The Dave Watts Motet
January 14, 2000
Sonny's Bar & Grill Albequerque, NM

By Jedediah Smith

Sonny's has developed quite a scene in the past year as the primary place for heads to catch great live music. I caught the Ominous Seapods there last year for $5. It is a small and intimate room that holds about two or three hundred. Anyway, Friday's show was about the best you can get for your money in Albuquerque. The Dave Watts Motet from Boulder funked shit up.

The band opened with some drumming and didn't quite capture the audience the way I thought they should. Watts on drums (who is also the drummer for the Tony Furtado Band), percussionist Scott Messersmith, and the lead singer (I forgot his name) all were handy with their various drums. The band ran through a long set of a variety of musical backgrounds from R&B to earthy drum circle jams, to jazzy funk. The most notable jam of the first set was an African folksy type chant, in which all members of the band participated, in a spot-on call and response chant. But the set kind of lacked the energy I was looking for. For me the highlight of the first set was the two chicks kissing and pawing each other right in front of the stage. I could tell the band was getting a kick out of the show they were putting on.

"I wanna hear a 'Fried Neckbones,'" I joked with my friend Dave.

"And Eskimo Pies?" he reminded me of my once misinterpretation of the lyrics. We sometimes like to call a random song at the set break just for laughs.

After about a 25-minute break, the band reemerged obviously recharged. Dave told the keyboardist that the Moog was his favorite instrument and wanted to hear more of it, since the guy only barely touched it in the first set. "More funk!" I thought. Immediately the band kicked into a drumming jam that segued into a funky urban type jam. Immediately I knew the second set was going to be better than the first.

Many of the songs were preluded, concluded, or interluded with percussion jams. However, these weren't the standard run of the mill, lot scene drum circles. The Dave Watts Motet drum jams were much more. Rhythmically they flowed as though they were not drumming jams at all, but rather songs in themselves. Messersmith frequently abandoned his congas for the more portable djimbe, in order to interact with the crowd. I didn't get the setlist, but Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" appeared somewhere in between a drum jam and a funky and heavily mooged jam. Then the band began the recognizable bass line to "Fried Neckbones". I couldn't believe it and nearly shit myself. Where the hell had that come from? They jammed out the home fries tune for about 10 minutes. After that, everything else was just a bonus.

For $5, the Dave Watts Motet was an unbelievable show. In fact, I would have paid $10 for the second set alone. The hardly danceable first set was more than compensated for in the hard-dancing second set. Albuquerque has a killer scene despite its remoteness from the East Coast touring circuit.

The Inbetweens
January 18, 2000 - The Pulse - Albuquerque, NM

By Don McIve

Along the eastern most flank of Nob Hill in Albuquerque, the Pulse brings crowds into dance to dj spun dance mixes straight from a nightmarish future of spinning lights, black neons, and beat, constant beat, and then there's Sonny's. Between the Pulse and Sonny's is The Martini Grille, with two out of the three words in its title alone suggesting "sophisticated, cultured," open kitchens, and yuppie sensibilities. And then there's Sonny's.

On any given day at any given time, Sonny's boasts a steady crop of regulars who line the bar and stare at ESPN or ESPN2, with the sound turned off. Sonny's, unlike the Pulse, doesn't try and take one away from life on the drug-infested, broken hearted, dream forgotten streets of urban America. Sonny's, unlike The Martini Grille, is unpretentious. On days without live music or pool tournaments, Sonny's is the America a 4.5 hours per day television addict doesn't know exists. But on days with live music, Sonny's is transformed into a hot spot, a scene.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000. From the front door, people occupy the dark square tables directly in front and the bartender makes drinks behind the beat up 30 foot long bar to the right of the tables. Four televisions show ESPN above the bar. The bar curves and parallels the door. Around the right from the door is a big screen television and up next to it is a few bikes. Around the left is the square stage set up so that the bands play to the wall that borders Central Avenue. Four pool tables and two, small, cramped beat up bathrooms make up the rest of the space.

