PA Musician Magazine: August 2004

by RC Noll

I caught up with Screamin' Daisys at the Coal Hole in Shamokin. I had been hearing and reading how 'great' and 'awesome' and just about every other over-used positive adjective to describe a band for the past few years. Thought, gee, I better get them on the cover as soon as possible.

Who are the Screamin' Daisys? They are a band that have come up with a formula that seems to be pleasing almost everyone Ña hard thing to do. Greg Deshong and Steve Archibald had been playing in various projects, usually male fronted, that just didn't stand out. Realizing that they wanted to create, and be in a band that offered something different from the norm, they kept fine tuning members until they got the combination that pleased each of them musically which in turn enables them to please their audiences (both male and female) thus pleasing the club owners with the huge crowds they continue to draw.

Steve happened to stop in at the Landisville Hot Z Pizza one night when they were featuring Karaoke and discovered the talented Missy Hernandez and later Unique. The girls love to sing and perform. As soon as they had the musical talent of the guys behind them they started singing. Instantly Steve and Greg realized that this was the sound they were striving for rock-hip/hop -rhythm & blues wrapped up in a pleasing package. The sound created as a unit became the Screamin' Daisys that continues to grow in popularity at a phenomenal rate.

Once one has experienced a Screamin' Daisys' show the bug bites and one wants more. One show just doesn't cut it. The popular tunes that they have chosen to cover keep going on in your head long after the plug is pulled and everyone has gone home. So, as soon as the new day appears one finds oneself digging out the schedule card to see where they're going to be next. Once again when the weekend rolls around one finds themselves wherever Screamin' Daisys is going to be. What makes the band so addictive? Is it the two 'awesome' front ladies (Missy Hernandez and Unique) giving it their all, singing in harmony that just flows; or could it be the good looking and talented musicians on guitar (Greg Deshong), bass (Steve Archibald), keys (Doug Kimberling), and drums (Oz Christ). Hmmm, maybe it's the light show or per chance the great sound. My guess would be a combination of all the preceding statements.

Screamin Daisys as a unit loves to 'perform'. Performance is the key. Anyone who has a degree of talent can get up and do some songs and do them justice; but when you can do a multitude of songs in a wide variety of musical styles and draw people into your performance, that's when a band establishes a following which is the fuel that keeps any band performing and continuing on. Talking to the band they all agreed that it is the fans that make it all worth while. Watching their reaction from the stage and getting them to participate in the performance is their goal. They want the audience to enjoy the show. They realize that people come out to have a good time and to cut loose and that is what Screamin' Daisys does best, cut loose and have a good time.

At exactly 10:30 Screamin' Daisys took control of the stage and began to do what they know, perform. This was their first night at the Coal Hole and it was impressive to watch as Missy and Unique drew the crowd onto the dance floor. Unique asked people to come on out and dance. Missy's response, "don't worry I have it covered." She takes her little ole' self and her wireless mic down to the dance floor and starts dancing (the girl can dance). Almost immediately Screamin' Daisys' "groupies from Berwick" (they told me so in the ladies room earlier) join in and the dance crowd continues to grow as Missy hops back up on stage and continues to dance with Unique. I was impressed how they wooed the crowd right into front and center of the stage. Meanwhile, Steve, Oz and Greg back the girls to perfection and give them all their energy. I hate it when you go to a 'live' show and you can't hear the vocals because the amps are so loud you can only hear garbled lyrics. In this group the vocals stand out and the music enhances the vocalists. The music is there it's just your ears enjoy it more (at least mine do). I like being able to hear the lyrics.

Screamin' Daisys continued to perform song after song in their first set. They started out with "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" which obviously they all do truly love 'rock 'n' roll. Later a fun tune "Obla Di, obla da" that had a majority of the crowd joining in and a few songs later "Scandalous" which was, for lack of a better word, 'awesome'. At one point Missy sang a song that put me in mind of Norah Jones. A rhythm and blues tune that she nailed. Screamin' Daisys is an enjoyable show. I had to step out quick to replace my battery in my camera (duh) but I was glad, because when I returned they were on break so I got to stay for another set. The crowd continued to grow and when Screamin' Daisys returned to the stage they once again got the crowd movin' and groovin' with them.

I had asked the band earlier to jot down what being in Screamin' Daisys meant to them, their replies follow:

Unique Lee Nyce, "Listening to a CD or album doesn't bring the reality of talent, emotion and excitement to a person like it does when you're right there watching and listening. I eat, sleep, and breathe music. I find myself more alive on stage than anywhere else. I love being able to share my gift with so many people. Knowing that they enjoy it just as much as I do, and knowing that I get the privilege of working with four other very gifted musicians makes it twice as fun.

