Dirty Impound

Jay Gonzalez had some mighty big shoes to step into when he joined the Drive-By Truckers in 2008. His predecessor was Muscle Shoals royalty Spooner Oldham, an ivory tickler with one of the finest CVs in the biz, and while the pairing of Oldham and DBT had been relatively satisfying it wasn’t exactly a perfect fit (to these ears). From the first time Dirty Impound caught Gonzalez with the band at two-night barn-burner at The Fillmore in SF, we were certain that the Truckers had found the right man for the job. Gonzalez quickly found his place amidst the three guitar frontline, texturing the music and even muscling in for a share of the solo space from time to time – no inch is given in the Drive-By Truckers – a player in the line with Ian McLagan and Johnnie Johnson, i.e. keyboardists able to NOT be swallowed whole by rock’s general genuflecting to six-stringers.

However, nothing in his Truckers work prepares one for his freakin’ delightful solo debut, Mess of Happiness (DI review), where Gonzalez reveals his unadulterated pop side in a sound redolent of solid gold 70s AM radio, early solo Paul McCartney and Todd Rundgren, and even early Ben Folds Five. There’s great sweetness and a winning lightness of touch to Gonzalez’s tunes, and each cut is arranged and produced with obvious care – as apparent a labor of love as we’ve ever encountered. It’s an album to confound any preconceptions around this gifted young musician and a pointer to swell sounds to come. And the videos from Mess [shared at end of this article] show off an endearingly playful side – we’re reminded of The Monkees capering – that’s probably not safe to flash around the likes of Mike Cooley. Everything about Gonzalez’s solo work speaks to an artist who loves what he’s doing and does it so well one is quickly smitten with what he’s dishing out.

Here’s what Jay had to say to the Impound’s keyboardist inquiry.

read on for Jay’s answers

Catch Materialized this Friday, February 17th, at The Fillmore in San Francisco at the annual Cosmic Love Ball, where they’ll be joined by special guests guitarist Brian Jordan (Karl Denson, Lauren Hill), MC Radio Active and Robin Coomer (Loop!Station) along with headliner improv-electronica faves EOTO and others in an amorous sonic genesis. Tickets available here!

David Pellicciaro bills himself as a “solid B3 & keyboard player,” but the man better known as “Mighty Dave” left mere solid behind some years back. A mainstay of the SF Bay Area’s improv, funk, live-electronica and jazz worlds, Pellicciaro expresses the full storytelling capabilities of the Hammond B3 organ with a style that’s warmly conversational but also eager to stretch the dialect and push into new sounds, new combinations and new spaces. He’s none too shabby on a whole host of other keyboards, too, where his yen for cool noises, ensnaring melodies and undulating atmosphere surfaces in colors, bright and dark – the Impound really digs when the Mighty One gets down ‘n’ dirty werid!

His main collaboration in recent years is Materialized, a dare-ya-to-define-it modern music molding adventure built around Pellicciaro and drummer Dale Fanning (The Living Daylights) but expanding and shrinking to accommodate varied amounts of input from horns, guitars, etc. In their duo form, they do their part to update the vibe of a classic soul-jazz pair for the new century, but their nature is appealingly malleable, welcoming hands that hold whatever one wants to pour into them, with Fanning and Pellicciaro each capable of being prime soloists and superb support players. What’s especially fun about Materialized is how one might encounter almost any kind of music happening with them and rest fairly assured they’ll spin it ‘round with aplomb.

Pellicciaro has been called in by giants like the Grateful Dead, The Black Crowes and others, all of whom recognize the guy’s pro instincts and rules defying character. It’s a pretty neat combination of traits that continues to make Pellicciaro a much in-demand soundtrack composer, session player, and live staple in the S.F. scene and beyond.

Check out Materialized most recent album here!

Check out a brand new Materialized cut here!

Here’s what Mighty Dave had to say in the Impound’s keyboardist survey.

read on for Mighty Dave’s answers

Within the dense aural stew that is Umphrey’s McGee some of the greatest, wrist-twistin’ stirring going on is done by keyboardist Joel Cummins. Nestled inside one of the burliest rhythm sections around and sandwiched between the ferocious twin guitar assault of Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss, Cummins rides, textural and sophisticated but nearly never flashy. He’s active as hell but not in ways that demand head-snap attention, always serving the music before his ego, and in the process becoming the secret ingredient inside what is arguably progressive rock’s greatest new top tier band in the past decade.

His solos are compact marvels that should already have him on Becker & Fagen’s shortlist for the next Steely Dan album, but generally Cummins is an instrumental conversationalist, commenting on and coaxing the best ‘dialog’ he can from his compatriots. When he does step out front he’s likely to make you sigh with the sheer beauty or intense emotional oomph of his playing. However, his ear for what isn’t being done by others – and unerring knack for filling that open space – is phenomenal. He watches and listens with undisguised enthusiasm, moving with real grace between multiple instruments in a single piece, taking from each just what each measure needs. If one wants proof of this dynamic look to Umphrey’s excellent 2011 release Death By Stereo (released September 13 on ATO), a pithy lesson in what this young yet remarkably mature keyboardist is capable of. In fact, the whole band has boiled down their wide spectrum reach into their most direct, immediately engaging collection yet, undoubtedly another stepping stone towards the heights they seem to continually climb.

Cummins is currently on a brief West Coast tour with Digital Tape Machine, who play tonight, December 2nd, in Hollywood and tomorrow, December 3rd, in San Francisco.

Here’s what Joel had to say in the Impound’s keyboardist survey.

read on for Joel’s answers