Addison Groove Project

The members of Addison Groove Project have been gigging together professionally for nearly four years. This fact would not command much more a than passing measure of respect but for the fact that the six musicians who make up the band have only recently attained drinking age. Indeed, while moonlighting as students at a number of selective northeast-area colleges, the band members have embarked on extended tours, released two albums and shared the bill with a number of acclaimed performers, including Maceo Parker, Parliament Funkadelic, Galactic, and Groove Collective.

The group's first notable gig took place at the 1997 WBCN High School Battle of the Bands. At that time five musicians who had grown up together in Wellesley, Mass and heretofore had predominantly limited their performances to the basements and garages of themselves and their friends, entered the competition and garnered top honors. The group's original roster (which remains intact to this day with one addition) included David Adams on alto saxophone, Ben Groppe on tenor sax and percussion, John Hall on bass, Andrew Keith on drums and Brendan McGinn on guitar. At the 'BCN Battle, the group met keyboardist Rob Marscher, whose band finished second to AGP and (perhaps not coincidentally) decided to join Addison.

The band certainly adheres to truth-in-advertising clause with its moniker, as the group's sound is quite accurately reflected through its name. While working through a range of horn-infused arrangements with sleek guitar counterpoints and buoyant keyboard textures, AGP shimmers, burbles and undeniably grooves. McGinn notes, "Our music is hard to classify yet it's focussed. Instead of using a long list of descriptive styles, I feel that we are best characterized by a desire to groove. We borrow from the greats of funk, jazz, and hip hop, as Duke Ellington said, 'If it sounds good, it is good,' and therefore AGP will play it. Solo improvisation on the shoulders of writing and arrangement is the overall mantra. We want it to bounce. We want people to feel good when they hear the beats, hits, stops, chords and notes that we provide. We like our horn lines tight and our bass loud."

The group's immediate success initially led the band members to consider foregoing college in order to hit the road full-time. However, the six musicians ultimately collectively decided to enroll at a number of northeast schools, including Boston University, Brown University, Skidmore College and the Hartt School of Music. McGinn feels that, "In retrospect the decision to continue our eductions instead of prematurely beginning a career with the band was one of the better calls we have made to date. We did come very close to going straight from high school to full-time touring which may have proved overwhelming and disastrous for the longevity of the band since we were all only eighteen years old at the time." McGinn believes that while the individual members have matured both as performers and as individuals, their decision has also allowed them to build supportive fan bases on their respective campuses. He comments, "One of the key reasons we have developed a following in several markets on the Northeast despite a gigging schedule that is not as rigorous as other bands, is our connections to our respective schools throughout the region and the nation. The incredibly connected network of music-loving students across the country is astounding and has surely been vital in spreading the word about AGP."

Ultimately, of course, a band needs to speak for itself and proselytize with its music. Addison continues to make strides to this end, most notably this past summer on a five week co-headlining bill with Uncle Sammy. McGinn adds, "The twenty-five show jaunt throughout the Northeast surely helped expand our fan base while allowing us to become more confident musicians and therefore a more confident band. The tour culminated with a show at Berkshire Mountain Music Fest which stands as one of our most memorable."

The upcoming months look to loom large for the group. At the end of December Addison will release Wicked Live, the follow-up to its eponymous debut which the band issued in the spring of 1998 during its members' final months of high school. The sextet simmers on this release, recorded during a performance which took place at Skidmore College on an evening when McGinn recalls the crowd was particularly expressive in its response to the music. He affirms, "It is a good representation of where our live show it at right now. If the audience isn't dancing we aren't doing our job."

Addison Groove Project will celebrate the release of Wicked Live with three shows at the end of December- the 28th at Cambridge's House of Blues, the 29th at New York's Lion's Den and the 30th at Red Square in Burlington, Vermont. Updates and additional information are available through the group's web site- www.addisongroove.com