberry Woods
at the University of Maryland after meeting in 1988 as sophomores and
forging a songwriting partnership. The lineup was completed by
Huseman's twin brother
Brandt on bass and drummer
Miles Rosen. After
Katz and
Huseman
graduated, they moved back to Baltimore and made an immediate splash on
the local scene. Band manager John Lay, whose previous clients included
Squeeze and
Robyn Hitchcock, was well-connected and able to secure
the Greenberry Woods a deal with Sire in February 1993 after a show in New York. Their debut album,
Rapple Dapple,
was released in 1994, and the single "Trampoline" garnered a fair
amount of radio airplay. Supporting tour slots with such acts as
Deborah Harry and
the Proclaimers
followed, but inexperience hurt the band, as their live rapport had not
quite been developed enough prior to their signing. Support from Sire
dwindled following its move from Reprise to Elektra, and tensions arose
in the band due to the Husemans' side project
Splitsville, undertaken with
Woods guitar tech
Paul Krysiak. Matters became worse during the recording of 1995's
Big Money Item,
as the presence of three songwriters with their own individual
ambitions took its toll on group harmony. Sire released the band from
its contract in 1996, leaving the Husemans free to pursue
Splitsville; meanwhile,
Katz formed a new band, Wonderfool, while
Rosen quit music to become a mortgage banker.
