Category: gigs

joy & wonder

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this week we worked three new songs that we can offer out to a live audience at the Funk N Dive on Friday, 9-Midnight (along with The Proper Way). We’ve gotten into a routine of putting a recorder on the floor when we want to run a new song straight through for the first time. Besides giving Caryn a track to rehearse with, we all get an irrefutable memory of exactly how we rehearsed that song. (Sometimes it’s a fun time capsule, too, realizing how much a song morphs for us as we work it over time.) I put the tracks on my phone and listen to them to get the feel for the changes and entrances. But more than those technicalities I love to hear the end of each recording.

It’s a small miracle, playing a new piece, start to finish. So it makes sense that after the music has finished there’s this pause as the last note fades, and then laughter. It’s some cross between laughing at a punch line and the laughter of astonishment. There’s delight in giving life to something that wasn’t clear before, the genuine joy in figuring something out.

And, I never imagined I’d ever get to play a Stevie Wonder cover.

Hope to see you Friday.

consignment store sessions

~ Adam Johnston ~ 1 Comment

Next week we get to play along with The Proper Way at Funk N Dive in Ogden. It’s one of those late night $5 cover gigs for us — the “big time,” as they say. (Details here.)

But sometimes we play consignment stores, too. Not just any old consignment store, mind you, but the big lofty ones in historic districts while the rain is pouring down outside. Brigham City had us playing for their final farmer’s market of the season, but Mother Nature made sure to sweep in with a tumultuous cold front. Not a problem: just move with the market into the expanse of space whose wood floors supported old couches and bar stools, artwork on the wall and an old organ under the staircase.

That staircase led up to a loft that overlooked everything, facing the street and keeping sentry on all those who would come and go: vendors, tomato buyers, some enthusiastic dancers, and a few high schoolers dressed up and on their way to homecoming dance. Best of all, it sounded great from that elevated stage. We’ve played fancy platforms with sound boards and monitors, and they didn’t compare to the space behind the banister and up against the antique ceiling.

Caryn introduced the gig, inviting people to come out with a call to Facebook and uttering the phrase I’ll cherish forever. “We’re going to serenade the crap out of this consignment store,” she proclaimed. And she was right. We all had a good time, and we went home with fresh bread and tomatoes.

One of our favorite jams.

sucker

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We’ve joked that we provide the Jonas Brothers this professional courtesy of improving upon their song. In particular, Ian takes something that was intended to be a very straightforward, uncomplicated rhythm into a pile of syncopation on the drums. Caryn* layers coy vocals on top of this and Tim lays a foundation with the bass line.

The piano is just along for the ride on this one. When you play with a great quartet, you continuously get to be immersed in the work of 3 really amazing musicians. This feels like an entirely new song.

And also, we really, really had a fun time playing here on the outdoor patio of UTOG. It was like playing in a back alley and a backyard at the same time.

*And doesn’t Caryn look like she’s an angel with a halo from the backlight here?

group work

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

As we’ve been trying out brand new music and dusting off old stuff for 3-hour sets coming up, I’ve realized something: It’s way more fun to play with the band than to play by myself. And it sounds way better with everyone else, too. Sure, you should all clamor for my stylings of solo piano; but, frankly, something kind of magical happens when we get together. This is kind of funny to me now, because there was so much “group work” that many of us have done in school that was definitely not so magical. It’s remarkable when a collaboration actually turns out so well, and so far in my life I’d be hard pressed to find as good an example as playing in this band.

I wish I knew how to describe this. Bill Evans, who could play piano, solo or ensemble, like nobody else, suggested in his work with Miles Davis that playing with a group adds an additional dynamic:

Aside from the weighty technical problem of collective coherent thinking, there is the very human, even social need for sympathy from all members to bend for the common result.

Bill Evans on Kind of Blue

That “sympathy” isn’t just the caring about what comes out or even each other — though this is definitely part of it — but the listening to each other and seeing how all of those gears mesh together. I play better because three other people give me better ideas about how the song should go than what I have, even in the midst of playing something for the first or fortieth time. And, I’m responsible to hold up my end. We each support each other but also pull each other along, and we something more than the sum of the parts.

This is all to say that we get to do this more, in public, with a couple of long sets on back-to-back weekend nights. We’ve all been back-to-school and also fitting in rehearsals in the tangle of these last couple of weeks. Frankly, playing all weekend long sounds perfect.

This Friday, there’s a gig at the Lighthouse ($5, 21+) from 9-Midnight. We like the sound and the stage and the vibe there, and we’re happy to go back. (We’ll be back there in December, too.) And then, Saturday, we are playing the easy-going outdoor porch of UTOG Brewing from 7:30 – 10:30p. Hope to see you at either, or both.

gigs, upcoming and past

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

So, we’ve played at some stuff and we have more stuff up and coming. Coming up next: A gig at Lighthouse Lounge on Sept. 6. And, you should know that you have to bring your i.d. and $5. (We hope the fans don’t desert us when they realize they have to start paying a cover to see us.) And another couple of things outside are planned while the weather is still good; and we get to share the stage with our 2nd favorite Ogden band later in the fall. Details to come, so stay tuned.

For now, here’s a few samples of what we’ve been feeding into the YouTubes on our channel here.

Love is Here to Stay @ Lighthouse Longe
Lovecats @ Brigham City Farmers Market