Missy Hernandez, "To see the look on people's faces when they're enjoying your voice is an unbelievable feeling; there is nothing like it and I hope it never ends."

Steve Archibald, "Performing is a passion of mine. I feel very fortunate to have come by. I make every performance count. I love the reaction of the people we entertain. Things get outrageous at a SD show."

Oz Christ, "The feel and emotion you get from the crowd lets me know they're having a good time."

Greg Deshong, "Playing live is like a disease you never find a cure for, always looking for a rush, whether it be the band or the crowd on any given night. You meet so many people and there are so many things that you can look back on and laugh about. I just like to play, it is something I never grow tired of."

After reading these statements, talking to the band, and watching them perform it brings me to one conclusion, Screamin' Daisys love doing what they do, and they love it even more when the crowd is loving it too. Be sure to check out their schedule in the Pennsylvania Musician and get your bod to their next performance and do a little "screamin'" and shakin' of your own.

Members of the Screamin' Daisys are: Greg Deshong, lead guitar; Jim Rhoads, drummer; Doug Kimberling, keyboardist; Steve Archibald, bassist; Unique Lee Nyce and Melissa Hernandez, vocalists.

People will be screaming for daisies March 20 when they visit Banana Joe's in Wilkes-Barre. No, it won't be for the white and yellow wildflowers but for the kicking Lancaster band that has been leaving its impression on clubbers throughout Pennsylvania. Screamin' Daisys will bring its vast assortment of rock and hip-hop cover songs to The Factory at the Banana Joe's Night Club complex in hopes of developing a strong, fan-based following in the area.

"They don't have a local draw yet," Thom Greco, owner of Banana Joe's said. "They have a good following elsewhere because they're a good band. That's why we continue to bring them in."

Greco recalled the last time Screamin' Daisys rocked The Factory as a major statement of its arrival in the Wilkes-Barre area. The Factory is one of the three atmospheres the Banana Joe's complex provides customers and is the frequent home of local bands in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Greco said it's just a matter of time before everyone will have their eyes and ears opened by the Screamin' Daisys.

"Last time they were here the crowd just flocked to them," Greco recalled. "They're one of the best bands I have seen in the area."

According to Greg Deshong, guitarist for the Daisys, the band began playing about a year and a half ago when he and fellow band member Steve Archibald, went searching for a male front person to lead the band. However, finding a guy wasn't in the cards for the band. Instead, one infamous night, in a karaoke bar, two female vocalists-Melissa Hernandez and Unique Lee Nyce-would be discovered.

"We had seen the girls sing, and we approached them," said Deshong. "They had never done it (sing in a band) before, but in a month or so we knew we had something. It seemed natural for them to sing harmony together and perform together," he expressed.

The band mixes '80's and '90's rock and hip-hop cover songs and, according to Deshong, the crowd can expect "an energetic live show, with a diversity of music, great vocals, and a good solid band backing it." He said the most rewarding thing of playing with his band is the emotions the crowds generate and the bands continued progress.

"The most rewarding thing is seeing people enjoy the band and themselves on any given night we play, and watching the band grow," Deshong said. He said the future might include some original songs and the completion of their own album. Right now, though, Deshong said the Daisys are concentrating on building their fan base. Deshong said conflicts and differences of opinion do arise, but being receptive to others creative abilities is the key to success.

"You have to be open minded and really love with you do," Deshong said.

Coyote's Hardware Bar in Harrisburg is so thick with people that the crush of bodies melds them together into a great swollen beast of stretch jeans and spray gel, whose writhing tentacles run up the stairs to the darkened gallery and slurp up Mike's Hard Lemonade from ice-filled kiddie pools stationed around the dance floor. Women from once around the block and younger girls that are chips off of it plunge their shyness into a two-drink minimum and take turns doing the dance of the femme fatale upon the bar. The beast's brain, more like a nerve center, leads it to Coyote's to satisfy its basic desires of wine, women, and song, but wine coolers, girls, and familiar song will do perfectly well. The Screamin' Daisys, probably Lancaster's hardest-working, most inexhaustible cover band, must feed the beast. Not a problem.

"We like 'em drunk," says drummer Jim Rhoads, half-kidding, his signature "Mack" knit cap covering his signature hair "demon horns."

"Anything is fun as long as the crowd is into it," says lead guitarist Greg Deshong, also the band's spokesman and manager-type. "It could be a small place or a big place, but if the crowd's into it, it makes everything cool."

