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GUTBUCKET - Creative Concoction of Rock & Funk Distilled in Dense Waters of the Blues By Matt Brady Q. How do you know if you are about to hear some great music in the tri-cities? A. When you show up at White's Bar on a Sunday night and half the guys smoking are holding their cigarettes between their ring and middle fingers while the gal at the next table is so 'into it' that her head is wobbling around like its riding forty-weight ball bearings. Gutbucket, photo collage by Matt Brady That was the scene back in early February when I hit White's to hear a trio of hipsters known as Gutbucket, consisting of Dave Kellan (guitars, vocals), Jake Krull (bass guitar), and Bee Jay Mitchell (drums). Recently nominated for both Best Blues band and Musician (Kellan) Deserving Wider Recognition by tri-city music fans in the upcoming 15th Review Music Awards, I got "Behind the Music" the band via telephone in search of an answer to the question of what makes this band such a uniquely rousing experiment. While our foray "Behind the Music" did not reveal any utterly dramatic "Pressures of the road proving too much for the band" or "Harrowing slides into cocaine and heroin addiction," Gutbucket's bio held true to the storyline of a VH1 rock documentary- minus of course the budgets, the buses, the blondes, and the big hair. Gutbucket began as Everslacking; a foursome of 6th and 7th grade kids dedicated to hanging out together, cranking out Green Day and Nirvana covers, and "Just kinda being loud." As do most secondary school super-groups, Everslacking rose, sparkled and faded not long after coming together. After the breakup, Kellan went on to explore vocal and guitar technique, Krull got guitar lessons, and Mitchell grew out his hair. It was also during this exploratory period that Kellan took up songwriting and penned what would later become some of Gutbucket's first original tunes. Several years later, three of the four former members of Everslacking rekindled the spark by plugging into a "totally crap-filled P.A. system" at Kellan's Delta college dorm room. The guys poured themselves into a concoction of rock, R&B, and jazz-funk; serving up a mixture of low-down and soulful, nitty-gritty blues music. Named after a style of Jazz originally played in gin mills, whorehouses, and honky-tonks back in the early 1900's, Gutbucket was born. "A lot of people might not understand it, but when they hear us, we see by their heads moving they know exactly what it is. You can get high just off the music" Kellan said. Supplying crowds a legal high week after week requires energy and improvisational virtuosity that the band puts a lot of pressure upon itself to deliver, and they draw upon a unique mixture of the familiar and the far-out to carry out this task. The band finds inspiration listening to hip-hop, R&B, and jazz; styles that emphasize jumpy, light rhythms and funky backbeats versus the old-school Pearl Jam formulas of rock super-groups like Creed. The guys also spend a lot of time studying rock's roots including everything from early Jazz to the Mississippi Delta Blues of Robert Johnson. Kellan's guitar is a synthesis of Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Allman Brothers and Hendrix, and his vocals blend styles pioneered by Ella Fitzgerald, George Benson, and Billie Holiday. Kellan focuses on creating non-linear sounds, imitating Jazz guitar legend Charlie Christian, who was able to communicate on guitar and vocally with a sound nearly one and the same. "I'm shooting for that kind of freedom of self-expression," Kellan said. Krull's playing is also heavily influenced by Jazz greats, and he finds himself studying everything from Miles Davis and John Coltrane to the funky plunkings of electric bass god Jaco Pasterius. In addition to working on improving his personal performance, Krull recently brought the band one step closer to reaching beyond the Tri-Cities by purchasing a 1995 Dodge Ram conversion van, a vehicle the band anxiously awaits having to call "Home" for an as-yet to be scheduled tour. While the band is branching out into more complex forms of music, Krull says "We're still a rock band, and we're going to give you a sonic blast in the face" - the potent combination that keeps bringing Gutbucket fans back week after week. "We're going after the people who understand live music and what it can do. Right now we're working to be a better band and better musicians; always striving to be original, spontaneous and full of energy. When we put it all together, it's exciting for us and the crowd, and the music becomes a high all its own," Krull added. The band captured much of that infectious energy on their first self-titled original CD, which is available at their shows and in Midland at The Turntable, Sam Goody, and Mid-Michigan Music, as well as Harmony House in Saginaw. Do yourself a favor and get the CD- not only will you find it a welcome addition in your rotation, you'll also feel good supporting local musicians over the mind-numbing melanoma that is much of today's mass manufactured and marketed mainstream music. Channeling their expressions through a mixture of 20 or so original tunes and wide-variety of covers makes Gutbucket different from a lot of the groups you'll see on the tri-city scene. You're not likely to hear Margaritaville, Mellencamp, or Melissa Etheridge- and that's fine with fans as they know they'd be missing out on the band's improvisational talent and outright musicianship. While they plan on continuing to perform in the tri-cities and sticking to the formula of Blues, Rock and Funk that got them started; incorporating new sounds, touring, and putting together a second album are all in Gutbucket's immediate future. You can follow their progress and find out all about the band via their website at www.gutbucketbluesband.com Lastly, when you see the band perform live and find yourself getting carried away by the music and the fact Bee Jay looks like Richard Fish from Ally McBeal; while the band certainly does not discourage the throwing of bras and panties on stage, do Jake and Bee Jay's girlfriends a favor and say you meant them for Dave. "That'd be fine by me," Kellan said.
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