The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • 46

At last, mileage is paying off for Gerald Duncan, Accelerators When no one else believed in him, Gerald Duncan believed in himself. And now after 18 years of confronting doubters with determination he's finally got the band and a sparkling new album to prove why. The Accelerators' self-titled album, released two weeks ago on Profile Records, is resounding proof that the 35-year-old LYNNE VJ LUCASLLl with him, changed the band's name to the Accelerators and looked around for some new musicians. Although Duncan soon landed a contract with Dolphin Records, and the resulting album received some airplay on college radio, the success of Leave My Heart was stunted by changes at the label. "The guy who signed me was fired before the record came out," said Duncan.

"What I like so much about Profile is that they are really supporting us, but it's an independent, not part of a big corporation." Profile, whose stable includes Run D.M.C. and the LeRoi Brothers, also was willing to spend some bucks on the packaging. Grammy Award-winning Janet Perr was hired to oversee the cover design. Photographer Robert Lewis captured the true downhome spirit of the band by shooting the group in a relaxed pose outside a low-rent hotel near Raleigh. But most importantly, Profile Records has the sense to leave the artistic integrity of the Accelerators' no-frills style in its music when the master tapes are pressed into vinyl.

Whether or not the album sells well remains be seen. Air play will help tremendously. WCKN-FM played the record in its entirety last Saturday night with good response. The potential glows. But this record is not about commercial success or fame.

It's about respect. Hard-earned respect. "My pride in this," said Duncan, "is that I stuck to my guns and stuck with everyone who stuck with me." The production team a combination of longtime band sound manmanager Dick Hodgin, North Carolina guru Don Dixon (R.E.M., The Smithereens) and Rod Abernethy never gets in the way of the songs. On The Accelerators' first LP, Leave My Heart, a late 1983 release on Dolphin Records, producer Dixon overembellished some of the songs, diminishing their impact. Since then, the Accelerators' lineup has stabilized, and the contributions of each band member are allowed to brew unadorned into full flavor here: the relentless grit of drummer Doug Whelchel (a Gaffney native); the stinging runaway guitar licks of Brad Rice (from Norris), the solid bass playing and amusing goofiness of Mike Johns (a Simpsonville native); Duncan's fiesty spirit and anchoring presence.

To the refined ear scrubbed shiny by commercial radio fodder, the vocal harmonies may sound thin, Rice's guitar a little ragged and out of control, the drums a little too evident, the overall sound a little too raw. It's all on purpose. The Accelerators have never put a lot of priority on harmony and have always steered clear of gloss. If those are limitations, they are also a huge chunk of the group's beer-soaked charm. Johns sings lead on the two songs he wrote and on the moody Robert GordonSparkle-tones gem Black Slacks, lending interest and vocal contrast to Duncan's lead duties on the remaining tracks.

Two of the album's strongest tracks are Duncan's introspective ballad What is Real some- The Accelerators, who all hail from the Upstate, are, left to right: Brad Rice, Gerald Duncan, Doug Whelchel, Mike Johns Taylors native is the closest he's been to realizing a vision he formed as a student at Wade Hampton and Eastside High schools back in the early 70s: to make it as a rock 'n' roll songwriter and performer on his own terms. Even Billboard magazine seems to agree. The music industry bible picked The Accelerators for its "New and Noteworthy" selection in the Jan. 30 issue. In a rare and unabashed gush, the reviewer called the materia! "absolutely riveting" and the album "too good too ignore." In the wake of the album's release, the homegrown Accelerators perform Friday night at Dawg Gone in Spartanburg, and Saturday night at Studio in Greenville.

Part of the reason that the album succeeds is that the quartet finally is allowed to sound, just as it does live: a tenacious garage rock band unleashing thick guitars, potent drums, yielodic hooks and witty lyrics. even less accepted here than it is now. Still, Duncan and his band-mates would meet religiously twice a week at an old abandoned Greenville church to practice the songs that Duncan had been writing since he was 12 years old. The music wasn't nearly as tight then as it is now many things improve with age. But what was always obvious was the fiery spirit and prolific song-writing ability of Gerald can.

He refused to be discouraged. Finally, frustrated with the Upstate's closed doors, he headed to Raleigh, to make inroads in the Triangles' fertile new music soil. He took believers Whelchel and Hodgin thing almost anyone over 30 or who has survived the storms of a long-term relationship can relate to and Radio, a song that chronicles the songwriter's uncompromising approach to his struggling career: I done the mileage, I got my contacts Ain't got no college, I got a contract I ain't a victim, I ain't a diplomat I do my washing in the laundromat Duncan certainly has done the mileage. Back in the late 70s and early '80s, he was the founder and driving force behind Moonpie, a Greenville-based rock band that was hard-pressed to find a welcome stage in the Upstate. Original music was DISCOUNT BEER WINE GREEN'S Party Keg Headquarters CARLO ROSSI ft 3.0 Lt.

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