Having played in Albuquerque several times before the In-Betweens know that being successful in Albuquerque means being patient. Word of mouth seems to be the only marketing strategy that works in Albuquerque. Sonny's is booming, though not packed, and the energy is high and fun. The band: bass and vocals, Tim Hogan; guitar and vocals, Brendan McNaughton; percussion and vocals, Laura McNaughton; and lead guitar, Scott Schelling are playing without a drummer. The In-Betweens as they were tonight, however, don't really need a drummer. Tim is a solid, confident player and knows that the success of any jamband depends upon the willingness of the bass to define a groove and then stick to it. Likewise, Brendan's style of playing acoustic provides the foundation necessary for the songs to work, even without a drummer, though they are apparently looking for a drummer to replace Andrew Lauher, who appears on their Rhythm of Change cd and their website http://www.extracheese.com/inbetweens) Whether it is a medley of Pink Floyd tunes or the Grateful Dead's "Bertha" or Phish's "Divided Sky" or one of their own originals, the In-Betweens know how to entertain and keep you dancing. Vocals are their best color. Brendan's slightly bluesy, soulful voice coupled with Laura's clear, strong folksy voice creates wonderful harmonies, that paints all songs, whether covers or originals, a shade of In-Between. So, when the In-Betweens return to Sonny's, February 19, be sure to check them out, but make sure you're rested and wearing comfortable shoes, because sitting back and watching is just not an option.

From the Albuquerque Underground, I'm Don McIver

TUNJi
January 21, 2000 - Rudyardz, Houston, TX

by Chris Gardner

Wigglicious. Just flat out wigglicious.

TUNJi is the musical paradox. They are at once punchy and smooth, grittily sublime, polished and raw.

These guys are the bouncinest, boppinest, groove-droppinest, soul- shakinest, smile-spreadinest cats I know. Their rhythm section is solid gold, the guitar is complementary and understated, the slinky sax is always well placed, and Bruce James Bunn, the primary songwriter, keyboardist, flugel player, and lead vocalist is a bundle of kinetic energy in perpetual wiggle. He has the voice of a man at least twice his size.

The rhythm section is the foundation for TUNJi's self-described Go-Go-Afro-Pop. Drummer Brad Gilley is a cauldron of funk and rhythm boiling over. I have never seen anyone make a full kit seem so superfluous. He had an eight or nine piece kit, but his work on the kick, snare and hi-hat make the other pieces obsolete.

Siben Bhattacharya, the long and lanky bomb-droppin' bassist, is in fact so long that the bass seems sized to fit. You know those strung, plastic figures with a button on the bottom that makes them go slack and lifeless? You remember punching that button as fast as you could just to watch is tumble and reconfigure? He is that with rhythm to spare. Constant movin', steady groovin'.

Joe Amato's guitar work is slinky. His role is complementary, and he colors the jam like smooth-lined graffiti. His solos are tight and expansive when they fall, but he seems content to lay hues of bow- chicki-wow-wow across the stage.

TUNJi, which means "sun" or "people of the sun" in a Nigerian dialect, shook the timbers of the upstairs stage at Rudyardz. Before a backdrop of silver tinsel that shimmered like fish scales, they unfurled a sheer sheet of fluid funk that set heads bobbin' mindlessly. Bunn's organ work guides, but the carnival throws the tent flaps open wide when he picks up the flugel to join Andre the Saxman in brass runs that capture both the luster and the grime of N'awlins at 2 a.m. Andre pushes the jam with every note, but he checks himself just shy of self-absorbed meanderings the groove would inspire in most. His alto was joined by a tenor and trombone this night as the other four members returned to their sprawling hometown, and the three horns pushed each other to breathless heights. The fevered horns were a perfect foil to the hide in the mix, lay low approach of xylophonist JJ, who sat in with the band for the entirety of their hour long set.

They are headed out West via Colorado, so stop by http://www.pollstar.com to keep abreast, and wear your dancin' shoes.

