Jamming in Jackson

Dusty Nichols is Jammin in Jackson

Dusty Nichols lives in the shadows of the Grand Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming where he has many irons in the fire. Aside from playing live in numerous bands, he has released a EP based on John Steinbeck’s East of Eden as Canyon Kids with fellow musician Bo Elledge. These days he is trying to break into the composing world. I recently a chance to sit down and chat with Dusty, check it out!

What are you up to in Jackson?

I’m in a few different bands-I play with a group called Uncle Stack and the Attack and we have a weekly residency. I’m also in Maddie and the Groovespots where we play funk/jazz/pop. That’s a bit of a different sound for Jackson, but we’ve been received pretty well. There’s a lot of country and bluegrass, but there’s a burgeoning scene for new music too.

Who are the Canyon Kids?

Canyon Kids actually isn’t a band. I was in a group called Elk Attack with Bo Elledge, and when they broke up we remained good friends. Later we decided we wanted to record an album. It was mainly a recording project, so we raised money via kickstarter to rent out this beautiful stage in Jackson. Bo recently moved to Charleston, SC and so now we’re promoting the album from different parts of the country.

Can you talk about how Steinbeck’s East of Eden influenced your songs on the Canyon Kid’s EP?

I read an interview with Jimmie James, who is one of my favorite musicians (My Morning Jacket is one of my favorite bands) where he was talking about a book that changed his life; I can’t remember the name of the book, but he said that it was a big influence on his solo album. East of Eden is my all-time favorite book, so I decided that I’d write a song for each character. I ended up only getting three characters, and the first song is an instrumental piece that I thought would fit well in the landscape of the Salinas Valley.

Are there different challenges writing a concept album versus a regular old song?

I actually really liked it, knowing that there was something very clear that I wanted to write about. Sometimes I sit down to write a song and I have no idea what I’m going to put in there, but it was easier to have this project where I am picking from a book that already has so much to say.

You’re also involved on the production side of things, how did you get into that?

I just forced my way in. I started doing live sound stuff, and the place that I was working had a Pro Tools HD rig, and I convinced the guy I was working for to let me be the sound guy. I always wanted to learn how to do that. Most recently, what I’m really trying to get into is composing for promotional videos and commercials. There are a lot of ski movies that happen in Jackson, and I’d interested in breaking into the composing for those movies.

Are you veering away from songwriting then?

Well, it’s still songwriting, it’s just different. I see that there is a greater need for this sort of thing and I’m trying to figure out something that is more sustainable for me. There are a lot of guys that have broken into the composing world. Guys like Johnny Greenwood who did the soundtrack for There Will Be Blood and The Master.

What’s it like working with a whole bunch of people rather than just one group?

It’s great. Jackson is one of those places that has a whole diverse group of people, it’s astounding actually. For the Canyon Kids album we brought in a whole bunch of people. We probably had fifteen people playing on this album. We just reach out to the community and it delivers every time.

What’s next for you? Do you have any musical goals?

I’d love for the Canyon Kids stuff to get recognized and it would be great to tour with that music. I’m also headed into the studio pretty soon with one of my bands. Until that happens I’m really focused on the composing.

If you could have one historical super-fan for you music who would it be?

Genghis Khan

What would be your crazy amenity on your rider?

I’ve seen some crazy ones working backstage. Andrew Bird only drank Mexican Cokes and ate organic sushi. I guess I’d only want brown M n’ Ms in a bowl.

If you could collaborate with any musician who would you play with?

I’d probably go with Jim James from My Morning Jacket. Not only because I’m a huge fan, but he also seems like a cool guy. I don’t think I’d work well with Thom Yorke.

by Kyle Smith

 

Finding Music With Nicole D’amico

Getting to Know Nicole D’Amico

Nicole D’Amico (of Nicole D’amico and Friends) makes music that is one part jam-band, one part Blues-Rock, a dash of Reggae, funk and fiery guitars and top it off with a heavy dose of Joplinesque vocals. I had a chance to chat with her about following the Dead and finding music along the way. Check it out!

How did music start for you?

