LETTING THINGS HAPPEN: N/N. |
Spring will mark the one-year anniversary for the instrumental trio Nature/Nurture, who recently teamed up with 75OrLess Records to release their debut CD titled EP001 (at 75orlessrecords.com for $6). EP001 impressed 75OrLess CEO Mark MacDougall so much that he approached the New Bedfid/Fall Rivuh band about cranking out a limited run available for purchase. A blog post on myspace.com/naturenurtureband reads: "If you don't want to buy it, by all means download away, we want you to hear this music."
"I had crossed paths with [drummer] Henry [Chandanais] at shows in New Bedford over the past couple years," said MacDougall, who also serves as bass player in Six Star General. "When we finally shared a bill with them they were tight as hell, and even though there was no PA system, somehow their levels were perfect. It was just a really powerful set of instrumentals focused on dynamics and flow rather than overdoing it with non-stop timing changes. A few weeks later, their EP was finished and available as a free download from their site, so I checked it out and loved it," MacDougall recalled. "The entire thing is around 13 minutes long, so I'm really anxious to hear what they do next."
Nature/Nurture started off as a New Bedford-based two-piece with bassist (and current Providence resident) Jesse Marsh and Chandanais after meeting up on local music authority LotsOfNoise.com and, after several months of unsuccessful auditions, hooked up with guitarist Michael Brunetto.
"Henry and I practiced in his apartment in Fall River and after cycling through a few guitarists, we found Mike and moved to New Bedford when the neighbor situation got too sketchy," Marsh said.
"I had been playing for two years in my last band and was actually looking forward to some time off from the band thing," Brunetto said. "But a mutual friend of ours insisted I meet up with them and at least jam. I walked into it not knowing these guys at all and, in the span of one afternoon, we all felt like old friends."
N/N are content with rocking out sans vocals. "Initially, we wrote and jammed, then realized we enjoy being an instrumental trio," Brunetto said. "I don't think we're against the idea of adding vocals if something called for it."
Said Chandanais, "It feels good to convey an emotion you were feeling through music, plus I don't think anyone wants to hear any of us wailing on a mic."
The murky, low-and-loose basslines remind me of Dianogah, who I caught opening at the Hum reunion show in Chicago on New Year's.
"I grew up listening to a lot of Sonic Youth and Jawbox, and Hum's Downward Is Heavenward probably had the most profound effect on me musically," Chandanais noted.
And what's with the song titles? For instance, the third and fourth tracks on EP001 are called "006" and "007."
"The song titles started as demos Henry and Jesse cut as a duo to give out to potential guitar players," Brunetto said. "They were numbered '1,' '2,' 'Idea 3,' and so on. That's how we kept referring to them during our first practices together and it stuck.
"I like that utilitarian look of having it written out as '006' juxtaposed against the Nature/Nurture name, sort of an analytical-versus-organic thing going on."
The organic Nature/Nurture recording process starts off in typical fashion, developed gradually out of practice space jams. "There are no egos, so we all just throw ideas out there and work hard to make all the little transitions tight," Brunetto said. But that doesn't mean the live N/N experience is a meandering plug-in-and-go jam session. "Our live show is completely rehearsed," Brunetto reassured. "We've found that our sweet spot is in the half-hour range, so we play our absolute best without overstaying our welcome."
Friday will mark Nature/Nurture's first visit to AS220, and they're looking forward to playing more Providence venues throughout the year. "Any city that can produce bands ranging from Daughters to the Brother Kite is onto something special," Brunetto said. "There's room for just about everything and music fans in Providence seem to be supportive of anything as long as it's good."
The trio remain realistic that their "buy it-or-rip it" business model isn't going to break the bank nor send them into the celebrity stratosphere, as eloquently stated by Brunetto: "Entering our 30s we are pretty realistic with the goals we have. I have a good job and responsibilities outside of the band, so I don't have secret fantasies about being a huge rock star anymore. I can't jump in a van for weeks and lose tons of money on tour. But who knows, maybe word will spread outside of the area, if not we'll be just as excited to keep playing regional shows.
"We've made it this far by just letting things happen naturally, so why force it?"
NATURE/NURTURE + TRANSCARDIA + MAST | AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence | March 6 at 9 pm | $6