Notes on the Experience
The String Cheese Incident
Thursday, January 27, 2000
Wool Warehouse - Albuquerque, New Mexico

By Don McIver

01/27/00 Set 1: Black Clouds > 100 Year Flood, MLT*, Barstool, Lost**, Impressions* Bigger Isn't Better > White Freightliner (Approx. 90 min)

Set 2: Big River^, Round the Wheel* > Drums* > Rivertrance*, Freedom Jazz Dance, Water, Joyful Sound > Roll Over E: Chili Dawg, Mt. Girls

01/28/00 Set 1: Miss Brown's Teahouse, Little Hands > Jam > Indian Creek, Latinismo*, Outside Inside^, Birdland > Search*

Set 2: River & Drown**, Love Please Come Home#@, Minor Swing#, Work#, San Jose#, Open Wide, Shakin the Tree*, Shine, Jellyfish > Jam > Smile E: On the Road

Notes * with Jamie Janover ^ New (first time played) ** with David Gans # Acoustic @ with Frank Seanez

Tucked at the edge of downtown next to the only 24 hour full nude club in the Duke City is the Wool Warehouse. The Wool Warehouse is a space. A remodeled warehouse that seldom has events and when it does, only has events that the building's owners, Youth Development Incorporated, deem as appropriate. For the third time in two years, Y.D.I. has deemed the String Cheese Incident (hereafter referred to as SCI) appropriate. Produced, promoted and handled by Norm of Terrapin Trailways Productions, the SCI is what many in the local Albuquerque scene consider to be the equivalent of "hippy prom." These are shows that it is just not cool to miss. And for a variety of reasons: 1) SCI really knows how to put on a hell of a show, 2) Norm and the people of Terrapin Trailways know how to coordinate, design, and decorate to make these shows special, very special, and 3) Everyone turns out in force and parties: fun, frolicking, and no bad vibes.

On Thursday, SCI has the traveling troubadours from Boulder and local favorite, Dexter Grove, open with a danceable, sustained energy set in the front room. People mill about, getting their id's checked for liquor and touching bases with friends they haven't seen all year. The front room quickly gets converted to the hula-hoop room as Dexter Grove finishes, and, almost without any hesitation, SCI begins in the back, main stage, room. The front room is connected to the back room by a long hallway. Within the hallway is a space for the SCI vendors a nd a gallery space for local artists. Among the local artists displaying their wares is Michael Everett. His work, ranging from Furthur Posters to SCI posters is a wonder to behold.

The back room consists of a main stage and then a small dance floor with the rest of the room rising gradually up on four-foot steps. There are very few chairs at Wool Warehouse SCI shows, and easily half of the room is converted to a dance floor. Despite the separation between the front and back rooms, Norm converts the whole space into concert space. The front or hula-hoop room is connected by a big screen television and another set of speakers. Thus, if you are anything like I am, the big, sweaty crowd in the back room stirs up your claustrophobia, and you spend most of your time hula-hooping to SCI in the spacious front room. As for the music, SCI put on a stellar show as usual ,and, since I spent much of my time hula-hooping and avoiding the crowd, I can only say that when "hippy prom" rolls through town next year, I’ll be there, ready to dance, boogie, hoop, and party down.

From the Albuquerque Underground, I'm Don McIver.

String Cheese Incident
Notes on the Venue
January 27-28, 2000
The Wool Warehouse Albequerque, NM

By Erik Zsemlye

These were more than shows, even more than Incidents. They were first-class, tastefully done, all out productions! There couldn't have been a better set up for an Incident. There was no smoking inside the venue, which, even as a smoker, I really appreciated. After walking up a flight of steps, we were greeted by several mirrors of different shapes and distortions. This led into the bar area with a small stage and dance floor for the openers (which I didn't get to see either night since I had to commute from Las Cruces both nights, sigh).

The bar folk, as well as all the Wool Warehouse employees, were kind, courteous, and having almost as much fun as the attendees. The adjoining room was nicely carpeted, and decorated impeccably with whimsical shapes, mirrors, shimmering wall coverings, etc. The main wall was dominated by art -- the space being shared for the evening by Michael Everett's paintings and Jamie Janover's photography. I was extremely impressed by both. I was able to resist most of the temptations, (my Everett poster for the evening will look wonderful framed with the specially-designed Everett ticket stubs), but the artists both seemed to make some sales, especially after the second night.

