Sometimes, music is in your face; overtly opportunistic in communicating social agendas and pointing out how we lack as a society. Ska, typically, is what I call “happy music”, and I mean that in a good way, not sardonically. The beat is high energy, the horns infectious and the lyrics usually pretty tongue-in-cheek and fun. I don’t think of ska as being a genre of music generally set up to advance any social agenda. Saturday night, though, in a very organic way, two of our local ska bands demonstrated perfectly what we should be doing as a community, and it was pretty cool to be there to witness it.

• photo by Zach McGee Photography
• UNRB's Andy Pilcher, Noel Rochford, Jeff Phillips and Dan Smith skank along with the crowd

Charleston, SC’s Tidal Jive promotes itself as a “six-piece funk powerhouse often featuring horns and salsa inspired percussion”. Not ska, per se, but a great compliment to the ska sound. This gig was the end of their tour, though, and their “powerhouse” appeared to be running on fumes… they were down to just three: Spodie Odie on lead vocals and guitar, Chris Shecut on keyboards and sax, and Justin Harper on bass. Their drummer had been called home unexpectedly, and UNRB’s Eric Allaire graciously agreed to sit in on drums. By the time they had set up, the crowd had thinned to a couple dozen, half of which were the previous bands’ members hanging out after their performances.

Always the consummate professionals, Tidal Jive took the stage and Spodie gamely engaged the crowd as best he could, managing to entice a few patrons to wander closer toward the stage. They began to play. They opened with a cover of Bill Withers’ “Use Me". A few bars into the song, UNRB’s Ben Datin and Andy Pilcher eased their way on to the stage with trumpet and trombone in hand. Two bars later, Johnnycakes’ sax and trombone jumped in, too. Each verse, somebody else grabbed the closest instrument at hand and joined in to the melodiousness - UNRB’s Noel Rochford even found a triangle somewhere and wailed on that. By the end of the TWENTY MINUTE cover of “Use Me”, the three original members of Tidal Jive has swelled to twelve, the stage was groaning with the weight of the musical genius and the energy was palpable. It was amazing.

The Tidal Jive & Friends jam set went on, as musicians jumped in and out, as the spirit moved them, for almost two hours. There were less than twenty people in the crowd, but closing your eyes, you’d have been convinced these guys were playing to a crowd of 20,000. Tidal Jive’s “Making Love (To My Guitar)” was inspired. Don't get me wrong; Tidal Jive is no joke. Justin can slap a bass like no other, and Spodie's riffs were staggering. If you were there, you were transported; if you were not, you missed out. (Your loss. Don’t miss the next show. Spodie tells me they will definitely be back. Did I mention it was amazing?)

What, if anything, does this have to do with social agenda and our community as a whole? It occurred to me on the way home that these guys had inadvertently created the perfect alchemy of collaboration and effort to produce perfection. Each of them plays, because they must. It is what they love to do, and they are very good at it. There was no creative ego at play; there was no posturing for attention of limelight. Hell, there was literally no one there to impress and no obligation on their part to do anything. Nevertheless, they all have been or will be the band in from out of town without a fan base. They have all geared up for a show and no one was there. They all know the high of putting on a great show. Moreover, they were all willing and able to jump in together and be a part of a beautiful thing. Can you even imagine how many situations we could improve and how many problems we could solve if we, as a community, approached every interaction in our day with this kind of attitude? If music soothes the savage breast, play on, brothers; play on.

Local 662 https://www.facebook.com/TheLocal662
UNRB (http://www.UNRBmusic.com)
Johnnycakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse(www.guttercalypso.com)
Tidal Jive (http://www.reverbnation.com/tidaljive09)
Zach McGee Photography https://www.facebook.com/zachmcgeephotography

• Photos from Facebook

I know it's cliche, but last Friday night at The Hideaway Cafe and Recording Studio, I got yet another lesson in not judging a band by its appearance, which is something I have always struggled with.

It was your typical busy night in downtown St. Petersburg — Rays game goers milling about along with people out enjoying First Friday and the area's menagerie of shows, bars and restaurants. I found myself at Hideaway Cafe (1756 Central Ave.) and was not quite sure what to expect from the bands scheduled to play that evening: Spark Notes and The Wholetones. Owner John Kelly made me curious with his overtures about how young and extremely talented the bands were.

Gene and Lalo [pictured right] make up the lively Spark Notes, and they opened the evening with a short set of acoustic alt-rock tunes. Gene plays acoustic guitar and throws in some harmonies while Lalo slaps the bass and belts out insane lead vocals.

The duo emanates infectious energy, making it hard not to smile. Lalo is both animated on and off stage. Their first tune had a punk vibe to it (I immediately thought of The Matches) and one of its lyrics — "The sun is imploding" — got stuck in my head all night. The next song had a softer vibe and really showcased their abilities to harmonize. Gene added somewhat old school, Flamenco-style touches with his picking and casual strumming. And Lalo — who's got an amazing set of pipes — hit notes I didn't know guys could reach (well, save for Adam Lambert). A song about their hometown, "Sarasota," proved to be a crowd favorite, and got the audience clapping and even singing along to the refrain: "Forever I adore you oh Sara, Sarasota."

Preston played for a large crowd of friends and family at the cozy Hideaway Cafe last Wed., June 1, for the release of his new EP, I'll Be Home. The hour long set was full of original music; just Luke and his acoustic guitar, perfect for the atmosphere at Hideaway Cafe. The lyrics were meaningful and reminiscent of any teenager graduating high school and getting ready to go off to college. Preston's music could be compared to that of Jeff Buckley and George Strait; textural rhythms mixed with basic chords and melodies that draw in the audience. His EP was recorded at Hideaway Cafe with help from owner and producer John Kelly.

"Luke is such a great kid and a talented musician. He is so on-point for a guy his age," Kelly said.

Luke graduated from Tampa Prep this year and is preparing for his big move to Tennessee to study Music Business. "I'm really excited, but I'm also going to miss Clearwater," Luke said. One of my favorite songs he performed is actually about growing up in Clearwater. It is full of personal memories, ones that even his friends laughed at.
Moving away from your longtime hometown is always hard for everyone involved. At least he left his family and friends with an EP of great music and a night of fun memories that will last a lifetime.