This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE featured Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe with special guest Brandon James playing Tom Waits-inspired music, plus several new song debuts.
Tom Waits Fans, Musical Collaborators: Olivia Mainville, on right, and Brandon James at WYCE. (Photo/Local Spins)
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Rootsy, folk-hued Michigan bands Jack & The Bear and Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe have more in common than just touring together, playing on each other’s albums and embracing an inventive, boundary-pushing approach to creating music.
On the Air: Bleu Quick and Andy Fettig performing during Local Spins Live. (Photo/Local Spins)
They also happen to be ardent fans of legendary singer-songwriter Tom Waits.
So it’s no surprise that both bands will perform Saturday night at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo for “Glitter & Doom: Tom Wait Tribute Night,” organized by Kalamazoo singer and musician Megan Dooley.
“I’ve just been a Tom Waits fan as long as I’ve had Jack & The Bear going, which is like six or seven years now,” said Brandon James of Jack & The Bear.
“I definitely gained a lot of inspiration from his stylings,” added Mainville.
Performing on Saturday night will be Dooley, Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe, Jack & The Bear, Nate Harttmann, Chris Newman Band, Libby Decamp, Chris Miroslaw, Deep Fried Pickle Project, Mark Duval, Mike List, Jessica In The Rainbow and Matthew Borr.
As a sneak preview, Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe and James performed the Waits song, “Get Behind the Mule,” during Local Spins on WYCE along with a Jack & The Bear tune inspired by Waits, “Swarm.” Check out the video of their rendition of “Get Behind the Mule” here, and listen to the full podcast below.
VIDEO: “Get Behind the Mule,” Olivia Mainville, Brandon James, Bleu Quick, Andy Fettig
For Mainville, the Waits tribute helps close out a busy year for the band that’s included lineup changes and a return to the recording studio, where the trio — multi-instrumentalists Mainville, Andy Fettig and Bleu Quick — currently is working on the follow-up to its award-winning 2015 album, “Maybe the Saddest Thing,” with help from some members of southern Michigan’s Jack & The Bear.
As for Jack & The Bear, James — who played guitar and saxophone during the Local Spins on WYCE session — described that band’s current direction as industrial pop with a “dark Disney vibe.” The band’s most recent album, “By the Book: Folklore by Jack and the Bear,” is an epic 20-song affair set in 2076.
Get more information and tickets for the 21-and-older Tom Waits tribute night online at bellsbeer.com. Tickets are $15 day of show.
The 116th edition of Local Spins on WYCE also featured the premiere of new tracks by The Outer Vibe, Boy From School (which hosts a CD-release show at The Pyramid Scheme Saturday night), Jesse Ray & The Carolina Catfish, The Sauce and Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys, along with music from The Red Sea Pedestrians (this week’s musicians’ pick), The Accidentals, Dante Cope and Eric Engblade. Listen to the full podcast here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE, Dec. 2, 2016
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