Now for the music. They seemed to be working they're way into the groove, instead of forcing it. By the second set, the groove was in full effect! The vibe, the feeling, that "je ne sais quois" that accompanies this band was whizzing about the room, tickling everyone's ears, even the little people in attendance (I was really happy to see the family vibe here, but I didn't see any of the little kids with earplugs in - PLEASE people, protect your baby's ears!). There were still a few kinks. Some of the transitions were more meltdowns than transitions, but the general feeling of happiness still prevailed.

String Cheese Incident
Notes on the Sounds
January 27, 2000
The Wool Warehouse
Albequerque, NM

By Barney Issen

Before I say anything else, I really want to thank Norm, Sandy, and Michael for welcoming all of us into their family. It was a truly wonderful, magical, and spiritually uplifting time, and their generous hospitality, boundless enthusiasm, and awe-inspiring creativity are what made it all possible. I want this post to review the music that went down without dwelling on the social aspects of the gathering, but certainly a lot of the magic came as much from being surrounded by so many of you people as it did from the musicians onstage, and we all have the wonderful people at Terrapin to thank for catalyzing that. Thank you for a real good time!

Thursday's warm-up band really impressed me - just an acoustic guitar and percussionist at first, eventually joined by an acoustic mandolin, they put out the sound of a band twice that size. At this point, however, just about everyone in their audience was fully engaged in reuniting with friends from afar or attaching faces to familiar Incidentalist names, and I fear that the band did not receive the attention that they deserve. I really liked the way they rendered Bertha with a bluegrass mando-chop and Travis-esque percussion, but other details escape me other than an overall impression of a band with a similar spirit and sound to 1996 era proto-cheese. I clearly need to give them a serious listen in the future, and to thank Norm and Sandy for bringing them to our attention.

One thing was immediately apparent when SCI kicked their set off with Black Clouds: Kyle has expanded his keyboard collection once more - this time with a Roland synthesizer sitting atop the Rhodes. And they wasted no time making use of it, with the signature Black Clouds jam riff assigned to Kyle's new synth instead of Kang's electric mando. But the most notable aspect of this night's arrangement was the lack of a spacy "Angel From Montgomery" interlude; this one was straight ahead Black Clouds all the way through. Despite the strong rhythm work, this was not up to the standards I've come to expect from this song - Kyle quoted the theme repeatedly, but didn't wander very far into many variations on the theme, and Kang spent much of the song fussing with his amp and never really did launch a lead. Still not a bad way to work the kinks out of a long layover, but nothing like the Black Clouds opener from last year's Boulder run or the version on the new live CD.

Things got started in earnest with a magnificent 100 Year Flood->MLT. I can't recall hearing either of these played any better than this - absolutely exquisite. Billy was on fire from the opening intro (very Blue Sky-ish), and Kyle's MLT solo could be compared to Chick Corea if Chick ever learned to rock like that. Seriously, Kyle is getting THAT good! If there was a winter Carnival 2000 album in the works, this tandem would belong in the save pile.

Barstool was Barstool. Very nicely done and all, but it doesn't really seem to aspire to all that much.

Next Billy introduced "a new ditty", sung and apparently written by Kyle, that shows a lot of promise, coming from a similar R&B space as Work (which I consider a compliment - please keep mining that particular vein Kyle!) The most prominent line is "nothing to lose", and after Friday's show Kyle told me that they haven't completely decided on the name, but it's probably Lost. To which I replied that Probably Lost would make a good name, too ;-)

The first set closed with a solid rocking Impressions->Bigger Isn't Better->White Freightliner Blues. Kyle showed us that he was already very much at home behind the synth on his Impressions solo. Billy's slide solo led us into the reggae Bigger, where Billy played an astoundingly strong lead, then Kyle built the crescendo to a frenzied peak, then deconstructed it into Coltrane/Ornette/Dolphy territory that eventually coalesced into a Jellyfishish jam that morphed into a rollicking Freightliner locomotive. Grand fun!

Kang exclusively played his hollow body electric mandola throughout the first set, except for the fiddle solo in 100 Year Flood and acoustic mandolin in Barstool, but he spent most of his time trying to adjust his amp. All of this was more than compensated for by the fact that Billy and Kyle were both obviously inspired and at peak form. Maybe not the best first set in SCI history, but a heck of a lot better than most bands manage to attain all night, let alone in the opening set of a tour.

