Liquid Bounce

Rachel Slade
issue date: 3/1/07

Audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy liquid bounce's hip-hop and jazz-inspired tunes tomorrow night when the Denton-based band takes the stage at Andy's Bar and Grill.
"Our sound is fundamentally played and written in a hip-hop style, but we have a variety of musical influences that range from hardcore punk to various Latin influences," said Ruben Salazar, Fort Worth senior and bass guitarist, in an e-mail interview. "We have a little bit of everything guiding us and we try not to discriminate, just as long as we can make it groove."
The group started as a backup band for Howard Scott, a member of '70s funk band WAR, in the summer of 2005. Once that opportunity ended, the group members decided to branch out on their own. They formed liquid bounce in December 2005 and played their first show one month later.
In addition to Salazar, liquid bounce members include Dallas senior Kevin Simon, who sings, plays saxophone and synthesizer; Nick Bustos on the drums; and Dallas alumnus Dan Kruger, who plays electric piano and organ.
According to the band's Web site, myspace.com/liquidbounce, a statement made by Simon inspired their name: "one night, the groove just wasn't right: a little too rigid, not enough swing. Kevin said, 'how about we just bounce like liquid, liquid bounce."
Both Simon and Salazar are music majors at NT, and Kruger graduated from NT last fall with a music degree. Breaking the trend, Bustos received his undergraduate degrees in psychology and philosophy from the University of the Pacific in 2003, but said he's been in bands since age 15.
The group practices two or three times a week to perfect its sound.
"It's what we want to do and we believe in ourselves," Bustos said. "Hopefully something happens and we at least get to travel a little. If that's 'making it big,' then so be it."
Last year, liquid bounce released two EPs, Liquid Bounce and Circles of Power, and they have been featured on the local radio station 89.3 KNON. The members said they hope to release an album by the end of the summer.
"When I hear a song that I like, it inspires a permutation that I bring to the creative table, normally a groove or harmonic progression," Kruger said. "We start to build from there, then sculpt away."
While Simon spearheads many of their songwriting sessions, the band sees their songs as a true collaboration inspired by its experiences with love and life. In fact, it is this collaboration that Bustos and Salazar consider its favorite aspect of the band.
"It's always a joy to create with the guys," Bustos said. "Our chemistry is palpable."
Band members list Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, Bad Brains and Return to Forever among their musical influences and have plenty of respect and compassion for their own fans.
"We are constantly graced with an extremely diverse and eclectic audience," Bustos said. "We wouldn't love this as much if people weren't this into it."
The band's concert tomorrow night will open with L.I.G.H.T. and Joint Method at Andy's Bar and Grill on the corner of Locust and Oak streets. Doors open at 9 p.m. and liquid bounce will take the stage around midnight. - NT Daily