The longtime side project for members of Hey Marco!, Brett Mitchell & The Giant Ghost and Dave Kellan Band unleashes three performances this week, including a Wednesday show at SpeakEZ Lounge.
Band of Buddies: Gutbucket plays SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids on Wednesday night.
THE ARTIST: Gutbucket
THE MUSIC: Blues-rock power trio
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 8 p.m. Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids; Saturday at the Maritime Festival in Harbor Beach; Sunday at The Free Show in Midland. Also, tune in to Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday when band member Jacob Krull will be the in-studio guest.
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Gutbucket might not quite qualify as a Michigan super-group, though each member of the trio plays an integral role in other successful bands.
Brett Mitchell (Photo/Local Spins)
But these musicians certainly regard the blues-rock power trio as something singularly special and super – a band borne of a lifelong friendship that started in Midland, Mich., and one which only turns up the amps together a few times a year.
“It gives us a chance to stay connected as old friends. Musically, performing with Gutbucket is different from what we each do in our individual careers,” Grand Rapids bassist Jacob Krull (Hey Marco!) said of the trio which also features Alden’s Brett Mitchell (Brett Mitchell & The Giant Ghost) and New York’s Dave Kellan (The Dave Kellan Band).
“Performing in Gutbucket is a chance to cut loose a little bit – less about honing a perfect act and more about relying on a longtime musical connection to craft an entertaining show.”
The roots of the band can be traced to the Midland area, where all three musicians grew up.
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As Krull puts it, Gutbucket was “formed by three suburban kids being curious about music. Brett, Dave and I all started learning and playing around the same time. We had a punk band called Ever Slacking with a fourth member. Eventually, the three of us realized we were more into it and formed Gutbucket. Dave and I go all the way back to elementary school.”
Jacob Krull (Photo/RVAphotography)
On Wednesday night, the band reunites once again to perform a special show at Grand Rapids’ SpeakEZ Lounge as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series. In addition to originals which appeared on two albums, Krull said the group plays “lots of covers,” including selections ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Black Sabbath to Lenny Kravitz.
“Growing up together we went through our musical phases together from rock to punk, hip hop funk, jazz blues. It all has found its way into our original music,” said Krull, noting the band plays one to three times a year, usually around the holidays when Kellan returns to Michigan to visit relatives. Mitchell and Krull also travel to New York “every couple of years” to play Gutbucket shows there.
INSPIRED BY CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
“Our core sound is blues-rock heavily inspired by the power trio sound: Cream, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gov’t Mule, The Police.” (Scroll down to listen to a Gutbucket song.)
During this particular summer stint, Gutbucket also will perform at the Harbor Beach Maritime Festival on Saturday and The Free Show in Midland on Sunday.
Dave Kellan (Photo/Fredda Gordon)
The band remains a side project, considering Mitchell is a full-time musician and singer-songwriter who tours and gigs regularly as a solo act and with his band from his base outside of Traverse City.
Meanwhile, Grand Rapids’ Hey Marco! has cultivated a devoted following for its soulful pop music and for its tribute shows, including a successful Steely Dan tribute that it rolls out regularly. Krull also is a member of the indie-rock group The Blue Pines.
Kellan, who lives in Long Beach, N.Y., maintains a busy gigging schedule of his own in New York.
Still, the musicians hope to eventually record another Gutbucket album, though that could take some time to complete due to the distance that separates these childhood pals.
“Distance does make rehearsal and adding new material difficult,” Krull conceded. “(But) we plan to continue getting together a couple times a year for shows and to put out the occasional album for ourselves and our fans.”
AUDIO: Gutbucket, “Everything to Me”
PODCAST: Local Spins Live with Jacob Krull of Gutbucket
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
