Biography

As a child in the early 1980s, just as his peers were discovering Journey and REO Speedwagon, Gerry found himself swept away by the timeless sounds artists like The Monkees, The Beach Boys and Buddy Holly had long ago lodged into America's collective unconscious. "I caught an old clip on TV of Herman's Hermits singing 'I'm Into Something Good' when I was 9," Gerry recalls. "Things were never the same."

Gerry formed his first band The Neat Beat at age 12, but it wasn't until The Hideouts came to be in 1988 that things started to happen. By the time they disbanded in 1994, The Hideouts would release four EPs, the last of which was produced by Jeff Murphy of famed power-pop band Shoes. Several O'Keefe-penned numbers like "(Why Don't We) Start Over" and "Jet Lag Girl" received local and national airplay. The band's dynamic live performances earned them dates at many of Chicago's most elite music venues.

After The Hideouts, O'Keefe performed exclusively with cover acts, rarely making time to write new material. He did, in 1999, contribute two jingles to Amazon.com's retro "Sweatermen" holiday TV ads. A few years later, his catchy "Can't Stop the Summer Sun" was included on a children's music compilation called Music for the Heart.

Writing for Whatever Suits You began in January 2012 after Gerry made the resolution to complete a record by year's end. "With a family and a 'real' job to focus on, it was tough," he recalls. "But the further it went, the more motivated I became." Each of the album's 14 tracks is adorned with the melodic traits and classic sense of pop craft Gerry's been stubbornly drawn to from day one. Lyrically, songs like "Beggar on a Throne" and "Message for Misfit" possess a dose of wisdom mostly absent from earlier efforts.

Whatever Suits You features musical contributions from Greta Morgan of The Hush Sound and two members of soon-to-be-huge punk act The Orwells: Grant Brinner and Baby Chuck (who engineered the album at his home studio and happens to be O'Keefe's teenage nephew). Gerry's 9-year-old son Owen also lends his blossoming talents to a trio of tracks. Perhaps most notably, former Hideout Brian Bukowski brings it all full circle by harmonizing on several songs, including the rockabilly-esque standout "Darlin' Divine."

Try it on.