Finally. A new post. A lot has happened - and I have lots to talk about. A recent interview with Shirley Jones and Marty Ingals - and the re-opening of their new park - which I attended. Some changes to Twain. Tommy Womack and some Government Cheese in the near future...
So - the latest live act to blow me away?
(((photo by Mike Ingram)))
I got a message from a friend about a new "residency" of sorts. A weekly gig at a Redlands watering hole, The Vault. The gig was to be called The Hometown Getdown featuring Gino Matteo. The name? Well, that's easy enought. Gino Matteo moved from East LA to Redlands recently. It's now his hometown. Every Sunday night at The Vault? A getdown.
(((photo by Mike Ingram)))
Near 30 years old, Gino's been fronting one band or another for some 15 years. Most recently, Gino Matteo and the Family Funk. Do the math real quick and you'll know that for quite some time, he's been playing with people well over his age. Over the years, Matteo played with - and/or opened for - some fantastic artists, played for thousands (and thousands) of people, and picked up a LOT of valuable experience.
He had lost touch with something though, and started to re-examine why he might be playing. He wanted to get back to playing...because it's fun. He wanted to play with some folks who, closer to his own age, he might be hanging out with anyway. He broke down the Family Funk...and started from scratch. He brought in James Breker on bass, and Trevor Monks on drums. He'd known both of these guys for quite some time - one of whom since adolescence. These three jammed...got tight...then Gino made one more call. That call was to Q. That is, Quinton Hufferd.
(((photo by Mike Ingram)))
Originally from San Diego, Q is becoming (has become?) a name in the Inland Empire and Southern California. Q was a founding member of the 5th Street Jazz combo (which still plays - sans Q - in the alley next to Augie's Coffee Shop in Redlands). He was also one of the original members of Big Papa and the TCB. Without Q, they will definitely still be a band worth seeing. BUT- without Q - they will definitely be less interesting. Q is with a couple of other area bands (The Griff Hamlin Band, Yardsale), and also teaches blues piano online. Q is also the friend who alerted me to this gig.
(((note~ I really DON'T mean to slam Big Papa and the TCB with that statement. It's really meant to be more of a compliment to Q. I recently (mid-march 2013) tried to explain my statement to Chris Thayer (Big Papa). He stopped me. Seems to have understood. Big Papa and the TCB is still QUITE a wonderful band - and as stated earlier - WELL worth seeing. DF)))
But back to Gino. It's his name out front.
(((photo by Mike Ingram)))
The man knows his fretboard! And...he in no way relies on any familiar tropes. Each attack is an exploration. Whether exploring sound effects, playing out Amazing Grace with Harmonics (at the end of THIS video), or flying up, down...then up the neck again...you want to watch as well as listen. He CAN shred when he wants to...but doesn't rely soley ON it. Too many people pick up this ability - then do nothing but. Thankfully this isn't the case with Gino. There's just as much variety in style as there is in music.
But there IS a constant.
Soul.
Not - say - the kind of thing ya get from James Brown or Aretha or somebody. More like...ohhhh...The Allman Brothers. Not the Ramblin' Man kinda thing, mind you. Think more in the lines of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Think of some of the offshoots in the Allman Brothers family tree. Derek Trucks...Gov't Mule....there you go. Think Soulshine. Now throw in a bit of Tom Waits, Joe Cocker, a bit of New Orleans with a taste of a Southern black gospel church (chuch).
Oh yeah! How about the slowwwww, building instrumentals. The kind with the gradual intensity to knock you outta your socks. Think Stevie Ray...think Stan Kenton's band doing a Dave Barduhn arrangement of My Funny Valentine. Take this all a step further when Jade steps up for vocals.
(((photo by Mike Ingram)))
Now...when you see this band, it's a treat to stay to the end. Not that they've been going off of a set list all night - Gino calls them out AS they're starting - but at the end of the night, it gets really fun. Start with ANY tune...soon it drifts into Suzie Q...then Billie Jean...then, while trading licks with Q, some Christmas tune...all with the same funk-driven backbeat.
They've promised to be an every Sunday thing - 7-11pm - at The Vault - in Redlands. BUT - I'd catch 'em while you can. These guys are a touring band. Mostly along the coast...up to the Bay area and back. Gino just happens to live in Redlands now.
Which is good, 'cause I just couldn't see myself driving to East LA every Sunday night.
Much less making it out.
Come back to this page soon. I'm sure I'll be editing, adding photos and more.
