Critical Measures Trio

The lone woman travels the dark and twisting roads of Sonoma County, passing through old redwood groves, oak studded hills and ubiquitous vineyards. The smells of the country, cut grass, cows and damp earth enter into her brain. The waning moon is a gentle sliver in the sky, smiling its Cheshire Smile into the dark as she steers herself into Forestville, Ca, population: 2,758. But for tonight only, there is one more to add to the population; one lone stranger scoping the scene, a dark and mysterious woman looking for the answers in unfamiliar streets. She’s there to meet her destiny, her future.

She parks, looks towards the place she is suppose to be, the place that holds the latest adventure and she moves forward towards it like a wolf on the hunt. The doors open and she steps inside…what awaits her is what always awaits her…music.

OK, I am feeling the need for a dramatic entry into tonight’s story, not certain why. But what the hell, I am going with it. The muse does what she does, I just type the letters on the keyboard.

Dramatics aside, the story is true. I was in Sonoma County on Friday evening (3/27/09), I did veer far from my normal stomping ground to check out new music and I am forever & always available to meet my destiny, as it is always there for me to meet. So no lies…just a bit of fun.

Why don’t I just get on with this…sorry for dilly-dallying. So, Forestville…cows….music…MUSIC! Oh Yeah! MUSIC!

“Critical Measures Trio”, my new favorite “OH MY theses guys need to be heard” band. The normal lineup of this GREAT NEW BAND includes Todd Bugbee (of Humboldt County bands “Cohesion and the Kinship Legion” & “The Orbitones”) ripping it to shreds on his electric, Joe Nemzer (“Resin 7" & "The Metrosonic Tone”) hitting the deep notes on bass with his side kick in the thump Sean England ("The Uptones") on drums. They had with them this night Guest Bass-Boy Lucky Otis and DJ Brian Taylor that broke beats during their set and added a bit of fun. These guys are funky and grooving and really good!! With the right venue, I can see shaking my sweet stuff all over the dance floor while “Critical Measures Trio” crank it up with their hard-driving funky-rock-groovy-ness.

I don’t normally travel so far out into the great wide open to check out a band, but I felt something move and groove when I heard the tunes of “Critical Measures Trio” on their MySpace page and I wanted to check them out live, hence my mini road trip to Sonoma County.

Relatively new to the music scene in this format, “Critical Measures Trio” began their journey together about 7 years ago when Todd Bugbee auditioned for a group that starred both Joe Nemzer and Sean England, but the gig didn’t pan out. Todd and Sean kept in touch over the years, playing in their own bands and writing music. Todd wanted to start a new project, so he got Sean on board to test out a new sound and new bass players. “We knew we both had similar tastes and were looking for low stress, low ego and little complications...so naturally a trio would be the way to go,” states Todd Bugbee about forming the band. Their Bass Boy search landed them Bass Player Joe Nemzer as well as their first official rehearsal all in one fell swoop. Alas, “Critical Measures Trio” was born!

As I am a complete snob about music and I can tell a good band from a GREAT band as easily as cranking out great literature such as this story, I can tell you that these guys are going to be making PHENOMINAL music from here on out.

Take it from Todd himself, “Basically this band is all about having a good time and keeping it as simple as possible...we hope that a relaxed, feel-good vibe comes through the music and reaches the listeners.”

http://www.myspace.com/joethebassist

http://www.myspace.com/toddbugbee

http://www.myspace.com/criticalmeasures3
- moonmama via marinlocalmusic.com