When I was little, I played piano and I was atrocious, so it never seemed as though I had musical abilities. I always danced, but never played an instrument after that. It wasn’t until I got to UMass-Amherst when I got into the Grateful Dead and started touring. Every night there were drum circles, but I was never really a part of it until my boyfriend at the time stuck a guitar in my hand and said, “You gotta play.”

Did you even know you could sing before that?

No! [laughs] When I was a kid, I listened to a recording of my voice and didn’t realize that what people heard was different than the sounds in my head. I took that to mean I couldn’t sing in tune, and that what I am hearing is totally different. Then someone finally said to me, “you actually have a decent voice.” After that I started to think differently.

Was your voice always the gravely, Janis Joplin-like, voice, or did you have to work to that?

My mom called it the screech when I started because I would always push my voice to sound that way up to the point where it was crack. It definitely took a lot of time to get to where it is now, but I always had that huskier tone to my voice.

When did you decide to take music seriously?

I think Dan [Adler-Golden] was a big part of that. I was just playing open mics and he got me to start recording. I ended up recording 20 tracks as is. The guy who recorded me was friends with the guys who ran Unregular Radio, and so it just sort of took off from there. If you had asked me a couple years ago if I was going to be a musician, I would have told you that I have no musical abilities what-so-ever.

Who are your biggest influences?

The Grateful Dead, Joplin; right now Susan Tedeschi is one of my favorites. My dad is such a Beatles fan and loves Bob Marley; he was the one who got me into Classic Rock.

Can you talk about the musical community in which you find yourself?

I definitely fall into a variety of communities. My drummer and guitarist, [Alex Martin and Zach Cohen] play in a band called the Family Dinner that’s actually a live hip-hop group. We are sort of in that hip-hop scene, but we are definitely in the jam-band scene, the funk scene, reggae/island music, and the blues scene. People don’t always know where to place us.

What is your ideal setting to play?

It’s hard, because each venue has its own vibe. I love playing festivals because sometimes you have thousands of people looking at you, and you have these waves of emotion coming at you. At the very small clubs you may only have 10 people watching you and it’s so intimate that there’s almost more pressure. Boston is one of the hardest scenes to play for, because here you are always playing for other musicians, and it’s intimidating. It’s the most rewarding and challenging for that fact. Boston is interesting too, especially for blues and jazz, because you have these old heads that have been doing it forever.

Do you have any guiding principles behind your music?

Not really, we just want people to dance. We always say, we’re not the band that brings the crowd, we are the band that keeps them. We want our music to be a conversation with the audience.

What are you doing now?

I’ve just had a baby, so I’m really trying to work around the schedule of being a mother. I play acoustic sets with Rachel DeTroy who is my best friend and the godmother of my baby, but I’m also playing with Zach, Alex and my husband once a month.

If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

Being a Deadhead, it would be my absolute pleasure to be on stage with Phil Lesh.

What would be your one studio amenity on your rider?

I love sunflowers, so I’d have to have them in my dressing room.

Who would you want to be a superfan?

If Susan Tedeschi told me I was doing alright, that would be enough satisfaction for a lifetime.

 

 

By Kyle Smith

Freelancing Florida with Christian Ryan

Christian Ryan Interview 3/23/14

By K. Winslow Smith

Christian Ryan is an Orlando, Florida based saxophonist who epitomizes the idea of the

freelance musician. He plays with dozens of bands and is a constant fixture up and down the

sunny Florida peninsula and America’s southeast. He blends genres and breaks down musical

barriers, having played with Incubus-like prog bands, Christian-Pop-Spanish groups,

jambands, funk outfits, and much more. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with

Christian, check it out!

 

When did you discover music?

I grew up listening to my parent’s music. My mom was really into Motown and my dad was

more of a classic rock guy. I started playing saxophone when I was in 6th grade, just over ten years ago.

Right about when I was seventeen or eighteen I really

started pursuing music seriously. I grew up doing the school band thing for a while,

and I didn’t think I was going to be a performing musician. I thought maybe I was

going to be a band director, but right around when I was seventeen I heard the Dave

Brubeck Quartet and I never heard anything like it before and it changed my whole perspective.

 

How has being a freelance musician differed from being in a set band?

When I first started I was primarily playing with a singer-songwriter. For a while I

was just involved with that. When you really put your heart and soul into something

and it doesn’t really work out, it can really drive you crazy. It got to the point where

I was frustrated, and it got to where I couldn’t rely on people to be a certain way.

