about:blank
Gig Seeker Pro

about:blank

| SELF

| SELF
Band Jazz Funk

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Review: About Blank at Lucky Lounge"

By Michael Hoinski | Monday, August 31, 2009, 09:48 AM
Words are meaningless when you have a trumpeter, a trombonist, two saxophonists, two drummers, a conga player, an electric guitarist, an upright/electric bassist, a DJ, and four female dancers with headdresses that the aforementioned bassist, Kyle Clayton, dubbed the Skanks.
It wasn’t that the dancers were “easy” — they wore modest spaghetti-strap tank-tops and long, flowing dresses — but their name hit the spot for “About Skank,” the gleefully spastic ska song Clayton’s instrumental jam band played while the girls busted a move. That song title was in turn a play on the band, About Blank, who at this point in its CD release show for its debut album, “Rise,” had swelled way beyond its normal size.
It’s not exactly kosher to play in Austin and not have words. Sure, Explosions in the Sky pulls it off. But they have a built-in audience from “Friday Night Lights.” Then there’s Ephraim Owens. He makes it happen. But he’s practically a novelty act, in that he’s playing a dying form, traditional jazz. After that it gets pretty thin. This is a singer-songwriter’s town.
No one seemed to know that, though, Saturday at Lucky Lounge. The place was choked with people bobbing their heads in time—and chances are the majority of them came for the drink specials and hadn’t a clue who was playing. There’s hardly a more complimentary acknowledgment of a band’s virtuosity than to win over a crowd without any advance hype.
About Blank did it with endless grooves. And with the dexterous hopscotch matches between the trumpeter, Erik Telford, and the tenor saxophonist, Kevin Gibbs. And, most emphatically, with the avant-garde guitar work of Danny Anderson, who veered with facility between tonal precision and industrial combustion, as on the mind-erasing “Black Magic Marker.”
It’s almost hard to believe this glorious night of accessible fusion was free of charge.


http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2009/08/31/review_about_blank_at_lucky_lo.html
- austin360.com


"About: Blank - Not your typical jazz band"

Written by Entertainment editor (Fito Kahn)
Monday, 24 August 2009 12:48

Some jazz music you enjoy while sitting down while other jazz music, you can’t help but want to get up and dance to. About: Blank is a jazz band that definitely plays more of the latter variety of jazz music. For several years now, the band has had Austin audiences on their feet with its powerful brand of psycho-funky-jazz.
About: Blank began as a quartet in the spring 2005 when Paul Luedke was asked by a friend who had recently opened a retail store on South Congress to “put something together” for First Thursday. First Thursday is an event that happens every first Thursday of the month, when merchants of the historic, pedestrian-friendly South Congress Avenue keep their doors open until 10 pm (and later in some cases), playing host to an array of events and activities. Paul immediately called bassist Kyle Clayton, guitarist Danny Anderson and percussionist Nate Barrett. The band set up in the sidewalk in front of the store and played until the cops finally told them to “move it” . The guys knew instantly that they had great chemistry and had also come up with a few tunes from their improvisations that night. The band repeated a few more First Thursdays while they perfected their sound. Later that year, Nate moved a way, and the band recruited Kevin Gibbs to play saxophone and Dave Adams to play drums. This current version of the band is set to release their second CD “Rise” on August 29th with a party at theLucky Lounge that will include several special guest musicians as added entertainment for the evening. That event will be followed by a 2nd CD release party at the Elephant Room on September 3rd. Plans are being made to videotape the event as part of The Austin Jazz Alliance's local jazz TV show on Austin's Local Access Channel.
Rise, reflects About: Blank’s blend of funk, jazz, ska and rock, and takes instrumental jazz music to new levels. Their music is not only catchy, but also emotional. It’s intellectual jazz with spiritual undertones. Almost all of the songs on “Rise” were written collectively “Someone would bring an idea to the table and we'd all add something to the arrangement. The horns write their parts, I write the bass line, etc. and typically any new idea thrown into the stew was a good one that everyone liked.” Says Kyle about the bands songwriting process. He continued, “We just try to write tunes that are fun and have elements of music that we all like”. The band’s musical background of funk, jazz, ska, reggae, rock and soul, gives them a broad template to draw from.
The CD is currently available at Waterloo Records, Cheapo Records, and online at Tunecore and soon on Itunes. This is one CD release party I highly suggest you add to your jazz calendar. Get there early and be prepared to get off your seat for the night.

- Austin Jazz Alliance


Discography

1. May Cause Dizziness
2. Rise

Photos

Bio

Hailing from Austin, TX, about:blank began as a quartet playing regular First Thursday festival gigs on Austin's simmering South Congress strip. Since then, they have played regularly around town (Belmont, Botticelli's, Elephant Room, Ruta Maya and others...) - always impressing crowds with both deep pocket and excitement in their progressive arrangements.

Their new record, Rise, reflects their blend of funk, jazz, ska and rock, taking instrumental music to new places. Their music is catchy and thoughtful, exciting and moody, slamming and soulful... It is a new brand of jazz that makes you think and shakes your rump. The personnel on the record is a group of professionals representing decades of experience, surprising considering their age... Dave Adam - drums; Danny Anderson - guitar; Kyle Clayton - bass; Kevin Gibbs - saxophone; Paul Luedke - trumpet.

Live is where the band thrives, playing the complex arrangements tightly or improvising to new heights. There is a bit of a rotating cast that has included Travis Woodard - drums; Marcus Cardwell - saxophone; Erik Telford - trumpet; Michael Blake - guitar; Ian Varley - organ; DJ Stillness - turntables; Stephen Graf - trombone; Todd Perkins - percussion; Nate Barrett (original member) - percussion and others...

The band already has Austin audiences bouncing on their toes (if not their heads) with its powerful brand of psycho-funky-jazz. Coming soon to your town and the rest of the world, About:Blank's soulfully psychedelic groove will put the tickle in your dancing boots-before you can count four.