Bang on a Can

A couple of years ago while recording the Wilco record Sky Blue Sky, I began immersing myself into the music of the Stax record label. Sky Blue Sky was a more soulful and stripped down record than it’s predecessors in an attempt to capture the sound and feel that we get as a group while performing live. The sessions relied on the sound of the whole band recording together at the same time in the same space without the use of digital technology. The focus for me, as the drummer, became to establish the perfect feel or groove for each song while leaving enough room for the other 5 musicians in that setting. The feel that I was going for in my playing harkened back to a different time when many rock drummers were actually jazz or gospel drummers who also played rock and roll to make a better living. Hence, there is an inherent swing in the grooves – a buoyancy that is missing in much of the rock music of the last 20 –30 years. I thought there was no better place to research and absorb this great feel than the performance-oriented recordings of one of the most important cultural institutions of popular music of the last century. Stax was a studio, a record store (Satellite Record Shop), a record label and ground zero for Memphis music during the 60’s and 70’s. The music produced was a raw, gritty brand of soul, blues, and proto-funk with an edge not found in the music of its main rival of time – Motown. The key to the groove of many of the Stax hits was it’s rhythm section – the racially mixed Booker T. and the MG’s.

Although Stax recording artists were primarily African American, the company, its musicians and most importantly – its audience – was ethnically split.  This music was equally appealing to both blacks and whites.  Stax was an ideal model of real integration in the south and proof of what amazing results could be produced when people simply worked and played together towards a common goal. 
When the Bang On A Can All-stars asked me to compose a piece for them I thought it might be fitting to tap my love of the Stax music for this most rocking and stylistically adventurous of new music ensembles.  While listening to the music of Stax, I was particularly drawn in by a few specific characteristics besides the feel.  One of these was the liberal use of horns – oftentimes in place of background vocals.  The horns provide the hooks in many of these songs and their unison lines took the place of where instrumental solos might ordinarily occur in a song.  I was also struck by the prevalence of the bottom end in many of the recordings. Besides great bass lines – the drumming tends to be grounded through both repetition and by leaning on more of the earthy sounds on the kit to establish the groove as opposed to relying on the ride cymbal as is common in jazz.  Another factor contributing to this sound is that the vocals are more in the middle of the mix instead of being out front and louder than the instruments as is commonplace in pop music.  
I began to contemplate transposing drum grooves to other instruments by parceling out the various voices of the drum kit to the unique instrumentation of the All-stars.  I also thought it might be interesting to transfer some of the horn lines into drum grooves.  This started me on a path of choosing a handful of tunes that would become my source material or inspiration to draw upon in the writing of Snap. Sometimes more general elements were chosen - like tonal centers or formal structures - and sometimes more specific things were chosen like the rhythm of a certain guitar part or the rhythm of the knocks from Knock on Wood which begin the piece.  I took elements from some of the songs that resonated the most with me and then by employing a variety of techniques, expanded and developed them - eventually molding it all into the piece you’ll hear today.  
The songs chosen included selections from: Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the MG’s and Eddie Floyd.  Although Snap bears no audible resemblance to these songs, my goal was for it to retain the vibrancy, groove, power, and beauty of this music.  The homage is apparent in the title, which was chosen from the snapping fingers of the Stax logo.