In the few hours between sound check and show time, Deshong and Rhoads go two doors down from Coyote's and take up most of the tables at 2nd Street Pizza with the rest of the band: Doug Kimberling, an even-keeled keyboardist who teaches science to middle schoolers in West Chester; Steve Archibald, the bassist who, after liberal libation, becomes "Drunkenstein," a professional break dancer; and the double lead vocalists, Unique Lee Nyce and Missy Hernandez, whose combined weight might be 200 pounds. Nyce and Hernandez might be small, but as they pad around the stage in their bare feet, dressed to kill, whooping out covers of Salt N Pepa, No Doubt, and Gloria Gaynor, they level any room. "Let's fuck some shit up this year!" urges Nyce, a self-proclaimed "true R&B and hip-hop bitch," for her New Year's resolution in the band's on-line journal. And indeed, wherever the Daisys go, you will be hard-pressed to find shit that has not been thoroughly fucked up. And for the tragically unhip out there, that means "really good."

All of the Daisys have been musical for a long time. Some cannot remember when they weren't playing music. "Me and Jim got together and played when we were, like, 16," says Deshong. "I think our moms were driving us around," Rhoads adds. But for Nyce and Hernandez, this is their first band. Archibald co-founded the Daisys with Deshong over five years ago, but Archibald discovered Hernandez singing karaoke at Landisville's Hot Z Pizza. A few months later, they found Nyce singing at the same place. "The girls walked into it very green," says Deshong, "and usually when you do that, you'll make mistakes [and] need some time to get better. Not them. The first gig, they didn't fuck up at all. They were right on the money."

The Daisys haven't just got musical ability, they also exude a dusky sexuality, even if it is just that these are good-looking people. Deshong is like the handsome, nice-haired, weight-training guy in school who knew he was good-looking so all the smart girls steered clear, but the prettiest ones all wanted him to sign their yearbook. Kimberling's like the smart guy who has a sincere, blue-eyed, sweet kid look, but is really wicked when he's had a few. Nyce is like the striking girl who intimidated you because she had real style, a tough body, and the attitude to match, but you hoped maybe she'd like your poetry. Archibald is like the guy that everyone likes - even the cool teachers joke around with him. He's a towering, august guy with an atomic smile who's so secure in himself that no matter what color he dyes his hair, it looks good on him. Hernandez is like the exotic beauty who was too pretty for cheerleading, but her engaging personality made everyone feel at ease around her. And Rhoads was the one you admired for his authority-challenging eccentricity and from whom you got all the best dirty jokes, but he never thought you were cool enough to hang out with after school. It's like a "Breakfast Club" cover band.

Men and women both crowd in, soaking up the pheromones that shower out from the stage like someone squeezed them from ripe oranges. Some are enjoying the moment, forgetting that they don't look very cool when they jump up and down. Others are getting closer to the loved ones they brought and raising the club's average rating closer to "R" than "PG." Those right by the stage are searching the band, one at a time, finding the vibration that each is pumping out, trying to match pulses. Smiles spread across their faces when songs make them remember people who once made them happy, maybe became their first love, their first "time." For some, the songs recall the spontaneity of youth, the glimmer of a better time, and the organic, seismic chaos of sex. For others, it's just an opportunity to dance to a great song by a great band.

Pennsylvania Musician: December 2002

Article by Abby Gabrielle

DEAR ABBY'S ROCKIN' REVIEW: At last, there is finally something to really scream about amidst the local club and music scene, and that's the Daisys, The Screamin Daisys! This six-member, diversified mix of musical talent is setting a new and unique precedent among cover bands. Fronted by two sensational female vocalists, a magnificent stage show, and a great diversity in musical selections, the Screamin Daisys are making their mark, and people are taking notice. Screamin Daisys as an entity made their public debut approximately five years ago, opening up for acts such as Mr. Green Genes, Strange as Angels, Clove, and many others. In those five years, the Daisys have found and fine-tuned who they are, where they are going, and now they're off and running at full speed! They have the perfect mix of musicians and personalities that is the very foundation of a successful band long before the first song is ever rehearsed. One can tell without ever speaking a word to the band members that they 'click', have a common goal, love what they are doing, and work long and hard to do it well.

One of the first of the Daisys many unique qualities you'll notice is the mere fact that the band is fronted by two remarkable female vocalists, Missy Hernandez and Unique Lee Nyce. Beside the fact that these women have fiery, strong, and even at times prodigious vocal talent, they further add flair to the group with their natural ability to work well with the crowds. Steve Archibald, bass player and co-founder of the Daisys, states of his female counterparts, "The girls shine in everything they do." And the man speaks the truth. There is a visible chemistry between the two that is obvious, and they never fail to bring the people to their feet. The girls can be seen bringing teenage kids up on stage with them during a private party in Marietta, or leaving the stage and dancing among the crowds where they perform often at the Village. Recently at a show at Coyote's Hardware Bar in Harrisburg, Unique and Missy sang on the dance floor, mingling with the packed house, then ultimately ended up performing on the infamous Coyote bar belting out Pink's 'Don't Let Me Get Me.'

