The popular jam and funk band rolls into DeVos Performance Hall for a symphonic take on rousing tracks such as “Mt. Crushmore,” “The Force” and “Phyllis.” The Local Spins show preview and interview.
Getting Symphonic: Lettuce joins the Grand Rapids Symphony this weekend. (Courtesy Photo/Wallyography)
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It’s doubtful the Grand Rapids Symphony ever showed up at a bar and asked the establishment if its members could perform. But such was often the case for the guest artist lighting up its Saturday (May 17) pops concert.
In fact, that’s how the band got its name: While students at Berklee College of Music, they would go to clubs and bars and ask if they could sit in. “Let us play,” they said.
They don’t have to try to talk their way onto the stage anymore. But the name stuck, and on Saturday, Lettuce will be performing with the Grand Rapids Symphony at DeVos Hall. Tickets, $50.95-$171.85, available online here for the 7:30 p.m. show.
For drummer Adam Deitch and his bandmates, performing their funk-driven music with an orchestra is a special event. “Working with a symphony is something we’ve always wanted to do. It’s a dream,” says Deitch.
‘A Dream’: Lettuce working with symphonies. (Courtesy Photo/Wallyography)
The band’s latest release gives a taste of what the audience in Grand Rapids can expect.
“Lettuce With The Colorado Symphony” showcases the six-piece band backed by 48 string, wind and percussion players. “We meld our worlds,” continues an enthusiastic Deitch. “We’re coming from hip hop, funk and jazz. These (symphony) people are professionals. They come in, read the part, put the emotion (in) – they’re incredible.”
Longtime pops conductor Bob Bernhardt has worked with numerous pop, hip hop and country acts, including the Beach Boys, B-52s, Wynonna, The War and Treaty, and Brass Transit performing the music of Chicago. He’s also worked with Broadway stars, including Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kelli O’Hara. Despite that broad array and appreciation for various styles, Bernhardt admits he wasn’t familiar with Lettuce.
“I didn’t know their music. I studied it, looked at the show with the Colorado Symphony. It’s a perfect, amazing blend,” he says.
Deitch and Bernhardt both say one key to a successful collaboration is arranging the music so it allows the two organizations to play off one another. With Lettuce, that means including sections for improvisation – “their flights of fancy,” as Bernhardt puts it. “It’s different than just putting a bunch of strings on the hits,” he says.
“We have really good arrangements,” adds Deitch. He should know – he worked alongside Tony Pierce, the Colorado Symphony’s Chief Artistic Director, and Colorado Symphony conductor Chris Dragon to create the arrangements, crafting a symphonic funk sound that reflects the band’s diverse influences.
A recent set list from a Nashville show features symphonic takes on popular Lettuce tracks such as “Mt. Crushmore,” “Phyllis,” “The Force” and more.
LISTEN: Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony
A POP SHOW COMPLEMENTING THE TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL MENU
Members of Lettuce met as undergrads at a summer program at Berklee in 1992 before reconvening as Berklee students two years later. That’s when they began hitting open-mic nights and asking to sit in at clubs around the Boston area and beyond. Lettuce released its first CD, “Outta Here,” in 2002. Since then, it’s undergone the usual changes in personnel, arriving at its current iteration as a sextet in 2015.
Despite its Berklee bona fides and 30-plus-year tenure as a band, Lettuce has flown a bit under the radar of the general public. That’s due in part to the fact its music is largely unclassifiable. Its unique blend of funk grooves with soul, psychedelic and hip-hop influences and a tendency toward extended jams and improvisation comes naturally to the band. Its members boast experience with a dizzying variety of other acts: Britney Spears, John Scofield, The Game, Lady Gaga, Wyclef Jean and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, among others.
But that also means trying to describe the band’s sound is a challenge. Never mind trying to market it. “It’s really word of mouth,” says Deitch of the band’s promotion. “The team does a great job of getting the word out. We never got help from a label.”
Bob Bernhardt (Courtesy Photo/GR Symphony)
Bernhardt says working with artists from outside the classical field benefits the symphony by bringing in an audience that otherwise likely wouldn’t be interested in seeing an orchestra.
While working as a pops conductor with the Boston Pops he worked with several artists from outside the classical world, and he continues to do so with the Grand Rapids Symphony. “It’s what we’re always looking to do. It’s important for the symphony world. Last year we had the Violent Femmes. That was a blast.”
In addition to Lettuce on Saturday, Grand Rapids Symphony on Thursday (May 15) will pair up with award-winning hip-hop artist, film producer, poet and actor Common for a showcase of his biggest hits. Tickets for that 7:30 p.m. Thursday show are available online here.
Bernhardt says the pop shows complement the traditional classical menu of Mussorgsky, Chopin, Mozart, Haydn, as does lighter fare such as holiday pops and the music of films such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. “We have a core group of our audience that trusts us. When they come, they will enjoy it,” he says.
The guest performers bring their own audience. “The Violent Femmes (show) had a gigantic audience of Violent Femmes fans,” he says.
The hope is that artists such as Lettuce, Brass Transit, Common and the others continue to bring their audience into contact with the symphony. Then maybe they’ll decide to check out the orchestra at another show. “That’s what I’m betting will happen,” says Bernhardt.
He believes it is important to connect the symphony with all music fans, who may feel classical music is too highbrow and not meant for them. “We have to fight the sense of elitism. None of us feel that. We’re a community music organization,” he says. “Whether it’s Mahler or Gershwin or Beethoven or the Beatles, it will be beautifully played with energy and excitement.”
One listen to Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony confirms that will be the case with Lettuce.
“We’re a well-oiled machine,” says Deitch. “We know how these arrangements work.”
VIDEO: Lettuce w/ The Colorado Symphony, “Everybody Wants to Change the World”
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