Recipe (serves one community):
Seven musicians
Three funk roots
One jigger neo-soul
Three oz crisp analog sounds
Combine in cocktail shaker and Shakewell.
Photos courtesy of Shakewell
"The natural death of a party band comes when you don’t streamline the process."
Thus explains Emmet Ore, guitarist. "It’s easy in this market to just play the same gigs forever, and have a great time doing it." Over the past year, Shakewell has faced the loss of key members and an indefinite hiatus that seemed to herald the end for the band. Now, reunited under Umpire Entertainment's label and with an EP slated to release around the end of this year, they look to the future with evolution in mind. Ore sat down with me to reflect on the reboot, the artistic process and what it takes to make it as a local band.
MASON: How did the hiatus come about in the first place?
ORE: Cove [drummer] left for New York last December, and we basically stopped playing regular shows because everyone was really busy. We had a whole bunch of music majors finishing up their last year, so they already had a lot of obligations.
MASON: When and how did you reach the decision to restart the band?
ORE: I started playing with Three Eared Dog. Before long, we started incorporating some old Shakewell tunes, but we were running into conflicts booking these venues that were like, ‘Oh, you’re a blues band!’ and then we show up with a seven-piece funk band. It was sort of a natural progression back into Shakewell at that point.
MASON: What is the relationship like between Three Eared Dog and Shakewell?
ORE: I think they’ve always been kind of an amorphous blob. We were all a band at one point, but we eventually broke apart. Then I joined Three Eared Dog and we reconnected. It’s amazing how many shows we’ve played between the two bands.
One or the other band has been playing nonstop for four years. We’ve played probably every venue in Missoula. [Shakewell] is a little more modern. We’re sort of raging against the machine.
MASON: How will the new Shakewell be different from the old?
ORE: It always has been a family band. The new form of Shakewell has to be a little more organized as a business in order to get to the next level. We have some new gear, and eventually the ultimate goal is to have all of us switch around and play different instruments. We don’t want too much of the womps and wobbles, but we do want to incorporate some fresh sounds. One of the things I got was a Moog synthesizer. We’re trying to get those crisp analog sounds.
MASON: What are some of your musical inspirations?
ORE: Growing up, I lived in a small town in Montana so what was cool and rebellious to me was seeing Warped Tour the last time they came here. There was a culture there, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in the middle of this field, in the middle of Montana. There were all these people, from all these places, and they were there for one reason. I didn’t start listening to jazz until I was 18 or so.
I don't really know what our genre would be. There was a while there where we were toeing this disco-swing jazz band thing, Jamiroquai sorta style. The genre is almost part of the artistic statement anymore. You create a genre no matter who you are.
MASON: How do you define success?
ORE: If you can get some people in a room dancing, lose some inhibitions, that’s what it’s about. Dancing is not something that people do lightly. It’s something special to get a whole room full of people that happy and having that much fun. I take that part of it seriously. It is and always has been a party band, so we try not to be too high-brow about it.
MASON: I’ve heard it said that the sale of the Wilma to the owners of the Top Hat (who mostly bring in outside bands) will negatively affect the local music scene in Missoula. What's your take on this?
ORE: It’s improving the value of the market. The Wilma is already one of the places you should visit in Montana, according to some lists. Once bigger acts start coming to the Wilma, they will be able to move some acts from the Top Hat which will open up room for local music.
The scene is small here, which is pretty cool. You don’t get away with acting entitled. But few [local] bands can fill the Top Hat, so it isn’t feasible from a business standpoint.
MASON: What are your expectations for the upcoming recording?
ORE: This summer, we lined up a recording situation in Colorado with one of our favorite drummers of all time - Alan Evans, who plays for Soulive. We're going to be working with him in November. He’s been a huge musical influence to our group and the entire music building. He’s a monster. It's like a dream come true for us.
Shakewell is poised on the brink of great opportunity, and possesses the focus and the passion to make use of it. Look out for their EP this winter, and check out their music here.
