The Mainstays’ sophomore album, “Another Way,” reflects three years of growth as a band. The popular funksters host CD-release shows this weekend and appeared for Local Spins on WYCE. (Video, podcast)
Live With ‘No Digital Tricks’: The Mainstays wanted their new album to reflect the energy of their shows. (Photo/Jess Bailey)
THE MUSIC: Soul, funk, R&B
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 9:30 p.m. Friday at Billy’s Lounge in Grand Rapids; 9 p.m. Saturday at Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo (with Groovement)
ALSO: The Mainstays were the in-studio guests for this week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE. Listen to the interview and performance in the podcast below, along with the premiere of new music by Four Lincolns, Jared Sjoblom, Nashon Holloway, The Suburbans, Brian Oberlin, Red Legs and more.
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Consider it an “old-school” approach for a band that oozes old-school funk and soul.
Members of Kalamazoo’s The Mainstays had one thing on their minds when they entered the studio to record a new album: Capture the inviting groove of their live sound.
“Nothing beats the energy of a live performance. That’s why we approached this recording in that way,” lead singer and guitarist Andrew Schrock said of the traditional, “old-school” methods the group employed at Eldred Labs studio outside Kalamazoo.
Finding the Groove: Andrew Schrock of The Mainstays (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“No click track. No Auto-Tune. No Pro Tools. No digital tricks. Hopefully, the final result is that it sounds like the five of us sitting in a room, playing music together.”
After three years of growing audiences to become one of Michigan’s most popular and most recognizable funk/R&B bands, The Mainstays are unleashing their sophomore recording, “Another Way” – a project that reflects the Kalamazoo-based band’s ever more vibrant sound.
“The songwriting is more dynamic, more mature. We have progressed as individual musicians, which allows for greater diversity in songwriting and arranging,” said Schrock, of Fennville, who fronts the band.
“The groove is much tighter now than it was three years ago when we started. The groove is so important in our music.” (Scroll down to listen to The Mainstays’ “Greatest Sin.”)
BETTER GIGS, BIGGER CROWDS
After completing a two-night run in Traverse City last weekend, The Mainstays officially release the new album in shows at Billy’s Lounge in Grand Rapids at 9:30 p.m. Friday and at Bell’s Brewery’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo at 9 p.m. Saturday.
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Formed in 2013 as a spinoff from the crowd-pleasing Kalamazoo funk band Funktion, The Mainstays – Schrock, bassist Neal Conway, keyboard player Tom Eldred, lead guitarist Nate Heymoss and drummer Paul Bauer – have earned a reputation for dance-inspiring, jam-hued soul music.
Kalamazoo Heroes: The Mainstays play Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo this weekend. (Photo/Esther Tuttle)
“The gigs have gotten a lot better. The crowds are bigger now. We’ve become tighter as a unit, on and off stage,” said Schrock, who grew up in Fennville listening to his older brother’s Motown and soul records. (He’s also the son of well-known bassist Mark Schrock, co-owner of Fennville’s Salt of the Earth and a member of Madcat Midnight Blues Journey and other Michigan acts.)
“There is quite a bit of improvisation in our live show. We’ll often bring in special guests during live performances. That adds a unique element to it. Our old friend, Terrence Massey, my right-hand man in Funktion, is playing trumpet and singing with us for these album-release shows.”
With release of the 10-track “Another Way,” The Mainstays also are ramping up their band promotion via social media, radio appearances, posters and, of course, touring.
“We’re playing a lot around the greater Midwest in 2016 and early 2017,” said Schrock, noting the band wraps up the year playing a giant New Year’s Eve show with Ultraviolet Hippopotamus at Kalamazoo’s State Theatre. “There are some exciting things in the works for 2017.”
This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE also featured the debut of new music by Four Lincolns, Jared Sjoblom, Nashon Holloway, The Suburbans, Brian Oberlin and Red Legs, as well as songs from Billy Strings, Bermudas, The Great Ones and The Accidentals.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE with The Mainstays (Nov. 4, 2016)
VIDEO: The Mainstays, “On and On” (Local Spins on WYCE)
AUDIO: The Mainstays, “Greatest Sin”
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
