Here at the home of the plinky pianist, we were listening to music from the parallel projects Vulfpeck and Vulfmon. (If you’re unfamiliar you should change that — we’re big fans here in the band.) Plinky piano’s partner reflected that she really likes the Vulf projects. They’re jazzy in that funky groove way rather than the traditional jazz club way. And then she said the words that moved us: “They’re like Standards & Substandards. Instead of jazz for the mind it’s jazz for the loins.”
We’ll take it, happily. A comparison to Vulf? That’s probably a bit too much. But a suggestion that we play music that makes sense to our gut rather than something more academic? Absolutely. Thanks to one of our biggest fans for helping us with a good description of what we’re trying to do — and maybe our next t-shirt design.
If you need some more jazz for the loins, the heart, or even a little for the mind, join us tonight at Grand America Lobby Lounge, 7-10p, Friday January 10. All ages, no cover. We’re pulling out a long list of standards and working our way into contemporary songbook twists. Hope to see you and friends there.
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:
Of course, as you know, we have a gig tonight (7/26/24) at the Grand America Lobby Lounge, 7-10p. Free, all ages, fancy ambiance and snacks, but you can come as you are. We love playing at the Grand because it’s a simple setup in an elegant setting. (And then we have a bit of a break before our Kenley Amphitheater show and another parade of gigs after that.)
But more than this reminder, we wanted to talk about art and what it’s worth. For example, I was just working on new sketches in lieu of photos once in a while. We kind of like renditions like this:
We don’t think this is really worth anything; it’s just something that was fun. Maybe we’ll make a sticker or something based on this, or we’ll hand it to stage managers so they know our sophisticated setup.
But there are other things you might pay for and we get money in return. For example, I just cashed in two years worth of our streaming revenue from our EP, Videos of Us in Handcuffs. After those two years we earned (drumroll):
$30
Actually, that’s an exaggeration. I think we barely cleared $28, but we can round up. This is just to say that we love it when people share our music and play it in earbuds or speakers or anything else. Turn it up. And thank you for sharing. But we don’t make any money on this. We sell some disks, but we just break even on the production when all is said and done.
This isn’t a complaint, mind you. Instead, we want to make this public service announcement:
Go support live music.
And not just us, but everyone. This is where people earn money to buy gear and keep the operations going. We might even make enough to fund studio time again and make another album (and another $30). Pay a $5 cover or throw some money in the tip jar or, best of all, hire us to play in your backyard or for your event or at your wedding. Those of you who have placed the $2 bills in our bucket, thank you. We’re collecting these for good luck. The kids who deliver singles to us and share a big grin, you’re absolutely delightful. Folks who have a twenty (or more sometimes) that mixes in the salad of other bills, we’re grateful. Please take a sticker or two. Oh, and stream our music to your heart’s content, but also please share it and invite your friends to the next show, ours or anyone else’s.
(And the gnomes* who Venmoed us cash on your way out onto 25th Street and into the world (the garden?) late on Saturday night, we loved you so much and hope you’ll be back again. Thanks for making our night.)
Excited to see you all out there soon. Say ‘hi,’ give a cheer, and dance or sway along.
*Yes, there really were gnomes. Yes, with hats. And beards. It was delightful. You had to have been there — another reason to go out to live shows.
We’re at the Gandy Dancer again this weekend, 6-8PM on Saturday, April 22. It just so happens that they’re celebrating their 2-year anniversary of mercantile ownership on Washington Boulevard, so the ice cream scoops are generous and discounted, along with other promotions. All ages, free show, but bring your wallet for soup, sandwich, and a cone. And the tip jar, if you’re so inclined.
Maybe on Saturday Adam will start introducing our instrumental breaks so that Caryn doesn’t have to remember those pieces. Here’s a bit of hilarity that sounds a little like some kind of comedy sketch from The Muppet Show, and also includes our debut of Cissy Strut, originally by the Meters, or the Beaters? the Greeters? or someone …
No big gigs or Black Friday rushes for us this weekend. We’ll be rehearsing in Tim’s basement, prepping new music and conspiring on a project.
We’re grateful for good music. Listening back on a few recordings is a good reminder. For example, here’s a recording we remixed from a Van Session a few months ago:
It’s fun to hear this again and listen to the interplay between the four filling in around one another. Also, listening to our studio recording of this, you get to hear how a song evolves. The studio version might even sound too fast now.
Here’s another that we’d kind of rehearsed and then later just threw into the mix of a set while the red light was on. You can hear us figuring it out as we go, with Caryn saying “I think there’s a downbeat” to start, and later suggesting we make up an instrumental.
We’ve worked on this one some more since this recording, and it’s completely different now. It’s fun to document something as it “grows up”. If we ever record this one in the studio, we think it’s going to take on a whole new feel.
Anyway, just sharing a few things as we take a breath and consider how fun it is to get to make music the way we like it. There’s more to come.
Standards & Substandards 