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The Motet: No unnecessary words |
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Written by Kurt Brighton
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Friday, 26 October 2007 |
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For touring musicians, the road itself can become as much of an addiction as playing music every night. And when winter rolls around in Colorado, it changes the game for these road warriors a great deal more than it does for us civilians. But for Dave Watts, drummer and founder of The Motet, even an early snow isn’t as frightening as the stretch of Interstate 25 between Denver and Fort Collins.
“I played up in Winter Park last night and Berthoud Pass was treacherous on the way back down,” he said. “We’re actually on our way up to Fort Collins right now to play a trio set at Hodi’s—this is the scariest road in Colorado. We just passed an accident where they were taking a guy out on a stretcher. It makes you realize what’s important.”
And what’s important is playing music for as many people as possible, for as long as possible, so Watts promises to slow down on the way up to the Fort. The Motet has been entertaining audiences for nearly a decade, fusing elements of jazz, funk, afro-beat, and world music of all stripes to form a quirky, danceable stew that is a perfect match for Colorado’s thin air and music lovers prone to break out into dance at any moment. Formed in Boulder on Halloween of 1998, the group—made up of Watts, sax player Dominic Lalli, guitarist Ryan Jalbert, bass player Garrett Sayer, and keys player Adam Revell—has made its mark on both the jam band scene as well is in high-falutin’ jazz circles. But what audiences seem to appreciate most is a certain lightness of spirit and sense of playfulness the band brings to every show—especially the Halloween shows in which the band plays only covers of a particular band, a different one each year.
“Our first year we covered the Beatles,” Watts said. “We didn’t want to do just one album, because there’s so much stuff we liked. Other bands we’ve covered include Prince, Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson—last year we did Madonna, which was pretty different. We just like mixing it up.”
The choice of Jamiroquai for this year’s shows was one that was waiting in the wings for a long time, Watts said. And exploring the band’s music on the level you must to learn the songs reveals hidden layers of musical cleverness and ornamentation that normally pass by the casual listener.
“We’ve been talking about doing Jamiroquai’s music for years now,” Watts said. “Its kind of a no-brainer. We’ve exhausted all the other serious funk bands out there, so it made sense. It’s really fun, especially to do this Jamiroquai stuff—it’s pretty amazing to see how prolific a band is, once you start getting into all their music. When you’re digging on that level, all this amazing stuff pops out, these little flourishes and hidden touches.”
And that sense of exploration and openness to new ideas isn’t limited to choosing which band to cover when Halloween rolls around. The band has been taking giant steps in the studio as well, exploring the possibilities of sampling and computer-generated sounds. On its latest album “Instrumental Dissent,” the group not only samples bits of music and found sound—the album also features vocal tracks lifted from speeches by the likes of Noam Chomsky and Harry Belafonte, hence the “dissent” part of the title.
“I mean, we’re pretty much an instrumental band,” Watts said. “I’ve written lyrics before, but I feel like there’s enough words out there. I don’t need to write lyrics to perform my purpose. But I listen to so many powerful speakers, and I think people should hear this stuff.
“It can be life-changing,” he added.
Listening to The Motet do its thing can be as well.
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TO GO
The Motet brings their Jamiroquai cover set to Hodi’s Half Note, 167 N. College Ave. Fort Collins at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27. The show is 18 and over, and tickets are $18 advance, $20 dos for 21+, $25 dos for under 21. For more info call 472.2034.
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The Motet has chosen to perform the music of Jamiroquai for a 5-night run:
Oct. 24 - Abbey Theater, Durango
Oct. 25 - Crested Butte Brewery
Oct. 26 - Boulder Theater
Oct. 27 - Hodi’s Half Note
Oct. 31 - Cervantes Masterpiece, Denver
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