Hailing from the bustling music metropolis of Boston, Mass., The Slip is one of the nation's top jam band touring acts. They will bring their distinctively delightful interpretation of live jam-jazz to The Tralf this Saturday night.
Brothers Andrew and Brad Barr, along with bassist Marc Friedman, founded the band while attending the acclaimed Berklee School of Music and set out to stake their claim on the live music scene. Within a year's time, The Slip was on the road and touring professionally. They have not looked back since.
"Playing music just feels so good," drummer Andrew Barr said. "I just never grow tired of it."
Over the course of the last few years, The Slip have developed into a league of their own, delving into jazz traditions while incorporating elements such as African music, rock, Latin and funk. The label of "jam band" does not give them their just desserts.
"All the people we play for help me grow, they magnify our desire to write music and feel different ways," said Andrew Barr.
For the most part, the fans are what make up the jam band community. The importance of living life with an open mind was obvious when Barr emphasized the band member's consistently varying influences: Coltrane to U2, African to Indian.
In the studio, The Slip are on point, as is evident in their latest release, "Angels Come On Time." While usually improvising in the studio, Andrew Barr said The Slip "had some studio ideas just crystallize."
"We usually have serious limits and boundaries on ourselves, but this album we built the songs like houses, starting with the frames as the original shapes of the songs and working around them," said Andrew Barr.
Live, they are a spectacle. Spontaneous and clever, they travel through the depths of sound, experimenting and manipulating the entire way. Their live shows incorporate many sounds and styles into one cohesive groove, demonstrating how they've gained their tremendous reputation.
Incorporating varying sounds and textures is also how they have caught the eye of Phish, at whose The Barn studio they just recorded their last album. In the past, The Slip has played a couple of Phish's massive, summer-ending festivals and this year will be playing the festival of all summer festivals, the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee.
"We've been writing a lot of music, and have had a nice opportunity to experiment with different sounds and textures," said Andrew Barr.
By experimenting with free-time music, ambient sounds and organic textures, The Slip has yet again pushed their music forward, crossing boundaries and expanding on them.
"We take a lot of influence from our live experiences and from the people we know," Barr said.
Polyrhythmic, harmonious melodies and soul warming grooves capture the essence of their live sound. Guitarist Brad Barr is about as technically proficient as they come. Using varying guitars and settings, he brings the listener to the outer reaches of sound, before retrieving you right back into reality.
Marc Friedman, the bassist, sticks to the same bass, but manipulates it to the utmost of its capabilities. Last but not least, Andrew Barr on drums is exactly what a listener would want from a drummer - steady, skilled and capable of adjusting on the stop of a dime.
Taking experiences from playing with friends and fellow musicians, their sound is constantly expanding and progressing into new musical realms.
Speaking of the jam community as a whole, Andrew Barr said, "it seems like it's come full circle."
"It's opened itself up to so many different groups," he added.
In doing so, The Slip can feel comfortable playing with any artist, from Eminem to musicians from Mali.
It is all a never-ending musical journey for the boys of The Slip. Incorporating various cultures and experiences into their life and music, they constantly expand their horizon, resulting in a future that keeps on getting brighter.
Listeners with a jazz preference or those who like to get out and dance, should attend The Slip show at The Tralf on Saturday night. New York City funk quartet Ulu will be the opening act and hit the stage at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 the day of the show, which is open to ages 16 and over.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
