| Astrogroove
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A great canadian band is our guest this time
ASTROGROOVE an amazing trio composed of;
Rich Underhill, Jono Grant and Great Bob Scott
Hi! glad to have you here! How's thing?
We've all come from different musical backgrounds.I played a lot of jazz and free jazz in the early days before forming a group called the Shuffle Demons (3 saxes, bass and drums) who did Mingus inspired hip hop, and included lots of free jazz elements within the structure of the band. I'm, in a way, always trying to subvert and deconstruct the musical structures.
Great Bob came to the attention of Canadians with the Look People, a wild group that was inspired by Zappa and Euro prog rock, Yello, people like that . He has always had an incredible sense of theatrics as well as an amazing rhythmic ability that allows him to play any style.
Jono came from a more pure pop background and was playing in the Pop Vultures with his brother Jamie at 13. He can play every instrument almost, and likes to take things to new places. He has done film scores, and is influenced by scores and alt pop.
Each of you as a solid claim as musicians on the Canadian scene.
How did you ever came together?
We basically met through Jaymz Bee and the Look People. We had played some shows together back when the Shuffle Demons were going strong, and then he got me to do an arrangement for one of their songs (nails) for horn section, and I hooked up with Bob and Jono. I thought, wow, Bob really is amazing drummer, and Jono is an amazing musician and can do anything and everything in the studio, so we hit it off.
What was your most memorable gig?
There have been a few memorable gigs. The last crazy one featured a whole bus load of incredibly drunk glass blowers, one of which bit me at some point. They were so drunk, they kept falling all over us on the way to and from the gig! Crazy! We used to play a club on Queen Street called Boda, and they would put us in the front window. One night they had it open, and a whole gang of kidz were outside just marvelling at Bob's playing. They were raucus (and so was he!)
Your CD is now available!!! Give us the rundown on it?
The astrogroove CD is a wild collection of songs that captures a live jamming band and then puts it through the computor blender and comes up with some amazing, unique music. It's really hard to classify, there are jazz, house, hip hop, trance, down tempo, and jungle influences. It's a wild ride.
What is the most exciting thing about the Canadian music scene?
There's lots and lots of music, and there's lots of different styles, played by people from all over the world who live here. It's a great place for fusions of different kids of music. I play in an Afro funk group (Jamo), Afro cuban electro funk (Pan Con Queso), Funk jazz (Wayne Cass), Swing (the Swing Gang) Klezmer Reggae (Ronnie Wiseman), Alt Country Soul (Blue Rodeo) and too many more to mention! It's great! There's a real feeling of cooperation and friendship amongst the bands as well.
What do you guys do to recharge the energy?
Rich: Yoga, the gym (when I get it together!), Helicopter Rides over the Canadian Arctic, drinks on the patio, the country whenever possible.
Jono: Great big fatties.... (he never takes a break!)
Great Bob: Beers, hangin with friends, Dad's house in the country, chilling with my boy Paddington Jitterbug Scott
What are you reading these days?
Rough Mix: the Jimmy Bowen Story - found it in a bargain basement bin, about a guy who produced Dean Martin and Frank as well as many others. Also Awakening the Buddhist Heart by Lama Surya Das...An intro to Buddhism
Who's the greatest musician of all time?
Frank Zappa - (Great Bob)
Duke Ellington (Rich - hard question by the way!)
Ringo - (Jono)
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