David Gans' 'tweener set was a tasty mixture of originals and covers including Reuben And Cherise, Brokedown Palace, Limbo, and a very interesting arrangement of I Bid You Goodnight. I was especially impressed by the strength of the lyrics in his original opener River And Drown, and the sensitivity of his singing. I really like the way he uses phrasing to emphasize the lyric, and to get you to pay attention to old familiar lines.

I'm not sure whether it should be considered the end of David's set or the beginning of the 2nd SCI set, but they all joined forces for a rousing Big River Blues, which might even rival the One From The Vault version upon repeated listening. It really rocked! I love David's little twist on the lyric, too: "went on down to Memphis just in time to see Elvis."

By the time they got done with Round The Wheel->Drums->Rivertrance we all knew why it's called an Incident. Kyle's electric piano solo in Round The Wheel was particularly noteworthy. And drums are always spectacular when Travis is joined by Jamie Janover. This was my first Rivertrance, and now I know what all the fuss has been about. Setlists don't do this sort of thing justice; this sequence really covered a LOT of territory, and covered it beautifully.

This was my first Freedom Jazz Dance from SCI (although Jerry played it for me once with LOM back in '75), and I didn't recognize it because of the funky New Orleans-style backbeat they've put under it, but I sure liked it. Very strong; very funky; almost an ELP meets Miles on Bourbon Street flavor to it. Again, the solos from Billy and Kyle (on organ this time) were the highlights here - those two guys could do no wrong on this night.

I missed most of Water helping Liz earn a Good Samaritan badge, so I can't comment on this song, except to warn everyone to stay within your limits . especially if you are large enough to require several grown men to haul you out to get fresh air.

In my opinion the electric highlight of both nights was Joyful Sound -> Roll Over. I have to confess that I've been a bit dismayed at the negative comments about Joyful Sound - I happen to like it a lot. I like the groove, and I love the heartfelt upbeat lyrics. Let's face it - I tell everybody who will listen that I'm having the time of my life listening to this band, so I sure as heck can relate to Keith telling me how he's REALLY having the time of his life PLAYING in this band! But now we can put all that debate aside, because that's just talking about the song as it was played last fall. It's different now. The underlying song is the same, but the jam is different. Very different. Like comparing Playin' In The Band as the Dead played it in spring and summer of '72 to what it became later that fall. This jam was absolutely mammoth! Tremendous raise-the-roof-off-the-walls stuff going on in there. Somehow they managed to harness all that frenzy down to a spacey, wispy mist (briefly punctuated by Kyle's whimsical musical humor) then built it back up the other side to Roll Over. Confession time again - I haven't been a big fan of Roll Over, and I know that some of you are as dismayed by that statement as I was about the Joyful Sound debate. And it's really hard not to love a song with a sustained crescendo like that. But it has always struck me as more of a patchwork quilt or a collage than a tapestry; lots of very interesting segments, but very little internal connectivity. But they've clearly been working on that, and they sure made a believer out of me with it on this night. After yet another wonderful solo from Billy, Keith lowered the boom with a string of bass bombs that would've made Phil proud - when did he learn to do that?!? Then Kyle's organ built the energy even higher, and I have no idea how Kang ever figured out a way to take it beyond THAT, but somehow he did. Whew! Now my only complaint about this song is the audience-abuse lighting during the crescendo - staring into the high beams of oncoming traffic is never much fun.

So the problem for an encore is how they could possibly follow an energy crest like that? And the obvious answer is not to even try - go fully acoustic instead. Wise choice guys! Chili Dawg was as sweet and subtle and intricate as it ever could be. A truly blessed thing to behold, especially in an audience that's respectful enough to silently hang on every note. Perfect. Then add a rousing Mountain Girls to make the evening complete.

