Pale Divine

-SLIDESHOW PHOTOS BY PETER WOCHNIAK
ProPhoto - www.peterwochniak.com



THE EYES///PALE DIVINE was a local St. Louis band.Pale Divine (then known as The Eyes), quickly became hometown favorites, and had soon attracted a large following on the midwest college circuit. The quartet is fronted by Michael Schaerer, who possesses a powerful voice, charismatic stage presence, and total commitment to his music. Richard Fortus pulls an astonishing variety of sounds out of his guitars, effortlessly switching from cunningly played accompaniment to burning leads. And the rhythm section of drummer Greg Miller and bassist Dan Angenend, Jr. forms a rock-solid pocket, providing driving support for Pale Divines unforgettable songs. But, first and foremost, it is the groups intensity that makes their Atlantic debut, STRAIGHT TO GOODBYE, an album to be reckoned with.
The group returned to the touring circuit, and quickly topped all the local readers polls. The Eyes released their indie-album, FREEDOM IN A CAGE, at the beginning of 1989, garnering extensive press kudos. The Eyes seem set up to be this towns newest musical representation in the real world, and fortunately they have the songs and the intensity to do it righteous, raved Jet Lag Music Magazine. The Eyes compelling sound and strong image earmark them for success, stated Billboard. The Eyes are the best thing to happen to St.Louis since Chuck Berry, enthused Revolutions Magazine. The albums first two runs sold out in short order, but the band decided not to press any more, to avoid over-saturating the market before they had a real album out.
The next year saw a blizzard of record company interest, with A&R men coming out every other week for months. Even the St.Louis Post Dispatch cited this wave of record company attention, noting that the band was being courted by practically every major label in the country and with good reason. Ultimately, Atlantic grabbed the golden ring. When the time came to pick a producer, the band chose Simon Rogers, impressed by his work with The Fall and Peter Murphy. Rechristened Pale Divine, the quartet headed to Hollywood for the basic recording, while the final mixing took place in London.
The result is an album which showcases the groups musical and compositional talents without losing the live punch and grit that is a Pale Divine trademark. The opening title track, Straight To Goodbye, builds from a whisper to a screaming climax, while describing a complex set of emotions. I promised myself I would never discuss the meaning of my songs with the press, Michael states. If people think enough about the lyrics, they can come up with wild shit I could never dream of, and I dont want to limit their imaginations with my explanations.
In support of the new cd, Pale Divine began a world tour with the Psychedelic Furs. As the World Outside Tour wore on, rumors of a break up drifted for months as Richards began to write music from New York City and St.Louis respectively. At last, Pale Divine gave their much publicized (would-be) farewell performances over the 4th of July weekend in 1993 at Kennedy's on the landing. It was a sad day for St.Louis music.