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How did the band's sound develop/come together, how do we describe it?
Q & A with BSB's Zach Smith
How did this band and sound develop?
"The umbrella term is brass band. The elevator pitch I typically give is that we're a "rock" band, but made up of horns. We were heavily influenced by brass bands and buskers from New York City including Lucky Chops (whom we've now had the privilege to open for three times) and Too Many Zooz. Other modern brass bands like Youngblood Brass Band and No BS! Brass Band were big early influences too. Those are bands that all take the traditional NOLA brass band concept and infuse it with a lot of modern sounds from rock, pop, funk, disco, Motown, R&B, hip-hop and more. At the same time we have a lot of reverence for the bands and artists from New Orleans and beyond who laid all the groundwork and continue to champion this style of music - none of this would exist without it. Rebirth Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band are some of those influences. We're also huge fans of marching/drum corps culture in the US, particularly the HBCU marching bands of the South. Few people in Canada even know about these bands and the absolute jaw-dropping level of sound they can produce - we definitely take after some of that with our little 6-piece band."
"We all came from a jazz school background and that's where we learned to arrange music and play in a dynamic ensemble setting. We took that background along with our own inspirations and influences and hit the streets. When we started writing original music we were exploring these sounds further while injecting our own personality into the music as well. At the core of it all has always been really high-energy live performance and a tight group dynamic - we're always trying to give 110% (or more)."
You say you were born in the "streets of Toronto," and here you will be playing at a classy country winery. The music is happy stuff that would fit in just about anywhere. Is that the approach?
"Our aim is to bring people together and create positive experiences for our audiences. Our music is certainly high-energy, but we think it's that energy and the passion we put behind it that brings people in and gets them hooked. A brass band is a surprisingly versatile ensemble when it comes to the different kinds of material that can be covered and the different settings in which it can be performed. We've played hundreds of weddings and other events over the years, and we are just as at home there as we are lighting things up at a late-night club show. The energy and ear-catching dynamic of the band is there no matter what, and it certainly seems to have a special way of bringing people onboard."
What about the future? Where do you think you can be five years down the road?
"It goes without saying that it's been a very difficult past year, but we're (hopefully) full steam ahead at this point. When planning to originally release our album last year, the goal was to take that momentum and use it to propel us toward festivals and tours in Canada, the US, Europe and beyond. We've seen our early influences like Lucky Chops and Too Many Zooz go from the subways of NYC to touring the world, making music and videos and growing the culture and community around them. We definitely want to follow a similar path, with an emphasis on growing the brass/younger music scene in Toronto and creating opportunities for the musicians and artists in our community. In 5 years we hope to have more music and videos released, be doing larger-scale tours, and to still have a strong local chapter of the BSB and brass community in Toronto that does busking, local shows, weddings, events, school clinics and more."
Q & A with BSB's Zach Smith
How did this band and sound develop?
"The umbrella term is brass band. The elevator pitch I typically give is that we're a "rock" band, but made up of horns. We were heavily influenced by brass bands and buskers from New York City including Lucky Chops (whom we've now had the privilege to open for three times) and Too Many Zooz. Other modern brass bands like Youngblood Brass Band and No BS! Brass Band were big early influences too. Those are bands that all take the traditional NOLA brass band concept and infuse it with a lot of modern sounds from rock, pop, funk, disco, Motown, R&B, hip-hop and more. At the same time we have a lot of reverence for the bands and artists from New Orleans and beyond who laid all the groundwork and continue to champion this style of music - none of this would exist without it. Rebirth Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band are some of those influences. We're also huge fans of marching/drum corps culture in the US, particularly the HBCU marching bands of the South. Few people in Canada even know about these bands and the absolute jaw-dropping level of sound they can produce - we definitely take after some of that with our little 6-piece band."
"We all came from a jazz school background and that's where we learned to arrange music and play in a dynamic ensemble setting. We took that background along with our own inspirations and influences and hit the streets. When we started writing original music we were exploring these sounds further while injecting our own personality into the music as well. At the core of it all has always been really high-energy live performance and a tight group dynamic - we're always trying to give 110% (or more)."
You say you were born in the "streets of Toronto," and here you will be playing at a classy country winery. The music is happy stuff that would fit in just about anywhere. Is that the approach?
"Our aim is to bring people together and create positive experiences for our audiences. Our music is certainly high-energy, but we think it's that energy and the passion we put behind it that brings people in and gets them hooked. A brass band is a surprisingly versatile ensemble when it comes to the different kinds of material that can be covered and the different settings in which it can be performed. We've played hundreds of weddings and other events over the years, and we are just as at home there as we are lighting things up at a late-night club show. The energy and ear-catching dynamic of the band is there no matter what, and it certainly seems to have a special way of bringing people onboard."
What about the future? Where do you think you can be five years down the road?
"It goes without saying that it's been a very difficult past year, but we're (hopefully) full steam ahead at this point. When planning to originally release our album last year, the goal was to take that momentum and use it to propel us toward festivals and tours in Canada, the US, Europe and beyond. We've seen our early influences like Lucky Chops and Too Many Zooz go from the subways of NYC to touring the world, making music and videos and growing the culture and community around them. We definitely want to follow a similar path, with an emphasis on growing the brass/younger music scene in Toronto and creating opportunities for the musicians and artists in our community. In 5 years we hope to have more music and videos released, be doing larger-scale tours, and to still have a strong local chapter of the BSB and brass community in Toronto that does busking, local shows, weddings, events, school clinics and more."
