Musical Locavore

Bumpgotuleus, WoMama and friends, Peace of Mind O. and some jazz

(Dec. 17, 2009) It’s cold and wet out. The days are getting shorter, the nights longer, as we head toward the solstice on Monday (Dec. 21, at 5:47 p.m.), and with it, the official beginning of winter. Hanukkah’s almost over. Christmas is closing in; same with Kwanza (Dec. 26) and the New Year is not far behind.

The holidays’ effect on the music scene goes beyond ubiquitous Xmas tunes and seasonal shows. With the college students headed home to see the ’rents, the club scene always retracts. Bad weather makes it harder for touring acts to travel (that was the excuse Tanya Stephens came up with when she cancelled a local appearance for the second time) so most of the shows this week are from local bands — and that’s a good thing. All too often local musicians get the short shrift in favor of touring bands — I’ve certainly been guilty of it here in the Hum.

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The fact is, there’s a lot of high-level musicianship here.

“It’s time for Humboldt music to be recognized on a much larger level,” says Brian Swizlo, keyboard player for a long string of local bands. “Too much talent here to be stuck behind the curtain, in my opinion.”

I’d contacted B-Swiz looking for details on Saturday’s show at the Jambalaya by a band identified as Bumpgotuleus. The Jam’s new headman, Pete Ciotti assembled what Swiz calls a “jam at the Jam,” bringing together members of The Bump Foundation, Moo-Got-2 and Pete’s band, The Nucleus.

When I noted that Swizlo has played with all three bands (he’s currently just in Moo-Got-2), he denied being a “band slut” (his phrase, not mine). “Truth is, I believe in the success of Humboldt music so much, that I have found a way to sprinkle the love around.” To that end he’s founding The Humboldt Collective, “a musical cooperative making compilations of music of every type to move Humboldt music forward and give something back to our community.” Given the state of the music business at large, it’s hard to say what impact it might have, but I’d say he has a worthwhile goal.

If you’ve been paying attention to the local world/rhythm scene, you’re familiar with bandleader Jesse Jonathan, another musician with big goals who fronts at least a couple of bands. Jesse got a call last week from the folks at Humboldt Brews asking if his band WoMama might want to be part of a Thursday (Dec. 17) show by self-described “boot-stomping sinner/songwriter” Raina Rose, a tattooed Americana-folk type who grew up in Los Angeles, moved to Portland, then relocated to Austin, Texas attracted by the campfires of the Kerrville Folk Festival. (She was a Kerrville “New Folk” finalist in 2007.)

Yes, he told them, he’d love to do the show, and he’d even add in a couple more bands. He says he “jumped at the chance to bring the Humboldt Calypso Band out into the club scene,” in part to honor his mentor/former prof Eugene Novotny, the man responsible for much of the steel pan music in Humboldt. Since HCB’s array of steel drums takes some time to break down, Jesse also added the SambaAmore drum/dance troupe to the package, making for a night of worldly rhythms that will probably overwhelm the visiting opening act. Incidentally, Jesse is just starting a new job, an AmeriCorps/VISTA position working for the Ink People facilitating youth arts programs. Of course he’ll try to integrate music.

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