Today's blog entry: "What kind of music do you play?

Whenever anyone hears that I play in a band, the first question is always “What kind of music do you play?”  For some musicians, the answer is quite easy.  I assume Joshua Redman can simply answer “jazz”, and Loudon Wainwright can effortlessly say “folk.”  For us, however, it’s not so easy.  I usually end up mumbling something long and confusing before changing the subject (e.g., “sort of jazzy, but sometimes kinda rockin’, with an occasional funk vibe, and some American singer-songwriter stuff, sometimes all in the same song, um, how was your weekend?”).

From early on, Aura and I agreed that our band wouldn’t have to settle on one sound. We could have jazz chords, a little polish, some very quiet moments, some loud biting parts, some introspection, occasional goofiness, and any other sound that seems to fit the mood of the song we’re working on. I think it’s easier to market and book a band that fits a single category, but Brûlée wasn’t created for marketing purposes.

The fun thing about playing in a band that can conjure so many moods that we get to play lots of different kinds of gigs.  This past summer had a couple of jazz shows (Takoma Park JazzFest, Riversdale House Museum Jazz on the Lawn).  Tonight, we’ll be playing a loud rock thing at Roofer’s Union to the late-night Adams Morgan crowd.  Tomorrow, we have the honor of playing a backyard party to celebrate a friend’s 2-year-old daughter who recently beat cancer.  In November, we’ll be playing our first folky acoustic gig in quite a while.  So if you come see us at two consecutive gigs, you might be surprised by the contrasts. 

And we’ve booked Villain and Saint for March of next year.  I expect that to be one of the nights where we can play all sides of our music.  See you there I hope.

Check out the shows link above for dates and details.
 

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