String Cheese Incident
January 29, 2000
Celebrity Theatre Phoenix, AZ

By Erik Zsemlye

Set 1: Lester's Poem > Lonesome Fiddle Blues, Missing Me > Jam > Hobo Song, Suntan, Black & White, Blue Bossa > Sitting on top of the World

Set 2: Parker's Blues, Voodoo Chile > Rhum'n'Zouc, Weary Homesick Blues, BOWTP, Don't Say > Jam > Johnny Cash

E: Hey Pocky Way

I entered the Celebrity with a bunch of good friends, many of whom had never seen the Cheese before. It's always good to share times like these with friends, even better to watch their expressions of joy and awe as they experience the Cheese for the first time. I had heard some disparaging remarks about the Celebrity Theater when the dates were first posted, but I'm not sure why. Last night was probably the most intimate show I have seen in recent memory. The staff was nice; anytime I saw them enforcing a rule (i.e., no smoking in the theatre), it was always done with a gentle request, not a demand. The set up of the Celebrity is theatre in the round all the seats are arranged in a circle, completely surrounding the stage. There was a curtain at the very back that cut off maybe a quarter of the seats. We positioned ourselves on Kang's side, at a right angle to the view I'm used to seeing the band from. This turned out to be a prime spot. Having a different perspective allowed me to really view the band as a cohesive unit and observe the interplay between the members. I was actually glad that there weren't any guests (except a poem by Lester to open the show - "Luna Tick, Tock") to disrupt the delicate balance that was attained last night. At one point, Billy was doing a slow-motion walk/dance that I had seen him do at the Irving Plaza show this fall, and he walked to Kyle's keyboard and grabbed the small fan that was sitting on top and gave himself and the others a good cooling off, which we ALL could have used.

Songs of note:

Johnny Cash- in the second set. Billy promised at the beginning of the song that he wasn't sure what The Man In Black would be doing when the train finally reached him, but he was sure that he wouldn't smoke hash. Sure 'nuff, he didn't, and he still don't smoke hash! Voodoo Child and Hey Pockey Way were more than just covers, they were spontaneous jams that covered the originals with thick layers of gooey cheese. And Born On The Wrong Planet went to the RIGHT planet and back again before they were through with us.

Other songs of note: Everything else that was played.

Hip Hop Humpday
Taking the World by Storm one Wednesday at a Time

by Eric Rothschild

Deep rooted in jazz, hip-hop has been on a collision course of sorts with live music. The wreckage from this clash has yielded a local Austin phenomenon between the dim lit walls of the Mercury Hip Hop Humpday. Every Wednesday since late July of '99, a group of local musicians and emcees have congregated to spread the gospel with tight grooves and freestyle lyrics that flow on to the wee hours of the morning.

On most Wednesdays you'll find a packed house of jazz and hip hop enthusiasts digging on the music, the lyrics and driving beats that litter the floor with kids busting serious break dancing moves and heavy crowd interaction. The regular line-up includes members of several local groups: Reelaktz, Applied Culture, Kinetic and Tribal Nation.

You got Dwayne "D-Madness" Jackson on the drums, Rudy Eccles on bass, Mario Vela on percussions, Taylor Ryan on the Rhodes keys and DJ Phyfteen spinning the wheels. Bavu, Garyson, and Tee-Double are the regular emcees, with Larry and Mirage making appearances, as well as Andre Van Burren (sax) and Ephraim Owens (trumpet - on the road with Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) on the horns.

On the last Wednesday in January they packed the house of the new Mercury so thick that walls nearly came crumbling down. A floor beam under the Mercury and over its counterpart restaurant Jazz was busted. It's being fixed now.

Before all the hippin' and hoppin' started one Wednesday. I caught up with a few of the fellows of the Humpday crew in the back stairwell of the new Mercury, located on top of Jazz on Sixth Street. Here's what went down...

Rothschild: How did Hip Hop Humpday get its start?

DJ Phyfteen: I actually tried to do this a long time ago. I didn't have the players and the emcees I needed to set it off right. I did this shit and it just flopped. We did the same thing four months later, with the right motherfuckers, and it went off good. And its been going ever since. It's hard to find a club on a Wednesday night, on a weekly basis, that does better than the Mercury has done.

As a matter of fact, me and Marc (Collins, owner of the Mercury) had just gotten back from New York and we went to a Groove Collective show and it was dope as fuck so he was like, "We got to do some of that shit back in Austin." I was like, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

It took about the first month to get everything in order, but after that it's been like this (pointing to the other musicians in the stairwell).

