Just going with the flow has been working out pretty well for Chicagoan’s The Congregation, whose soulful sound has seen fairly smooth sailing since the December release of their debut EP, Not for Sleepin’. Shortly after the EP hit the streets, the Chicago Tribune picked it up and quickly named The Congregation one of their “11 Bands to Watch in 2011”. Making the list set them up to play in a SXSW Showcase Showdown at Reggie’s Rock Club, which the band dominated, thus sealing their fate to perform at this years SXSW festival. For a band that has never played outside of Chicago, we say one of the nations biggest and most important industry festivals isn’t too shabby for a first show out.
Forming roughly a year and a half ago, The Congregation is a smattering of musicians from different projects, friends and some guy they found hanging around a venue. “Charlie and Joe have been playing in bands together for years, most recently they were playing in an alt-country band along with Dan. They came up with the idea to start a Stax-era soul band, but they knew they couldn’t start one without a singer. Luck had it that their band and my band ended up playing a show together. The guys heard me sing and asked me if I wanted to start something with them. I did, and we did. A few months later we added a horn section, and a couple months later we found Chuck hanging out at Reggies and added him on keys.” (Gina Bloom)
The band recently played a SXSW sendoff and fundraiser at Reggie’s to help them prepare financially for their maiden voyage into touring and we look forward to their return to the Windy City to regale us all with what will hopefully be tales of stand out performances and successful schmoozing. Until then, we’d like to share an interview the band did with us just this past week. See what Gina Bloom, Nick Nottoli, Charlie Wayne and Dan Wendt had to say about the instruments they wish they played, who they’d like to take on tour and what plans they have for music in the next year.
Check out The Congregation’s EP Not for Sleepin’ on bandcamp
The Congregation like friends! Find them on Facebook, watch them on YouTube or just check up on them at their main website.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Gina Bloom: Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
Nick Nottoli: Trombone Shorty, Trombone Shorty, Trombone Shorty
Charlie Wayne: My top one influence is Slash.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Dan Wendt: In my next life, I will be a singer.
NN: Yeah, I always thought talking would evolve into singing, but it never happened.
GB: I sometimes wish I could play the piano and a lot of other miscellaneous instruments, but I’m content with what I can do.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
DW: Right now I’m big on IRM by Charlotte Gainsburg, Strychnine Dandelions by The Parting Gifts and Face Tat by Zach Hill
NN: Outkast’s Idlewild, John Scofield’s 45 and The Stanley Clarke Band’s self-titled album.
GB: Broken Bells, self-titled, Aretha Franklin, Rare and Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of The Queen of Soul and Radiohead, The King of Limbs.
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
DW: Danger Mouse, he can do no wrong.
GB: Stevie Wonder, ’cause he’s my favorite musical genius.
CW: Slash, but it wouldn’t be working together as much as it would be a guitar duel.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
DW: Black Keys, ’cause they’re huge now and their fans would dig us, and also Morphine and the Talking Heads.
GB: The Jackson 5, The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, The Rolling Stones (back in the 60s). They were all just awesome bands, and there would have been some serious drama to watch unfold.
Reviewsic: Lately we’ve been on this kick of revisiting bands we didn’t pay as much attention to in the past and wondering, “Why didn’t I listen to this 10 years ago?”- If you could go back in time and push 3 bands/records on your younger self, who/what would they be and why?
DW: Anything by the band Wire
NN: Otis Redding–in middle school I spent all this time listening to ska because I liked horns. I wasn’t really exposed to soul music growing up, so I never thought to listen to Otis. Good thing, I guess, because “Ban the Tube” by Reel Big Fish really changed my life.
GB: The Beatles, somehow I missed them when I was growing up.
Reviewsic: Tell us about your music- where does the inspiration for it come from? Did you set out with the specific intention to make the kind of music you make?
CW: The influences of The Congregation are very different across the band. Before forming this band, Dan, Joe and I played together in an alt-country/roots rock band, and going back further, we came from a heavily punk rock influenced background. Even within the soul genre, Gina has been more strongly influenced by Motown and Philly sounds, while Joe and I have listened to more from Stax and Chess. You might never think that the eight of us would sound the way that we do when put together, but we definitely like how it works.
DW: I think we’ve done much more stylistically than we expected. A comparison of the first songs we wrote with the stuff we’re doing now probably illustrates the evolution of our sound. We have enough influences that we can easily push the boundaries.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at this point as opposed to when you first began playing together?
DW: Our chops are better because we’ve played so much. Plus we’re more comfortable playing music together. Having the same horns has been huge in terms of keeping things moving forward. Chuck has brought a lot to the table and his songwriting and arrangement abilities are coming out more.
NN: We all listen to each other a whole lot more. There was one point in this band’s one-year life span, probably in August or so, where everything just started to click. I think we just got comfortable, picked up on each other’s tendencies, listened more and everything just sort of locked in. There’s not as much thinking now, we just sort of play off each other and see where it takes us.
GB: I thought we sounded good when we first started, but now when I listen back to some of our early recordings and compare them to how we sound today I can really hear how much we’ve all grown in a relatively short period of time.
Reviewsic: What does each member bring to the table to make The Congregation what it is?
NN: Dan brings sex appeal. Joe brings tickles.
GB: Sometimes Chuck brings beer to rehearsal, and that is awesome.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
DW: Some of my favorites moments we’re playing Green Grocer’s Summer BBQ, playing CRC’s Spotlight Session and winning the the SXSW Showcase Showdown. Trying to find horns and a keyboard player was the worst.
NN: Ha, I think I have a worst moment–being stranded in Humboldt Park, and then having to drive home a certain trumpet player that had about ten too many drinks that night. The best was winning Underground Wonder Bar’s Talent Search–it was the first time we played together our full (and current) lineup of band members, and it was the first time I fully realized that we might be onto something.
GB: Best moments: our very first rehearsal back in September of 2009, the night Brian and Chuck came out to audition and we completed the band, winning the Underground Wonder Bar Talent Search, listening to the final master of Not for Sleepin’, the hug my dad gave me after he saw us play for the first time, I’ve got about 100 more best moments, but I’ll stop there. Worst: I don’t know, sometimes the guys get on my nerves, but I always get over it.
Reviewsic: So you won the SXSW showcase showdown- will this be your first time at SXSW? What is your SXSW game plan for once you get down to the Lone Star state?
GB: Yeah, we’ve never played a show outside of Chicago before, so we’re really excited about this opportunity. I’m not really sure what to expect, and I don’t really have a plan, but I hear it’s a wild time and I’m looking forward to it.
NN: Beer, barbecue, beer, music, repeat.
DW: I want to get some food from the trailer stands south of downtown and hook up with a lot of Texas girls.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
CW: We’re going to keep playing shows in Chicago and hope to play some festivals over the summer. In the fall, we plan to go back into the studio and start working on our next record. Anyone who has been to any of our recent shows has already heard some of the material that we expect to appear on our first full-length album.
DW: Maybe get out of the city a few times, head up to Milwaukee or Madison or down to Champaign.
GB: Yeah, we’re just going to keep kickin’ ass–writing songs, playing shows, getting our music out there, having fun and then at some point we’ll settle down to record.
Tags: bandcamp, Chicago, Interview, Local Music, SXSW, Upcoming Show, Video