After that I started branching out and playing with other people. Freelance, opposed

to being in other groups, is like being a mercenary in a certain way. Any band that

I play with sends me their music and I learn it, a lot of times I don’t even rehearse

with these guys. I’ll show up and do the gig, and that’s it. As a freelance guy you

take everything into your own hands. Most everything I’ve done has been by myself.

It’s gotten to the point that a lot of people in Florida, when they think of a saxophone

player, they think of me. Being a freelance person, a lot of people just wait for things

to happen, rather than going out there and making things happen. I’ve played at some

festivals in front of a lot of people, and I’ve played in backyards with a handful of people.

 

How do you approach a new gig?

Recently, there was a band from Tampa who hit me up because

their trumpet player was going to be out of town—they sent me a few dates and I

told them which ones I could make it to and in a about a week’s time I learned the

horn lines, I drove down to Tampa and played the show. I just always try to be as

professional as possible. Being prepared is one thing I really strive to do. When a new

group approaches me it’s not just that I’m open to their music, it’s that I’m open to

how they do things as well.

 

Do you have any musical goals?

I have this three-headed goal. My main goal is be a part of the music festival circuit—whether

with a particular band or as myself as an artist. I’d love to have the ability to tour

and then have my own home-base here in Orlando. The last thing would be to make

my own music. I feel like I have a lot left to learn before I pursue my own particular music.

 

Do you have a philosophy of music or any guiding principles?

One of my mantras is to do what you love, whatever that may be. Once I discovered

the flame and realized that I wanted to play music for the rest of my life I just went

for it. Any art in particular you’ll have the naysayers who say you’ll have to get a real

job or you can’t possibly make a living that easy, but what is easy? If it’s something

you’re passionate about, you gotta do it. I’m fortunate because some people might

not find that thing, but for me it clicked and I rolled with it. It hasn’t been easy all the

time, but when I’m playing on a stage, whenever that may be and with whoever that

may be it’s like nothing else. I don’t do drugs, and I don’t drink, so that feeling I get

when I’m on stage performing with people is all I need to keep on keeping on. It’s

like you’re in another world where nothing can go wrong. It’s euphoric.

 

Where do you get your kicks, live or recording?

I’m much more of a live performer than a studio musician. With live music you

get the audience reaction, and any one moment could go in a direction you might

not expect. There are those moments that happen that you can’t duplicate, where

everything comes together at the right time and that can’t be matched. The studio

gives you the opportunity to do a lot of things; you can bring in different musicians

and overdub and there are multiple takes. There’s more freedom live. In the studio

there’s schedules and deadlines. I’m trying to find a unique voice in the studio,

whereas live I already have an established sound. Recording is an art in itself, from

the musicians to the engineers to everybody else that has a hand in it. Whereas live

it’s the band and the audience.

 

If you could collaborate with any musician who would it be?

I’d love to have played with Frank Zappa. I have the greatest respect for him, not only

as a musician but as a person. I’d love to play with Snarky Puppy. I got to meet their

bass player and he’s a really down to earth guy, and to see someone you really look

up to be so humble is great.

 

What would the one thing on your studio contract be?

I’m just really happy if I get some food. [laughs] A nice fresh home-cooked meal. I’d

also like a bottle of original Listerine for my reeds.

 

Be sure to check out Christian’s music at christianryanmusic.com, as well as his projects, Buster Keaton and Holey Miss Moley!

Ancient Peasants and Steamboats with Jon Jaffee

By: K. Winslow Smith

Jon Jaffee is man of many talents. Jon is  guitarist+vocalist for The Wondermics, a Boston-based funk/soul/hip-hop outfit about to release their first full-length studio album. He also performs with Steamboats, a folk group based in New York City that blends beautiful harmonies with intricate acoustic performance. Recently I had the chance to catch up with Jon to talk about his music and the joy of interacting with a diverse musical community.

Where did music start for you?

My dad always played music, he went to music school but didn’t finish. I have a very musical family, a lot of my uncles play and my mother is a great appreciator of music. I started with playing and singing Beatles songs. One of my early musical memories is singing and recording “My Girl” at a family friend’s studio. I also did a lot of musical theatre and improv. When I started playing guitar, I immediately started writing songs; taking chords from songs and rearranging them. The first band I was in was with Nick Throop, who is in Steamboats.

