Spotus
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Spotus

Band R&B Funk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Local Sounds Profile: Spotus"

Spotus is a distinctive jam band playing original compositions that blend rock and jazz sounds with a little bit of funk. The band enjoys taking listeners on a fun sonic trip through their improvisations, making each show utterly unique. Because of this, the best way to hear this band is undeniably at a live show.
Spotus has been picking up a loyal fan base not only in their central Pennsylvania home, but throughout the state and also at the venues they play in Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

If you are lucky enough to have them play at a place near you, I highly recommend checking them out, whether you are a fan of jazz, jam bands or rock 'n' roll. In the mean time, to satiate your hunger, their Web site has several shows in MP3 format, as well as videos. Keep in mind you'll be missing the enthusiastic energy of their loyal fans at their live shows, which let's face it, just makes the shows so much more fun to be a part of.
- PennLive.com/Colette Cope


"Spotus & Alpha Dub @ ABC"

If your holiday spirit was in need of a jump start, Saturday night at Harrisburg’s Appalachian Brewing Company was the place to find one.

Reggae, jazz fusion and/or funk are rare finds on their own, but the double bill of Alpha Dub and Spotus provided all of the above in large heaping portions.

Spotus — named for a mispronunciation of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies — is known in local music circles as a tight, polished unit playing a rock, jazz, funk, jam band hybrid that was in display in all its glory Saturday night at the Abbey Bar.

On one long, wandering almost 30-minute opus, the music ebbed and flowed, building and receding in an epic jam at times seeming to channel Santana, Chicago and P Funk.

Guitarist/vocalist Kurt Wewer is the Spotus ringmaster, skillfully providing the transitions between the next wave of music, backed by the steady beats of drummer Jamie Smucker and bassist Jeremy Pierce and a sassy horn section that apparently will be changing personnel in the new year.... - Barry Fox/The Patriot News


"You Say Potato, We Say Spotus"

If you haven’t heard the new sound of Central Pa., perhaps you missed the burgeoning jazz/fusion/funk/rock-type outfit out of the greater Harrisburg area called Spotus. Guitarist and bandleader Kurt Wewer says, “It is pronounced Spoh-tus. That’s with a long ‘O.’ That’s where the line above it comes from. We’re not ‘Spot-us.’ We’re ‘Spoh-tus.’ Oh, well. They’re all gonna still say ‘Spot-us.’”
When probed as to where the name came from, Wewer replies, “Ever heard of the cookie brand Otis Spunkmeyer? Well, when you’re sitting around intoxicated sometime, try to say it really fast. You just might mix it up and say Spotus Unkmeyer. I did when I was a freshman in college, but was in the right mind enough to write it down, and years later when I was looking for a name for this band, I flipped through one of my notebooks, and that piece of paper fell out. That was it.”
Spotus, a five-piece band fronted by Wewer and his guitar-driven minor-key tonality, is also home to the rhythm corps of Jamie Smucker on drums and Jeremy Pierce on bass. Dave Gottwald and Justin Wolfe keep it greasy on trombone/vocals and trumpet/vocals, respectively.
Now you know the origin of the band’s name, but the true wonder is what Spotus sounds like. Its sound is completely unique, and labeling it is a little precarious. However you look at it, Spotus is what you want it to be. If you want to call it an upbeat fusion jazz quintet, you could get away with it. If you wanted to call it a jam band, you could get away with it, too. You can call them whatever you want to, but if you happen to run into the band, call them Spotus. That is who they are, and that is what they sound like.
Seeing the band take the stage at a gig is in itself a rite of passage. It reminds me of the beginning of a playoff football game. All the fans are going crazy, screaming, yelling and cheering for their heroes. Many people are drinking beers; many are slapping high fives. Like the home team jogging through the paper banner, Spotus enters the stage poised to take over the world. One band member steps up to his microphone to check the action. Another plugs in the guitar. The bass player slaps a quick, guttural note just to make sure the sound is on. Within moments, I grab my notepad and retreat to higher ground, knowing nothing will get written down in this spot.
As the grace notes ring from Wewer’s guitar, the crowd stands flaccid, building up the energy that will release in the form of jumping, bopping and dancing.

