Jazz the Dog will likely be doing two 420-themed exhibits this weekend at The Ugly Mug in Soquel. (Courtesy picture)
SOQUEL — Everyone performs cowl tunes. When you first decide up an instrument, you be taught the songs from the artists you admire. You would possibly finally begin writing your personal materials or perhaps simply stick to selecting via the thousands and thousands of songs already on the market and simply play cowl tunes. It’s all artwork, and that’s effective.
Jazz the Dog takes a particularly totally different method. For probably the most half, they play different folks’s songs, however I hesitate to name them a “cover band.” Comprised of native favourite musicians Rhan Wilson, Rick Zeek and Patti Maxine, they “cover” all kinds of songs and kinds as a trio, solely often bringing in drums, bass or visitor musicians. I sat with Rhan not too long ago and requested him to elaborate on what they do and what makes what they achieve this distinctive.
“Our instrumentation is two guitars and a lap steel,” Rhan mentioned, “so we look at, ‘What sounds good with just that instrumentation?’ I have to say some cover bands are amazing. Some will go so far as playing note for note, even matching the amplifiers and guitars.”
But what you’ll hear with Jazz the Dog is acquainted tunes with a totally totally different spin. Since the band is acoustic-guitar pushed, that’s what they work with. Rhan mentioned, “We like to take songs and come up with, for example, ‘What if Chaka Kahn was a singer-songwriter?’” They additionally adapt totally different kinds to well-known songs. Think Hank Williams’ “Hey Good Lookin’” in a jazzy, nightclub motif or the often-overplayed Bob Dylan/Old Crow Medicine Show tune “Wagon Wheel” achieved in a minor key.
Fun reality: Rhan spent years pioneering the concept of placing songs into minor keys together with his annual “Altered Christmas” exhibits, which performed at Kuumbwa and The Rio, to call only a few venues. Rhan and Patti are additionally each earlier Gail Rich Award winners.
“It’s definitely unique,” Rhan provides. “People know the songs. It’s fun to watch when I’ll see people’s ears prick up and go ‘Oh, I know that song!’ So you’re honoring the song. You’re keeping the hook and the chord progression. And the chorus is still singalong-able.”
Their distinctive rearranging additionally brings new life to well-known tunes. “I don’t know why, but ‘Bad Moon Rising’ ended up in my head one day,” Rhan mentioned. I modified the texture of it and made it extra soul-like. And I spotted, ‘hurricanes and earthquakes.’ That’s a darkish music! I by no means realized that in any respect, however the lyrics abruptly stood out extra after we gave it a distinct spin.”
For this weekend’s exhibits, Jazz the Dog takes on 420 with their tenth annual tribute to pot-themed tunes. Rhan mentioned, “It’s a pretty big umbrella, and we’re loosening our requirements this year. There are obvious pot songs like ‘Don’t Bogart That Joint’ and Dylan’s ‘Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,’ which has the (really not about pot) line ‘Everybody Must Get Stoned.’ ” Rhan provides that, “For this show, anything alluding to marijuana or the culture is fair game, so we’re including a couple of Dead jams.” He laughed, saying: “Honestly, anything I listened to in high school counts as a pot song.”
As all the time, it doesn’t matter what the tune or the theme, you’ll get a totally one-of-a-kind present from the group. “We won’t do the same song the same way twice,” Rhan says. “We emphasize improvisation over note-by-note repetition. We’ve gotten really good at being in the moment and improvising. I love rearranging familiar songs. Rick is really good at creating a space for us to improvise. And Patti of course can just go along with anything.”
“We want our Jazz the Dog shows to have a ‘You had to be there’ feel,” Rhan provides. Where folks say, “They may do the song again later, but this night, they were playing right to us.”
Jazz the Dog is doing two 420-themed exhibits this weekend. The Saturday (4/20) present offered out instantly. Tickets are nonetheless available for Sunday’s present on April 21, which begins, appropriately sufficient, at 4:20 p.m.
IF YOU GO
What: Jazz The Dog Gets High with a Little Help from Their Friends.
Where: The Ugly Mug, 4640 Soquel Drive, Soquel.
When: 7 p.m., April 20; 4:20 p.m., April 21.
Tickets: $25 prematurely or $28 day of present, [email protected] or 408-499-9441.