What did you listen to growing up?

I always listened to Crosby, Still, and Nash or The Beatles, James Taylor was a big one. I also listened to what my sister was listening to; Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. Then I got into soul and Motown—the Temptations, Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye in a big way. Curtis Mayfield was huge, I love Curtis.

What was it about that music that got you hooked (as opposed to the other stuff that 15 year olds were listening to)?

Don’t get me wrong, I got down on some shitty music. I had Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Covered Starfish. [laughs] But I always enjoyed soul music. It’s formulaic in a really awesome way; you know what’s going to happen and it feels great. There’s only a couple things you can sing about in soul music, but you can do it tons of ways. What I’m really drawn to musically and stylistically is harmony on the melody; purposeful, melodic ideas in music is very powerful.

What is your creative process like?

With “So Silly” I wrote the words and the chords in a style that was acoustic—it was just me singing and it had a much different feel to it. It had a lot of verses, and Myers hadn’t written the rap. When I brought it to the band we stripped it down, took out a verse. The song “Sextape Celebrities” was lyrically driven by Nate, Tres, and Mike. I had this one groove for the chorus and we all threw out ideas. That song was much more collaborative.

Do you have a philosophy of music, or guiding principles?

One of my favorite things about music, and one of the things that I am conscious of is that music is a conversation. When you are playing music amongst the players, it sounds best when it’s delivered as a conversation. Our parts interact and complement each other. We have to be in tune with one another. It’s also a conversation between the band and whoever is listening to it. It’s much easier to convey emotion with music than it is with words. With words you have to explain yourself over and over again. To me it gets me there immediately.

Let’s talk about collaboration with other artists. How do you interact with other musicians?

I’ve always had a very musical community around me. I don’t know if my seeking out musical people is subconscious, but most of my friends play music. I’m the biggest fan of Rocky and the Pressers, they are the dopest. [laughs]. It was such an honor to sing on their album. I’m all about collaborating; sometimes it’s hard to write a song with someone else, but playing with a band is the greatest feeling. When you can get musicians together in a room to play the same song, it’s like the stars are aligned, and the tides meets the beach at the right angle, with the sun. It’s like a cosmic thing. Musicians are the craziest people out there…and painters.

And musician painters are the weirdest people of all.

Oh my god, stay away. [laughs] For sure, I work with some interesting people, and the musical community I am a part of is very incestuous. It brings me the greatest joy to bring people together musically. That is a big win. It is such a glorious thing.

What is your ideal audience?

You were at The Wondermics show Brighton Music Hall, right?

I was indeed.

That’s the one, dude. That’s the crowd we want to play to. They know the tunes and they want to get down. It’s the best kind of party you can have in my opinion. That’s one of the reasons why this album has taken so long to make, because we are really a live band first, and we needed to get that live sound.

Do you know when the album is going to hit the shelves?

June 1st

What’s next for you?

We are going to tour to support the album, as we have been enjoying the Northeast circuit, playing in New Hampshire, a bit in Vermont. It’s good to get your chops together.

Do you enjoy being on the road or the weekly gigs?

It’s cool because I do both. I have a weekly gig with Steamboats in Manhattan, and with the Wondermics we tour a lot. We don’t hit Boston too often, because when we do we like to have big shows. I like to tour, even though it is a hustle and it costs a lot of money.

If you could have a famous superfan who would it be?

It would be great to have an ancient peasant. [laughs] Or Dangelo, he’s awesome.

If your bands could be any food what would they be?

Well, Steamboats would be a warm cup of Earl Grey with a scone or a crumpet. It’s a comforting kind of delicious thing. The Wondermics are definitely a spicy meatloaf.

If you could collaborate with any musician who would it be?

I would love to sing with Crosby, Stills, and Nash back in the day.