One zealous fan charges up front and liberally signs goat horns to show his appreciation. Another bops his head in contentment, scratching his goatee. The scene is chaotic and frenzied, unlike the music. This music is tightly composed and upbeat. The members of the band groove into their instruments. All but avoiding eye contact, they communicate with their ears. The stage is their home.
Throughout the evening, some of their original compositions surpass the 10-minute mark. Other ditties, like the “Inspector Gadget” theme song (while Spotus is brilliantly talented, it can’t claim ownership to this one), barely make it to a minute. All the while, Spotus brings variety and a refreshing mixture of mostly original songs to the stage.
Some would say Spotus is a jam band, but the members of the band eschew that term. Pierce states, “I like to think of us as an improvising funk band,” a fair assessment – especially these days when jam bands seem to dig deeper into the realm of laptop computers and robot noises as part of their arsenal. With deftness and maturity, Spotus keeps the gimmicks to a minimum and plays with precision, like the jazz luminaries the band members admire – Mingus, Coltrane and
Monk. Wolfe’s eloquent declaration makes such a stance clear: “I personally prefer to stay away from the term jam band, ’cause when we’re on stage, we’re not jamming. We’re making love.”
Wewer explores the issue deeper: “‘Jam band’ is not my favorite music term. I love to listen to a lot of what people consider jam bands. I know it’s inevitable that we will be considered a jam band. I’m not at all trying to be a jam band, never was. We don’t like a label put on us, because this music comes from my head. It’s original music. I like to think it’s as original as it can get, therefore not having a category. As for our live performances – yes we jam, but we take a jazz approach to it. Yada, yada, yada; that’s what every band says. We do, though. Our drummer and the horn players never listened to jam bands. They never listened to the Dead. They’ve only heard the Phish and the Garcia Band that I’ve played for them for learning cover tunes. They listen to jazz. They listen to rock. They listen to funk. They listen to hip-hop.”
Wewer affirms that Spotus is an act to be experienced live. He speaks of how the energy, spontaneity and crowd interaction all play into how the music comes out at a show.
Says Smucker, “A good gig for me is when the chemistry is t - B.W. Smith/Fly Magazine (http://flymagazine.net)


Discography

All live Mp3s available for listening/download at http://spotusunkmeyer.com/Media___Downloads.html
Whole shows available for download at http://www.archive.org

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Spotus is a jazz-funk-rock-fusion-type band playing mostly original music. Tossing these guys in a specific genre or style of music is, due to the originality of their music, an impossible task...

According to B.W. Smith of the Fly Magazine: "Its sound is completely unique, and labeling it is a little precarious. However you look at it, Spotus is what you want it to be. If you want to call it upbeat fusion jazz, you could get away with it. If you wanted to call it a jam band, you could get away with it, too. You can call them whatever you want to, but if you happen to run into the band, call them Spotus. That is who they are, and that is what they sound like." The songs and compositions played by this band are all written by the members of this band, and any cover songs played are "Spoto-fied".

Spotus has an ever-growing fan base that enjoys traveling to see their band, and with every show they pick up even more fans...

"Seeing the band take the stage at a gig is in itself a rite of passage. It reminds me of the beginning of a playoff football game. All the fans are going crazy, screaming, yelling and cheering for their heroes. Many people are drinking beers; many are slapping high fives. Like the home team jogging through the paper banner, Spotus enters the stage poised to take over the world. One band member steps up to his microphone to check the action. Another plugs in the guitar. The bass player slaps a quick, guttural note just to make sure the sound is on...As the grace notes ring from Wewer’s guitar, the crowd stands flaccid, building up the energy that will release in the form of jumping, bopping and dancing." B.W. Smith; May, 2006 Edition of the Fly Magazine

A "third time is the charm" quote also from the same source as above:

"If you haven’t heard the new sound of Central Pa., perhaps you missed the burgeoning jazz/fusion/funk/rock-type outfit out of the greater Harrisburg area called Spotus."