It's still an open mic, an open venue, but if you want to rhyme, you got to come and rhyme to Voo or Tee-Double or whatever. You got to rhyme to somebody in order to get up on the stage. If you can play the drums, you got to get with Dwayne. If Dwayne says you can go play his drums, you're ok with me.

That's what it all boils down to. It's all fun. We don't necessarily have any set tunes. The few we have are fairly easy, but they jam. I respect a real simple ass beat that jams way more than something intricate. We've just brought our friends in; they're real good musicians. We said let's just have fun, and try to make some money. I feel like everybody will continue to do this as long as they're having fun at it. It is a positive monetary situation. Voo wants to pay his rent every month off of HHHD. That's all I got to say.

Rothschild: As emcees, what approach do y'all take, as far as preparing and what not?

T-Double: Nothing really goes into it as far as preparation. It's all improvised; it's all on the spot. The rhymes are freestyle and the keys are freestyle. Everything is live, so as long as we have good energy amongst us, I can regenerate that out to the crowd. Freestyle is a very intricate part of hip-hop, as far as emcees, so it's not really hard for me, Voo or Garrison to do our lyrics. We just get up there and go at it - whatever comes to mind we just flip it.

I think that's why people come back to see it, because the rhymes are always on, point blank. Every time you come back, every Wednesday, there are a couple of songs that are like the HHHD hits, that you are going to hear every time, but everything else is going to change every week.

Rothschild: One of the weekly features is the 4-Pass. Can you expand on that a bit?:

Bavu: That's just something to keep people interested. The whole gig is real relative to whether or not people keep coming and stay excited, and ideally more and more people come and get more excited, like last week, they were hype.

The 4-Pass is, the actual term they say up in Dallas, is for rhyming four bars at a time. In freestyle it's one of the standard ways to flip it back and forth. Real early on, when [HHHD] first started, we would just do that to keep all the people in the audience... just as kind of a novel way to present the whole freestyle approach. When you're seeing a cat pick up a subject, or pick up a groove where another person left it off, in my opinion, it's just more entertaining to watch. Or at least refreshing to watch compared to this cat freestyling for three minutes then just kind of standing around after that. It's a real quick, spontaneous pass. In fact, me and Taylor did one last week - me with rhymes and him on the keys.

Rothschild: How do y'all go about mixing jazz and hip-hop?:

Bavu: My thing is, say you were back in the late 70s and you were rhyming over a record, what's on the record? Live music. So, as far as the medium through which the live music reaches the people, if you got people on stage sweating and banging out the tunes on actual instruments, I feel like that's a more entertaining thing. But I think Taylor has more to say about that...

Taylor: I think they take cues from the music, like when you were talking about passing fours, jazz musicians call that trading fours. They don't lose the form of the tune, but the soloists switch off on the four bars. It's like some things are universal. It's obvious when they flow that over what we bring in.

Rothschild: How did y'all hook up?:

Bavu: Mercury.

Taylor: I had seen them flowing over my teacher, my keyboard teacher back like four years ago on the drag.

Bavu: Oh yeah, Carl (Settles). I got to tell you about that. I guess Humpday kind of had a grandfather, back in like '93, '94. That was Reelaktz with Phat Rhythm Quintet, on top of Quackenbush's on the drag. Carl Settles, Ephraim Owens, Edwin Livingston, Fredrick Sanders - some of the same cats that are now doing stuff from here all the way to New Orleans. Me and Jay, my partner in Reelaktz, and eventually Shel, would just sit down with them and basically do the same thing. I think back then we were relying on the rhythms a little more, but I would definitely freestyle a good 50% of the show, just for kicks. And that was real small, like fifty people. I guess that was sort of the prequel to this.

Rothschild: How did that influence this gig?

Bavu: All those cats really taught me a lot about the formats of rhyming over live stuff, and what to listen for. We're all still learning more and more every week.

And if you're ever in Austin on a Wednesday, this is the ONLY place to be. Peas with a side funk ya'll! -

For prompt String Cheese Setlists check out http://www.friendsofcheese.com
Check out TUNJI at http://www.tunji.com