 

 

Getting to Know Rocky Russo

Photo by Sarah J. Halliday

Rocky Russo is a man of many musical talents, both on the stage and off. His band, Rocky and the Pressers, is reggae at heart, but they incorporate ethereal, sophisticated harmonies and tonalities that have become associated with new folk and indie rock. Rocky is also a wizard behind the mixing board, having been tapped by The Wondermics to engineer and produce their upcoming album. Kyle Smith of GroupTones chatted with Rocky about his music, his history, and music philosophy. (Be forewarned, Nietzsche makes a guest appearance)

Where did music start for you? What did you listen to early on?

I was lucky to go to an elementary school where we played a lot of music. Until recently I hadn’t realized how that contributed to my interests in music. We played the recorder and all that simple stuff. We also had to take an orchestral instrument in sixth grade—I took the clarinet. By the time I got to middle school I had started playing bass, and I lost interest in the clarinet. My first a-ha! moment musically came when I heard Sublime, and that’s one of the things that sent me on the course of being interested in reggae music.

Were your parents influential musically?

I am a first generation musician. The main reason I started on the clarinet was because my Dad had one—he fought in the Korean War. One way he avoided active duty was by playing in the military band, and one of his best pieces of advice was, “If you ever get drafted or have to be in the military, work in the kitchen or play in the band, because then you won’t have to do anything dangerous.”

It’s hard to label Rocky and the Pressers as simply reggae with the complexity of your vocal harmonies that hard to mix?

As far as walking a line between reggae and the more contemporary elements you hear, it’s not hard to do that—the rhythmic element is always intended to be a reggae, Jamaican, soul, R n’ B vibe. It’s easy to keep those influences together, but the elements that are associated with the New Folk and Indie Rock scene—the vocal harmonies and the sonic stuff—are present in reggae music, but they are used a little differently. The way we use them may be more like Fleet Foxes sometimes might use them but some reggae artists were also fearless with close harmonies.  That is sort of the novelty to our sound, but it also represents the challenge to the listener.

How did you get into the sound-tech world?

It started as me building a home studio so that I could record my band from college. Then you talk to friends who ask to come by to record, and then before I knew it I ended up with thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment.

How is it working with the Wondermics in a professional studio?

I worked with them on their EP, so I knew their vibe, but what they were going for on this record was much more serious. The EP represented a younger band, but the LP shows them as being more certain, more determined. They wanted a sound that was modern, but still harkened back to retro, soulful stuff, like Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye.

When you are playing live, how does the audience react to the different elements if your music?

The reception is usually pretty good, but some people are confused by what they hear. It’s not exactly music that is straight-ahead danceable, it’s the type of thing you can sit down and think about theoretically too. All the reggae stuff is dance music at its core but the eclectic mix perplexes people. [In a commercial voice] Your experience may vary.

Can you describe your creative process?

There is a healthy amount of collaboration. But Eric Sullivan, who is the lead singer, is the primary songwriter. The vocal and rhythmic arrangements are collaborative but the band is not set up for creative democracy. We go with an old-school approach with a primary songwriter and he is the creative director of what is happening. I believe that artistic creativity happens best when there is a single strong force behind it and there are other people around to help it along in creative ways. Being a bassist and engineer, my role is to help shepherd things along, but not necessarily be the primary creative force.

Do you have a philosophy of music?

I have some guiding principles about my role. As a bassist and engineer, I see myself as someone who is meant to be in a supportive role. In terms of a more philosophical role of music generally, I think of Nietzsche when he talked about the idea that what makes music powerful is the way it effects your body and the way music has a direct connection to your body. He was a very poetic writer, and he felt that for his writing to have an effect on the reader it had to have a rhythm and a poetry to it. The thing that is so striking to me is that he was a writer, but he believed the most potent form of art was music.

What’s next for the Pressers?

We are playing out a lot. We put on these last tours independently. It’s difficult working at the grassroots level, but it’s important because it gets you into playing shape and gets you in front of new people. We’re also working on a few pieces of new content and producing a follow up to the “Never Dry” video, which was produced and directed by our good friend, Riley Fields. We’ll be working with jim on the new one too, but the idea is to be more reflective of what we do live….There is also talk of making another record in the next year or so.

Getting to know Ali McGuirk

Ali McGuirk brings to the stage a refreshing comfort and grace uncommon in Boston. It’s as though she and the stage are old friends who share intimate jokes.

