Jason Spooner may be a Colby grad but don't hold it against him. His band will return to Jack Magee's Pub next Thursday to regale students with another unique performance.
Spooner said, "Thursday's show will be an unpredictable mix of madness; we have a wide range of stuff. Expect upbeat, danceable tunes, some Johnny Cash, funk, reggae..."
The trio is composed of Spooner, bassist Andy Rice, and drummer Reed Chambers. The formation of the band all began over PA speakers. When Spooner, then a soloist, was selling the speakers, he met Chambers, who was in another band at the time. The two bonded over a mutual love of music and Spooner later took Chambers up on his parting offer of, "If you ever need a drummer, give me a call."
After playing as a duo for two years, Chambers felt they needed a bassist to fill out their sound. That was when Rice came in. Spooner said, "Everything [Rice] does is related to music. He has a degree in jazz, knows theory, and teaches music. He is a very smart guy and has a great feel for music." Rice's ability to play both electric and upright bass has added versatility to the group.
Each member brings different influences to the group. Rice has jazz and avante garde tastes; Chambers loves reggae, soul, James Brown and is a "Police freak;" and Spooner leans more to the rootsy, blues, songwriter side.
Since its last Bowdoin show, the band has been very busy appearing at a variety of venues. This summer, the band performed at Maine Stages, a night of local music preceding the Salt Water Music Festival. Maine Stages was organized into three free in-town shows on July 31. Spooner's band played at the Bath show, with Spooner acting as host of the event.
As icing on the cake, one of the band's tracks was included on the Salt Water Music Festival's compilation CD, which featured big-name artists like Strangefolk and Dar Williams.
Spooner said, "It was cool to be a part of a festival like that. It's great that events like that can support local upcoming acts."
Food TV fans may also recognize the band from a recent appearance on Food Nation with Bobby Flay. In each episode, Flay profiles a different city or region and its local culinary character. Flay usually chooses a local band to play in the background.
When Flay visited Maine for a show featuring the notorious Maine lobster, the Portland Visitor's Bureau recommended the Jason Spooner Band. "We've been a visible local band, paying our dues for years. The opportunity fell into our laps," Spooner said.
The show included the band in a portion of the segment they filmed on Cousin's Island in Yarmouth. Spooner said the whole ordeal took only forty-five minutes. "We made some dough, had some fun, and were on TV, which was pretty cool," he said.
Spooner added that whenever the episode airs, sales of the band's album, Lost Houses, go up. "It really showed us the power of national television. The orders pour in from places I've never been to," he said.
The Jason Spooner Band is also scheduled to play at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine on September 25. The Fair, which is sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, is known as a celebration of rural, sustainable living. It's a throwback to old-fashioned county fairs, complete with samples of organic foods featuring Maine-grown ingredients, livestock demonstrations, horse shows, a donkey and mule show, and even a manure toss competition.
"Supporting local music is a big part of what they do," Spooner said. The Spooner Band, which also played there last year, will be closing out the night with Innana, a compelling group of women playing African drums.
The band is in the early stages of planning a second album, which would focus more on a "rhythmic, ensemble, cohesive band sound," as opposed to the more acoustic Lost Houses.