The bookings are getting better and the crowds are getting bigger for Cincinnati garage-rock kings the Greenhornes.

        “It's been good. People are coming out and dancing,” says drummer Patrick Keeler.

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On the road with the Greenhornes Oct. 29, 2000

        The band is featured in the May 11 Entertainment Weekly in an article on the garage-rock revival. Steve Van Zandt, of the E Street Band and The Sopranos, has presented the Greenhornes at the Underground Garage Saturdays concert series he co-promotes at Manhattan's Village Underground.

        The gig has resulted in a lot of publicity for the quintet.

        “It's a grassroots thing,” says Todd Abramson, owner of Telstar Records, the New Jersey label that released the group's second CD, The Greenhornes.

        “I've been getting more press requests. On this tour (a recent Midwest jaunt), they've been getting some pretty strong press coverage in the dailies and weeklies.”

        He's noticing increased interest among fans as well. At a record fair held last weekend by his area's community radio station, WFMU, “a lot of people were picking up the Greenhornes CD or LP and saying, "I've heard of them, they were in Entertainment Weekly.' To some people, it gives the band a little more validity.”

        But no more money, at least so far, Mr. Keeler says.

        “I don't think people know there are five of us,” he says with a laugh, “$100 isn't much split five ways.”

        Despite the recent attention, all five have kept their day jobs. “We're gonna do a Greenhornes benefit,” jokes Mr. Keeler, who tends bar at the Comet in Northside when he's not on the road.

        But the money is usually the last thing to come in the music business. The EW publicity is sure to help, but for now, the Greenhornes continue to build a national name the old-fashioned way — one gig at a time.

        “The major markets are changing,” says Mr. Keeler. “This last tour, we had a good Chicago show, which we've never had. The club sold out and we sold a lot of records.

        “It's just been such a slow progression,” he says. “I just hope it keeps on going. It's kind of where I want to be.”

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