A few weeks ago at Atwoods I saw her perform a balance of superbly picked covers; ranging from Beyoncé’s “Love on Top,” John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” and “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye—and her own gems, including “That Way”, “Honeymoon”, and “Grown Ups.” Her show has intimate beginnings, building towards the end, making the room (and the audience) hum with energy.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Ms. McGuirk prior to her set on the Atwood’s stage. She discussed her summers abroad playing in Santorini, Greece and Hong Kong, as well as her thoughts on the current scene and much more.

GT: What are you up to in Boston these days?

AM: A lot! I’m playing with new people from Western Mass. They play funk and R n B. There’s so many funky people in Western Mass, I always find myself playing with cool people out there. We’ve been playing around the area—Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. We just did a Valentine’s Day Show, it was a benefit called Hardy Meals for All. I’ve been writing new songs recently. It would be nice to make a full length mixtape.

GT: Mixtape?

AM: Whatever those full length things are called.

GT: So you’re more focused on the studio than touring?

AM: More immediately I want to create a repertoire of stuff that is more than just my favorite songs. Ideally I’d like to have time to sit down and write songs, not just have them come to me in moments of inspiration. I want to be more conscious about what I’m writing about. Not only love songs, but songs about social change, everything.

GT: You have an old sound but there is also a modern influence in there as well. Is this a conscious decision?

AM: It is. When I was growing up, my two favorite singers were Mariah Carey and Bonnie Raitt. Then when I got into high school it was Joni Mitchell and Lauren Hill. Now it’s Fiona Apple and Jill Scott.

GT: Who should we check out in Boston?

AM: I’ve become a super-fan of local rapper Dutch Rebelle who I worked with at The Sinclair.

GT: Were you playing originals or covers in Greece and Hong Kong?

Ali McGuirk: Both. In both situations I had to be myself but also had to play music people were familiar with. There was a lot of work for me over there, they take care of their musicians.

GT: Were you playing solo or with a group?

AM: In Hong Kong I played in a lot of duos. I performed with Philipino Pop Star Paul Sapiera, who is a Filipino pop-star. He made me sing Bonnie Rait “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “I Will Always Love You,” the songs I always dreamed of singing that I could never get away with here.

GT: If you could open for anyone who would it be?

AM: Honestly, it’s been a secret dream of mine to be a back up singer for India Arie

GT: Do you have a philosophy around playing music?

AM: When I nourish music, it nourishes me. It’s something that is there for anyone who wants it. The more you put into it the more you get out of it.

GT: What is your ideal audience?

AM: I’ve played shows of all sizes, shows are at dive bars because I could really let loose in there. That’s where you get the moments where it’s just me and I’m getting the emotions out.

GT: Any larger goals with music?

AM: I just want to have enough swagger to call up musicians and have them be excited about playing with me.

GT: What would your one pre-show, dressing room amenity be?

AM: A bunch of pink starbursts. [laughs]

Catching up with Gold Blood

Last week I caught up with singer Phil Desisto of Das Muerte. We talked rock, Boston music, and about his latest project, Gold Blood and the Associates

Dan: I saw Gold Blood and the Associates last December at Church, you guys rock! How long have you been at it?

Phil: I’ve been playing with Kevin Landry(bass) and Adam Lentine(drums) for 10+ years. This is our second project together. 

Dan: What was the influence for forming Gold Blood?

Phil: Gold Blood gives me the opportunity to write lyrics from personal experiences. Greats like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and Sharon Jones inspire our songwriting.

Dan: Who does the songwriting?

Phil: It’s a combined effort. Dave and I have always clicked when it comes to songwriting…I’ll start with a verse and melody, and bring this “skeleton” to Dave who fills it out with nerves and muscles.

Dan: How has this process evolved you since you started?

Phil: Technology has made the songwriting process a lot easier…now l just sing into my phone and bring it to the group.

Dan: Where can we listen to some of your music?

Phil: Our soundcloud page has several Goldblood songs, but we’re currently looking to record a few new tracks.

Dan: Speakers or headphones?

Phil: Headphones, I’m always moving when I’m listening to music.

Dan: Any Boston acts we should be sure to check out?

Phil: Absolutely! The Macrotones, Tiger Man Woah, and Miss Fairchild are all doing awesome stuff right now.