Phenomenal as these girls are, it is ultimately the parts of the 'whole' that make or break a band. The Screamin Daisys are 'making it' straight across the board. Greg Deshong, the other co-founder of the Daisys, plays guitar. The time and dedication Greg devotes to his music is blatantly obvious in that his leads and solos impress even the most jaded of musicians. On the drums is Jim Rhoads. Jim brings to the Daisys not only his precise and ripping domination of percussion, but sets a perfect balance of 'naughty and nice' with his enthusiastic smile contrasted by his signature 'devil's horns' hair style. Adding to the Daisys awesome sound, one cannot miss the rockin'bass player, Steve Archibald. Steve's charisma gives yet an additional charge and spark to the Daisys' equation. Finally, there's Doug Kimberling on the keyboards. Doug's contribution on the keyboards and various other accompanying instruments seals the lid on the Daisys' sound by filling any gaps to make tight and complete any and everything the Screamin Daisys dish out.

With that literal stage set, the Screamin Daisys throw out their combined and unique talent and phenomenal stage show with a diverse array of music that crosses the lines of many different genres. Their diversity in choices of music commands the audience's attention, and entertains them the whole night through. The Screamin Daisys creatively combine extremes and make them mesh seamlessly. Steve Archibald places great emphasis on the band's desire to be diverse and fresh when he explains, "We concentrate on selections that surprise people as well as entertain them." You can expect to hear anything from Bon Jovi to an A-cappella Roberta Flack; or Lit, Fuel, and Cheap Trick combined perfectly with the likes of No Doubt, Pink, and The Go-Go's. Throw in a little Violent Femmes, Shania Twain, and a bit of Nickelback and Michael Jackson; just to mention a few. Finally, then, use the combined talents of this band's musicians to pull it all together, and you come up with the perfect ingredients for a surefire success otherwise known as the Screamin Daisys. The Daisys not only consistently expand their song list material, but their venues are rapidly increasing as well. The Screamin Daisys' unique entertainment is making noise in areas such as Philly, Harrisburg, York, Hershey, the West Chester region, and beyond. You must make it a point to check out their ever expanding website for specific dates and times to be certain not to miss the opportunity to catch one of their awesome shows.
Being, for the most part, homegrown Lancastrians, one could safely say that home base ultimately for the Daisys is the Village Night Club. The band draws crowds there that number in the hundreds, and it's fair to say that each of those hundreds inevitably comes back for more. So, don't miss out on the Screaminí Daisys experience! Cruise their website, read their song list, and just take my word for it ‹you, too, will be one of the hundreds that also goes back for more of this 'screamin' experience.

FLY MAGAZINE - June 2002

Story: Ashley M. Burkholder

Lancaster can dance, dance, dance the night away with the music of Screamin Daisys. Sets from this six-piece spin with disco, new club dance, R&B, and hard rock covers - from Lit and Fuel to Mary J. Blige and 20 Fingers to the Go-Go's and Gloria Gaynor. "We do covers of things you normally don't hear," summarizes bassist Steve Archibald. Arichibald and bandmate Greg Deshong (guitar, vocals) originated Screamin Daisys five years ago. After a string of member changes, "we tried to reform the band, but some people didn't want to bring it back together, so we found some new members," he explains. "... It's really different than what Greg and I are used to. I think it's different in a sense that people haven't heard this type of act around here. And we rock as well - it's a nice mix between dance and rock music."

Fronting the renewed lineup, as of January, is the powerhouse vocalist duo of Missy Hernandez and Alyssa Campisi, with Barry Salem on drums and Doug Kimberling on keyboards and vocals. The Screamin Daisys' sound is layered with keyboards, drums, and bass, "and with two females singing together ... a lot of times, when a band has one female vocalist, a male does the harmony with them and it just doesn't feel the same - it doesn't come across," Archibald expresses. "When girls sing together, it stands out." He says the band has begun to work on originals, but there are no plans to record just yet.

Meanwhile, the Screamin Daisys want to continue getting out and playing in front of their home crowd in Lancaster, as well as branching out into other markets. "We're trying to get out of the area," says Archibald. "There's possible management looking at us right now, but we're not going to jump the gun or anything."