By Alexandra Jones
Photo by J.H. Kertis
The West Philadelphia Orchestra has a constantly changing roster, no concrete style, and a healthy disdain for pop’s performer/audience divisions and power dynamics. This all-over-Philly institution plays a blend of genre musics that were until recently confined to jazz clubs, ethnomusicology programs, and CD bins labeled “World” – plus a dose of weird punk and funk to keep sounds fresh and local. The band’s monthy dance parties at the Tritone are a testament to the power of joy and community, exciting music, and electrifying grooves. We e-corresponded with founder/bandleader/musical polymath Gregg Mervine – who is currently learning, writing, and playing in Monteiro, Brazil – about the WPO’s past, future and positive vibe.
O: How do you integrate a new member into the ensemble’s sound? How has the group’s sound grown since its inception?
GM: The sound of the ensemble results from the musicians in the band on a given occasion and the tunes. For example, when Elliott Levin is on the bandstand, blowing free jazz solos, the band is noisier, more aggressive, and more ecstatic. When percussionists e Zayas, from Cuba, is playing snare drum and bongos, that Cuban flavor is clearly present. Etc. We’re always listening, with ears wide open, and waiting for a musical suggestion that could take the music in a different direction spontaneously. Many of our tunes are original, combining Eastern European brass band sounds with whatever else – usually jazz, classical modernism, and the rhythms in our head. We began the learning process by imitation – studying recordings, playing with more established Balkan groups, and gleaning all that we could. This process never ends, as we continue to filter new sounds into the mix. About a year into the band, I brought in a weird original composition, the first track on our record ‘WPO’, in which I realized that throwing in ‘wrong notes’ and twisting the grooves around was really fun. It’s basically a hallucination involving Jimi Hendrix, Naftule Brandwein, Astor Piazzola, and Jello Biafra. I think that opened the door, and we freed ourself from imitation and began to think creatively.
O: So many bands seem to take a hands-off approach to how listeners receive their music – of they like it, fine, if not, screw them. How has the WPO’s inclusive, response-driven approach shaped the band and its music?
GM: With this blaring, brilliant media cloud always above us these days, I think there are two main approaches to music making. One is to play for the cloud – make records that get pretentious reviews in blogs and such, write songs that get appropriated by corporate propoganda schemes, and to seek one’s own creative exploitation. That’s gambling with your art. Another approach, our approach, is to be a village band and play for the local crowd- making parties, being present for civic events, collaborating with local artists and programs, as well as playing large venues and a few festivals. We hope to make Philly a happier, lighter, more connected place. We’re also involved in education programs, and hope that rehearsing in public parks, for example, may inspire kids to pick up instruments and practice, practice, practice.
O: You’re known for incorporating an impressive mix of American styles into your Balkan/klezmer milieu. Is there a direction you haven’t yet taken, or an instrument/piece of technology you haven’t experimented with, that you’d be excited to try?
GM: A brass band is a versatile instrument. I play with a brass band in New Orleans called Panorama Brass Band that plays traditional New Orleans music, Serbian coceks, Ornette Coleman, Eddie Bo, dub, merengue, and klezmer, proving that a brass band can play anything – hence ‘Panorama’. Lately, I’ve been digging on a brass band from Rajasthan, Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, that is fucking heaven. There are also great brass bands in Africa, like Gangbe. So basically, there are so many brass band sounds to draw from, should we choose to. But then, just looking at the music I grew up with, I imagine how amazing ‘Jerry was a Racecar Driver’ would sound with our tuba and tenor horns playing Les Claypools’ bassline, and I’d like to try Devo’s version of ‘Satisfaction.’ And for two years I’ve been wanting to make a version of Bach’s Kyrie from the B Minor Mass. Technologically, we’ve gone in the direction of being totally acoustic. We once had banjo, upright bass, violins, violas, guitar – but then we need to have cables and microphones all over the stage, and it just kills the spontaneity of it. Plus, very few places hire professional soundmen and have real sound gear. The last thing I want to hear is a great trumpet player playing into a shitty mic, through a shitty PA, and mixed by someone who only knows about guitars, vocals, and drums. Getting a good ensemble sound acoustically and on large stages where mics are necessary is always a struggle. Help!
O: You’re proud of the fact that the WPO has never played with the exact same lineup twice. How do you integrate a new member into the ensemble’s sound? How has the group’s sound grown since its inception?
GM: While it was true for awhile, we’ve played enough over the last 3 years to mathematically disprove the claim that we’ve never played with the same instrumentation twice. However the band is a community of folks that more or less know the tunes, and within the community there’s a core. We can play with as few as 5 people, but usually it’s 8 or more, giving a bigger, fuller sound. The sound of the ensemble results from the musicians in the band on a given occasion and the tunes. For example, when Elliott Levin is on the bandstand, blowing free jazz solos, the band is noisier, more aggressive, and more ecstatic. When percussionists e Zayas, from Cuba, is playing snare drum and bongos, that Cuban flavor is clearly present. Etc. We’re always listening, with ears wide open, and waiting for a musical suggestion that could take the music in a different direction spontaneously. Many of our tunes are original, combining Eastern European brass band sounds with whatever else – usually jazz, classical modernism, and the rhythms in our head. We began the learning process by imitation – studying recordings, playing with more established Balkan groups, and gleaning all that we could. This process never ends, as we continue to filter new sounds into the mix. About a year into the band, I brought in a weird original composition, the first track on our record ‘WPO’, in which I realized that throwing in ‘wrong notes’ and twisting the grooves around was really fun. It’s basically a hallucination involving Jimi Hendrix, Naftule Brandwein, Astor Piazzola, and Jello Biafra. I think that opened the door, and we freed ourself from imitation and began to think creatively.
O: The band’s stated mission is to bring people together and create community. So many bands seem to take a hands-off approach to how listeners receive their music – of they like it, fine, if not, screw them. How has the WPO’s inclusive, response-driven approach shaped the band and its music?
GM: With this blaring, brilliant media cloud always above us these days, I think there are two main approaches to music making. One is to play for the cloud – make records that get pretentious reviews in blogs and such, write songs that get appropriated by corporate propoganda schemes, and to seek one’s own creative exploitation. That’s gambling with your art. Another approach, our approach, is to be a village band and play for the local crowd- making parties, being present for civic events, collaborating with local artists and programs, as well as playing large venues and a few festivals. We hope to make Philly a happier, lighter, more connected place. We’re also involved in education programs, and hope that rehearsing in public parks, for example, may inspire kids to pick up instruments and practice, practice, practice.
O: You’ve released a few recordings – what are your plans for future releases?
GM: We’re working on a new project, featuring mostly original compositions, and featuring the vocals of Petia Zamfirova. It’s been a long process, with many complications and frustrations. We hope this comes out soon, by March or April – we hope we finish it soon. It’s really hard to record a brass band – you can’t do it at home. You need a good room and great gear to get a recorded sound that resembles the richness of the live sound. We’re learning how to do this right. The new record will have plenty of original tunes – some are groove-heavy, others are adventurous and dissonant, some are traditional sounding, etc. And the arrangements of traditional songs for Petia and Jack to sing are really cool. There will be plenty to dance to on the record, and also plenty to sit down in a comfortable chair to listen to as well.
For Alex’s entire interview with Gregg Mervine, as well as conversations with bandmates Elliott Levin, Adam Hershberger, and Larry Toft check out the Origivation blog: origivation.com/theblog
