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Rochester music interviews
We hit up artists on their way to the ROC
Self-proclaimed band geeks, the members of the Po' Boys Brass Band have turned trombones and tubas cool with their original blend of New Orleans jazz, funk and rock.
Nick Finzer (trombone), Mike Frederick (guitar), TJ Ricer (sousaphone), Chris Teal (drums), Chris Van Hof (trombone) and Erik Jacobs (trombone) — have no qualms about their geekiness.
"I have a doctorate in tuba performance — that's about as geeky as it gets," Ricer says. Named for the classic New Orleans sandwich, the Po' Boys — performing at Abilene Bar and Lounge on Nov. 21 — is a group of current and former Eastman School of Music students with a love of brass instruments and what they all came to Eastman for — musical performance.
And they're looking to make enough money to buy themselves a sandwich or two. "It's a nod at our New Orleans roots, but we're also a bunch of poor boys as musicians," Jacobs says.
The brass force has been performing together for two years, and this summer marked the group's biggest gig yet — performing in front of 45,000 people at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
"That was the moment that was the most rewarding, and I think the moment that I realized we have mass-market potential," Jacobs says. "Until that point, I was really trying to find our fan base, figuring out who we should market ourselves to."
The Po' Boys almost missed out on being booked for the festival because a long list of local bands were vying for spots on the bill. But during a gig last December at Abilene, John Nugent, the festival's co-producer and artistic director, was in the audience and the gig was theirs.
Although the band's collection of instruments typically is banished to the back of the orchestra, and not normally used to make rock music, the Po' Boys wanted to break all the rules. And for good reason: Most trombone players play classical or jazz music, Jacobs says, "but that was just another way I wasn't going to get any chicks, and no one was every going to think I was cool."
Jacobs, who marched with the United States Marine Corps Band in New Orleans, says he was inspired not only by the city's style of music, but also by its culture and network of musicians.
"In New Orleans, you'd walk into a bar and a guy comes in with a sousaphone case and he's like a rock star — everyone knows him, everyone loves him," he says.
After meeting at Eastman (except for Frederick and Teal, who grew up together in Spokane, Wash.), the musicians joined forces and combined their distinct lists of influences. "When you listen to the band, you hear a crazy, cross-pollination of everybody's styles," Jacobs says.
All with impressive résumés in their own right (the members have performed all over the world, including cruise ships and countless orchestras), many of the Po' Boys are also teachers and have their hands in other projects.
"Most people say that not doing anything is vacation or time off, but in the musicians' world, not doing anything means not working, unemployed, homeless," Jacobs says.
The band, which recently wrapped up its first tour, is looking to book bigger gigs at concert halls, and members would like to incorporate their passion for teaching into their appearances.
"I think just like any other band, we're still growing, and it's probably going to take a lot of years to really make this thing go somewhere," Jacobs says. "But ultimately, getting paid to do what we love would be the goal of the band."
