Ninth Street Bridge

By John Liberty | Kalamazoo Gazette
November 12, 2009, 1:09PM

Brett Riggins and the rest of Ninth Street Bridge will make their debut at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe at 9:30 p.m. Nov. 20. KALAMAZOO — Brett Riggins is in a good place.

Yes, he is expected to graduate from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering next month, but his roots/Americana band Ninth Street Bridge is also passing into some pretty friendly territory.

The band — Riggins, multi-instrumentalist Allen Bates, drummer Matt Sypian, multi-instrumentalist Scott Lehmer and multi-instrumentalist Marty Fine — will be making its debut at a venue Riggins has been eyeballing since moving from Bridgman to Kalamazoo — Bell’s Eccentric Cafe.

“I’ve been waiting to play there a long time,” Riggins said.

Since forming last June, NSB has been building a following behind its blend of bluegrass, roots music, country and rock. For the last six-to-eight months, Riggins said the quintet has fine-tuned its chemistry with frequent practices and gigs.

One of the band’s strong suits has become the ability of several band members to pick up any number of instruments during a set. Between them, they could pull out a dobro, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar or the pedal steel, which will make its local debut for NSB’s first show at Bell’s starting at 9:30 p.m. Nov. 20.

“I think we’ve got an amazing thing going. We get so much amazing feedback from the live show. I wish I could grab that atmosphere and put it in a box,” said Riggins, who celebrated his 29th birthday Tuesday.

At least for one night next week, Bell’s will be that box. Riggins said he plans to premiere the band’s newest song, the uptempo “Whiskey Takeaway.” Riggins said NSB will mix covers, such as Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Charlie Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Boy,” with his originals.

When discussing his songwriting topics from tunes such as “She Don’t Know” and “Dance for Me,” Riggins joked “there’s a lot about girls.” He said he’s “still looking for that person.”

“The girl thing is definitely something that’s been ongoing. I can’t lie. It’s there,” he said.

But before getting too off-topic, Riggins snaped back to his main passion — NSB.

“When it comes down to the show, it’s not about looking for girls,” he said.
- Kalamazoo Gazette