How do you approach original songs in the live setting?

We rarely play covers, but sometimes we’ll play someplace where people haven’t come specifically to see us, and we’ll get a request. It happens. I usually agree with them. Good stuff! I like that, too! Then we’ll launch into one of our own. People like familiarity, so it’s hard, but a lot of our originals reflect the songs that inspired us to make original music in the first place, so there’s a connection there. The structure is there. As always, it helps to be open-minded on both sides of the stage.

What about covers, can you talk about what songs you toss in from time to time? Who selects them?

We like to wear costumes when we play covers. We had a friend dress up like Freddy Mercury at our last show, complete with ruffled shirt and tight pants, and jump into the audience wielding glow wands, throwing glitter. “Another One Bites the Dust.” We like doing stuff like that – bringing out special guests to jam with us, getting our friends involved. We’ve covered Bob Marley more than once, and I’ve been told I do a decent Bob, vocally. That was a cool compliment. He’s been a hero of mine since I was ten. Covers help people put your music in context. They help you, too. Recently, we’ve covered Prince, P-Funk, Phish, you know – I guess we’re in the P’s. They’ve got to come out. But they tend to have a short shelf life. They’re great to learn and play, but we always go back to our songs. That’s where it’s at.

In terms of cover tunes can you talk about any spectacular successes and failures?

It’s kind of funny and slightly sad when you get more applause for a cover than you do for an original song. That happens sometimes, but not too much. We’ve developed a pretty unique system for how we approach covers. Our song, “Evolution,” for instance, has a long evolving jam we call “Evo-Jam” that builds to a climax and drops into a new cover every time. We hint at the cover during the jam, or maybe tease a different cover, then build tension before the real cover drops in. Like a cherry on top. When it does there’s usually another element involved – Freddy Mercury, etc. Then something else happens. You have to be there. It’s different every time and always a surprise. JMB family recipe – that’s all I can tell you.

How often do you rehearse? What do you focus on when you get together for rehearsal?

We all put in several hours a day on our own, but as a band we meet once or twice a week for all day sessions if we can. After I read the Phish biography Park Puterbaugh wrote last year, we started trying out the different listening exercises like he describes. That’s been helpful in figuring out how to develop a jam and take risks in a live setting. But it’s more about finding a groove for us than it is jazz improvisation. We tend to focus on transitions, on being able to string different songs together, and on beginnings and endings.

Can you talk about some of your performance highlights thus far. Is there a gig (or gigs) that stand out? Why?

The 8×10 in Baltimore can be a great place to get the funk out, especially when it’s packed. We played a show recently with fellow New Groovers, Mad Sweet Pangs. These guys bussed down their fans from Delaware. We brought out the local crew. It was a great night. There was also the fabled “pudding party” of 2009, which involved an inflatable swimming pool filled up with a lot of slimy chocolate pudding. People were slathering around in this tub of Jell-O while the band played in the back yard, just barely out of splashing distance. Old School style, but it was a lot of fun. There’s a recording of it archived online.

Last year you released a studio disc. Can you talk about the experience and also the challenges of bringing your live energy into the studio?

Not that it’s always necessarily the goal, but it’s true that capturing live energy in a studio can be tricky, especially when you record all the parts separately. We had to close our eyes and pretend a lot. It’s also hard to bring Jell-O into a studio. Engineers don’t like that because it gets on all the expensive equipment. While our debut album focused on songs, song structure, and arrangement, we still managed to get some looseness, some jamming in there. The second album, which we’re recording now at the Bunker studio, where the Bridge records, comes closer to what we sound like live. New songs, too, but there will be some longer tracks on that one. A good engineer can be helpful in bringing that out and keeping the energy high. He’ll say things like, “Great take!” or, “Hey, maybe you should take a break.”

Any final thoughts for folks across the country who may be hearing about you for the first time from this piece?

Anytime you ask an artist to talk about themselves you should probably have high boots on and a shovel handy. But this has all been humble and true. If you’ve read this far, maybe you’ll download a song or two, or buy the CD if you’re still into the material object thing like I am. I think that music, like everything we make, helps create the texture of our daily lives. We like to be a part of that. Can we be a part of your texture? Oh, and also, do you know any good keyboard players?

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