Category: samples

jazz-ish

~ Adam Johnston

We’re getting ready for something big.

But first: Grand America Lobby Lounge this Friday night 9/20/2024, 7:00 – 10:00PM. If you’re in the big city, drop by and get a snack and a drink and say hello. It’s a nice place and we really love the vibe there.

Then, we have a private gig next week and then a few other things …

Including: We’re playing at the Egyptian Theater on Monday, October 7th (free, all ages) as part of the Excellence in the Community Concert Series. We co-headline and get to take the big stage in the beautiful space for a 1-hour set. We’ll remind you and blast out the promotional materials.

But the reason I’m bringing this up now is because in the previews of materials coming out we’re characterized as “jazz.” And that’s fine in most cases as we’re trying to describe how we fit in, especially since in this case we’re side-by-side with a bluegrass band (so fun!!) and it’s great to know what the range might be for your Monday evening.

And yet I start to worry. People who are really aficionados of jazz would scoff at a lot of what we do. Sure, we’ll play Gershwin regularly. But also Dua Lipa. I feel like we might be misrepresenting ourselves to the people expecting Coltrane.

That’s not the worst of it, though: What if you hear “jazz” and you think Coltrane and bebop and you’re turned away by these things and never tune in to us? What if, heaven forbid, you don’t realize that it’s not all dissonant, not all that serious, not long bass solos — Tim refuses.

In fact, I wish we were represented as “jazz-ish.” That feels better, more accurate, appropriately whimsical. Of course, those running gigs at Grand America? That’s when we have to promote ourselves as “jazz.” That gets us in the door and under the big chandelier. So far they haven’t kicked us out.

Anyway, we’ll keep playing around the fringes of jazz as well as blues and funk and soul and everything else. (Caryn just sent us an idea to try out a Taylor Swift piece. You might have heard of her? We think we can swing it.)

It’s been a minute since we wrapped up a summer lineup with our amphitheater gig for Davis Arts. It looked like this:

Kenley Amphitheater preps

~ Adam Johnston

We haven’t made too much of a big deal about this, but we’ve been really really excited about our return to the Kenley Amphitheater since we signed the contract back in the spring. We get to play there again, 60 minutes of uninterrupted, all ages, free music on Sunday, August 25 from 7:00 – 8:00p.

So. So. Excited. We have the setlist with fun new stuff and playful transitions sprinkled in. Adam gets to play the big piano, Matt gets his own drum riser, and Tim’s bass gets pumped through the mains. Cheer as the Diva walks out onto the stage while the band backs her up — it will make her evening and set the mood for the whole show.

More to come as we get even closer!

Here we are on Tim’s patio after the lightning storm passed, rocking the suburbs.

new season

~ Adam Johnston ~ 1 Comment

Summer is officially here and we’re ramping back up into the season. We have gigs coming up, including this Friday (June 21 2024) at Grand America Lobby Lounge, 7-10p. That’s followed by some backyard gigging the following week, and then returns to lounges of the Lighthouse in Ogden and Grand America in the big city again in July. And more to come — big shows on stages this summer and fall!

In the midst of all this, we’re waving goodbye to Ian, founding member and “no worries” drummer. He’s headed out to the Oregon coast and we’re already imagining how we can get out to visit. As we pivot and adjust, we have Matt Johnson sitting in with us at the drums, and as we’ve been feeling our way through rehearsals with him we’re excited to keep working with him for as long as he’ll put up with us. Matt’s well known in Ogden circles, stages, and studio as a drummer who can play anything and with anyone, so we’re lucky to have him. This Friday is Matt’s debut with the band, so come out and encourage him to stick around.

But here’s also to a fond farewell to Ian. In our last gig with him, a backyard celebration with friends and family, we had a rare impromptu addition at vocals, Ian’s daughter, Elouise. She took over and stole the show. Take a look at the proud dad behind the drum kit — and maybe admire the fact that the guy at keyboard is taking video and playing at the same time.

Elouise is our new diva.

Safe travels and smooth transitions to Ian and family! We hope to see the rest of you out on the music scene.

welcoming the new year

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

We’re resting up for gigs to wrap up 2023 and welcome 2024!

Especially exciting is our late-night favorite, the Lighthouse Lounge on Friday, Dec. 29th, 9-midnight ($5 cover, 21+). We’re coming out of hibernation and vacations to celebrate pre New Years celebration. Honestly, we’re not sure how polished and rehearsed we’ll be, but we’ll dust off stuff new and old and have a good time and hope that you cheer for all the notes. Enjoy the tater tots, good drinks, and lovely company all around.

And in January:

  • A return to the Grand America Lobby Lounge, Friday, Jan. 5th, 7-10p, our favorite upscale jazz lounge.
  • Our early-evening favorite, the Gandy Dancer, Saturday Jan. 20th, 6-8p.

We’ll update the calendar with more and highlight stuff as we get closer. For now, here’s the latest mix Adam’s been playing with, a celebration of new year’s recorded back at our first show at the Gandy Dancer in January of 2023. If we ever have a holiday album, this will be our deep cut.

happy EPiversary!

~ Adam Johnston ~ Leave a comment

It was a year ago today that we released our live EP, so to celebrate we’ve posted it on Bandcamp:

You can also find this and our original studio recording on our music page.

Bandcamp allows for downloads and proceeds that go back to the performers. In case you’re curious, we really do love it when you stream music on all the platforms because that’s what we want to share with you, but the musicians make only fractions of a cent on each one of your plays. As a band, we earn only a few dollars a year from streaming; but, hiring us for a party or coming to a live performance or buying a download or CD supports musicians of all stripes. The $5 cover you pay at Lighthouse or the tip you toss into the jar or even the download on Bandcamp goes back into our account to buy a cable or a cymbal or a microphone.