Tucked away at a back table inside The Poor House in North Wales, three friends tease a fourth about his menu selection. The unassuming Brian DiBiagio, the resident vegetarian of the group, had just ordered a black bean burger. Of course, his lunchmates only heard the “burger” part.
“You really freaked us all out there for a second, buddy,” said Bright Kelly, laughing with ease. “I was like, you’re eating a cow?”
Kelly then asks The Times if we can edit “black bean” out of our recording (we can’t) and email it to him for later use against DiBiagio, who brushes it off with a chuckle. For him and Kelly, along with John Hoff and Robby Crane, this natural chemistry, the ability to rag on each other in the most loving way possible, is the daily norm.
This relatability is also the thing (along with an insane amount of talent) that’s skyrocketing them to the top of the Philly music scene as alt/rock band The Great Enough. Not only did its 2017 single “Can You Relate” net more than 1 million streams on Spotify, the band has graced the same bill as industry giants like Imagine Dragons and Young the Giant.
And these guys are only getting started.
Formed in 2015, The Great Enough is comprised of South Philadelphia native Kelly on lead vocals, Abington’s Hoff on drums, and Warminster’s DiBiagio and Crane on guitar and bass/keyboard, respectively.
To date, in addition to the unprecedentedly successful single, the band has under its belt the debut EP Born. Released in July 2018, the five-song creation is an effortless, lyrically-charged blend of alt/rock and pop with a touch of folk.
According to Kelly, the production of Born was “fiercely independent.” With the aid of Los Angeles-based producer Luke Tozour, The Great Enough unveiled the EP to the world without the backing of a label. Not only has it received a slew of positive feedback from fans, it caught the attention of area stations such as Radio 104.5, i99Radio and WXPN, opening doors that would’ve otherwise remained fastly shut.
Last summer, after a competitive fan-driven voting process, The Great Enough landed the chance to open for Imagine Dragons, one of its longtime influences, at Radio 104.5’s annual Birthday Show at BB&T Pavilion.
“That was when we started feeling like more than a local band,” Kelly said. “We started running into people at repeat shows, and having fans coming to all our stuff really consistently.”
Most recently, The Great Enough braved less-than-30-degree weather at the station’s Winter Jawn, which took place at Xfinity Live! in South Philadelphia and featured alternative staples Young the Giant and The Interrupters. In attempt to up the ante from their Birthday Show performance, the guys rocked colorful, professional makeup.
“I’m very theatrical. So any excuse to act like David Bowie, I’m gonna jump on it,” Kelly said. “We’re a perennial opening act. We open for a lot of big, wonderful bands and we’re honored by that. But my goal is always to steal the show. I always want to make sure people leave the show being like, ‘yeah Imagine Dragons was great but did you see that opener?’ It’s aiming really high, but that’s what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re trying to be just the loudest live show you’ve ever seen in your life.”
With every show, whether it’s at a massive venue or intimate bar, where the four often perform as the cover band The Challenge Accepted, they have one goal in mind — to be unforgettable.
“We all made a commitment years ago to put together a live show where, if you have anything left in the tank at the end, you screwed up,” Kelly said. “You didn’t do it right.”
But The Great Enough is, in fact, getting it right. No longer is the band accidentally referred to as “The Good Enough” on a bill. Nor is it mistaken with its alter-ego “He Great Enough,” which was misprinted on what Hoff referred to as “poof ball” hats.
The Great Enough has built a steady momentum, and it’s not about to slow down anytime soon. Currently, the guys are preparing to release new music in April, drawing from the more than 115 pages in Kelly’s phone of unreleased tracks.
“We co-write everything. We just get into a room and pitch ideas at the wall until something sticks. And then we try to strip every song down to its very essentials. We mix and match parts, move stuff around,” Kelly said. “Essentially, we rip the song apart a few dozen times and put it back together to make sure the framework we have is what we want.”
Over the years, The Great Enough has drawn from a variety of inspirations, including The Killers, Aerosmith, and Kelly’s “holy trinity” of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Prince, a symbol of which he has tattooed on his arm. The band also draws heavily from literature, since Kelly and DiBiagio are self-described “nerds” when it comes to it. Not surprisingly, “The Great Enough” is itself a literary reference, drawn from William Nicholson’s The Society of Others.
“He went on this long philosophical debate, and it was about a feeling. You’ve had a long work week, you’re stressed about bills and everything’s really bad. But you leave work, stop at a bar to meet friends, and they’ve already ordered your drink because they knew you were coming. And you just have this brief window of time where everything feels all right,” Kelly said. “That moment is referred to in the book as ‘the great enough.’ I wanted to write songs that made people feel OK. At least while the song’s on, everything is OK.”
The Great Enough’s next single “Voice on the Radio” is slated for release in early April, which Kelly said diehard fans will remember from a Radio 104.5 acoustic set.
“It’s about being a rock band at a time when it didn’t feel like rock bands were what people were listening to, about clawing your way through self-doubt and trying really desperately to find your voice,” he said.
In addition to new music and building up to a full-length album, The Great Enough is gearing up for a handful of upcoming shows, including the i99 Birthday Bash on May 31 at The Barbary, and a performance at MilkBoy on April 13 with The Unlikely Candidates. Details will also be revealed at a later date for a concert in Hershey.
“We’re going to fanboy really, really hard at that show,” Kelly said. “I’m going to scream.” ••
Keep up with The Great Enough at thegreatenough.com and facebook.com/thegreatenough
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
