the hum / By Bob Doran

NPK’s Mission

Plus: Janiva Magness and inaugural happenings

(Jan. 15, 2009)  It was five and a half years ago when I met the self-described “Humboldt independent high-energy dance-rock quintet” called NPK backstage at Reggae on the River. A lot has happened to the SoHummers since then: Members went from 20-something to 30-ish, babies were born, the band grew from a trio and recorded three full-length albums. Their latest, The Current, is set to debut officially Thursday, Jan. 22, with the requisite CD release party at the Mateel (with Sub Sab and This Dying Wish). But first, there’s a benefit for Humboldt Surfriders, Friday night at Humboldt Brews. 

Benefits are something NPK does well. As guitarist Tanner Speas explained, “When we did the second album, Attraction/Reaction, we put together the ‘Southern Humboldt World Tour.’ We played two or three times a week for about a month and a half, played all the little rural neighborhoods in the area organizing benefit shows for volunteer fire departments, schools, environmental and civil liberty organizations, youth groups, all the nonprofits we could help. In the end, we raised about $50 grand. That established a reputation for us and it also gave what we do more meaning. If all you are is a band trying to get people to come watch what you do, that’s not much. What we try to do is connect with bigger purposes.”

GALLERY >

While some of the band’s songs are about partying and relationships, they also touch on more serious subjects. “I try to write about issues that are on my mind,” said Tanner, “things that are happening in the local community or in the world. We have a song on the new album called ‘Frog in the Pot.’ It’s basically talking about the climate crisis and my emotional reactions to that. We had a song about the same subject, ‘Drive to More,’ on our last album. I used the analogy of this thing in our culture where people step on the gas to try to get there faster, do more, achieve more, that kind of motivation, when it really all ties back to fossil fuel consumption. And where does that really lead us? Nowhere in a hurry.”

As noted here last week, blues singer Janiva Magness is headed somewhere in a hurry — to the Riverwood for a show this Saturday, then in May to the Blues Music Awards, where she’s nominated for four awards including “Album of the Year” for her latest on Alligator, What Love Will Do, and “Entertainer of the Year.” She’s won a BMA before — for “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year” — but that does not mean she’s on easy street. 

“I have a very rich full life these days. I’m grateful for that,” she said when I called her L.A. home. “Some days are better than others. I will say that being a musician or a blues artist is not for the faint at heart. It’s an intense struggle, and it can be really really glorious.

“The landscape of playing live music, doing it for a living, has changed, and that includes the blues. I have this theory: Blues music has always been around and will always be here. How that happens changes as the world is changing, but people really need live music; it’s such a tremendous healing force. People need to hear real people playing real instruments; it’s about human connection. And blues is the music of the people, so it’s not going away.”

It’s a rare a week that goes by in Humboldt without a major reggae or dancehall show. This week it’s the ever-so smooth vocalist Barrington Levy on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Toph’s House in Benbow (an early show with DJ Selecta Prime on at 8). Coming to Toph’s Tuesday, Feb. 2: reggae-pop icon Maxi Priest.

Fickle Hillbillies’ guitarist John Chapman called to note an addition to that band’s Saturday show at the Red Fox: It’s now a double bill with The Miracle Show (who also play Friday at Mosgo’s). “We’re doing this with them because they’re more of a draw, being a Grateful Dead cover band and all,” admitted Chapman, noting that bass player Norman Bradford plays and sings in both bands. A reminder, despite the name, the Hillbillies play rock, so don’t expect any old timey or bluegrass.

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