The Road to CukoRakko: Scott Ferber of The Jauntee October 3, 2018 17:33
Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen
Photos by Craig Baird: Home Team Photography
If you're a music lover in Alabama, you've more than likely heard about an amazing grassroots festival known as CukoRakko Music & Arts Festival. Founded in 2014, the festival has been held twice a year at Horse Pens 40 in Steele, AL. As we prepare for another unforgettable CukoRakko weekend on October 5th - 7th, we're sitting down and getting to know a few of the performers on the 2018 Fall Festival lineup. For our fifth and final installment, we caught up Scott Ferber (drums) of The Jauntee, who will be performing at 7:45 PM on Friday, October 5th. See below for the full interview, as well as video footage of The Jauntee performing live.
Click Here: Purchase Tickets to CukoRakko Music & Arts Festival
So the band has recently relocated from Boston, MA to Denver, CO. Tell me a little about how you guys got started and ultimately made this move.
-
Scott: Well all four of us went to school in the Boston area. Three of us studied music at Berklee College of Music. John (Loland), our bass player, went to school for pilot mechanic work. Me and Caton (Sollenberger), the guitar player, we were the founding members of the band. We met during the fall of 2010, during his freshman year there, which was my junior or senior year.
--
We had a great connection musically and shared quite a few similar interests. We formed the band in late 2010. There was originally a different keyboardist and bassist, and John joined in 2012. Tyler (Adams) joined in 2015, but we had known him long before then. Tyler was a fan of the band, and he actually went to school for guitar. He's a really well rounded musician, and he plays keys for us. John and Caton had known each other previously which is how he came to join the band in 2012.
-
That's how we formed, and we moved out to Colorado this past summer. The band was in Boston for seven or eight years, and we had been touring out to Colorado for five or six of those years. We toured pretty hard from the start. We've always loved Colorado as a place to live, and after touring there for a while, we started to do really well out there. Growing quickly and making fans that would spread the word. It seemed to be growing faster than other markets we played.
-
That was all a big factor in the decision to relocate, and there is just a really vibrant music scene in general. Another factor was our desire to get to the west coast, which is much more difficult to do from Boston. Now we're a little more centrally located. We've done one west coast tour, and we just announced some more dates today. That's the summary for you.
-
You're fresh off the release of your first live album 'Always Never Knowing'. How did you guys decide on this collection of tunes?
-
Scott: It was a pretty unique experience recording this album in the way that it came about. It was last summer right before we moved. This was recorded at The Bridge Sound & Stage Studio, but it had an area with a stage. We set up for two full nights and had about 70-100 people. Most of them came both nights. We played two full set shows; straight through without stopping.
-
It was pretty much a live show with a lot of our friends and fans. It captured that live energy, but it was all recorded in studio quality. We had four full sets to work from, and kind of dwindled that down to what we could fit on two CDs. It's a double disc album, which turned out to be able 160 minutes worth of music. It was no where near all of what we played, but we hand selected our favorite moments. We then used to studio magic to make it flow as if it was a cohesive show. We're really happy with how it turned out. This is the first record we have with Tyler on keys.
-
-
You've previously released two full studio albums, Excelsior and Enjoy The Ride. I'm sure there has been plenty of new material since. Are there any plans in place for the next studio work?
-
Scott: We definitely have the songs for it, and it's definitely being talked about. We don't currently have anything setup, however, it's something we want to do. We haven't had a chance to think much about it, because we've been concentrating on this release. Hopefully we can get back in the studio within the next year. We have a plethora of material that hasn't been released. Especially songs we have written with Tyler.
-
The band just completed a big five-night run supporting Twiddle. This was obviously great exposure in the southeast. What did you guys take away from this experience?
-
Scott: Oh man...that's a good question. First of all, we had an awesome time. This was a really big opportunity for us. Twiddle is doing well right now, and I can see why. We had met them before, but this was our first chance to really get to know them. They're just a great team of people: both the band and the crew. They were super nice, accommodating, and supportive of us. The whole experience went really well and smoothly. I think that has a lot to do with them being super easy people to work with.
We've worked with a lot of other larger bands that aren't necessarily like that. Sometimes there is friction with the crews, or maybe all of the band members don't get along. I think we learned how important it is to be easy to work with. Just be nice. It goes a long way in this scene. Making friends and building relationships with other bands. It was amongst the most solid five shows we've ever had.
-
I would definitely agree there. Those guys are amongst the nicest of any band I've had the chance to interact with. Did you have much history in the Southeast market prior to this?
-
Scott: Yeah...we've played in the southeast a few times each year. A few of the spots we did with Twiddle, specifically Nashville and Birmingham, we had never played before. Those were two spots that were great to break into in front of such a great crowd. We had a fair amount of experience with Chattanooga, Greenville, and Atlanta.
-
What do you guys enjoy most about coming down to this area?
-
Scott: It's just a good energy out here. I feel like southern hospitality is a real thing. It's nice to experience that down here. Coming from New England, it's a little bit of a slower pace, and I like that. It's just fun to see these new places and make new friends.
-
The audience seems to be growing, which has led to more touring and festival plays. Can you share a few of the bands highlights from this year?
-
Scott: There seems to be a number of them. More and more standout shows in general over the last year or two. Especially with the move out to Colorado. There are so many opportunities, as there are so many venues out there. So many bands that we've linked up with as they come through Colorado. We started playing with Leftover Salmon a little bit. We've had fairly regular shows at The Fox Theatre in Boulder and The Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins.
-
This run with Twiddle allowed us to play rooms like the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta. We aren't exactly accustomed to playing some of these big rooms regularly. When we do, it's such a treat to have that awesome sound, gear, and crew that work there. Opportunities like that really stand out. We've also played with Ghost Light and Consider the Source. The opportunity to play with some of these bands has been great for exposure and a lot of fun.
-
You're hitting the stage at CukoRakko Music & Arts Festival at 7:45 PM on Friday night. For those catching their first Jauntee set, what would you say they should expect from a full 90 minutes with you guys?
-
Scott: Yes sir. It's going to be a great time. They should expect to be taken on a musical journey. That's what we try and do. We go through a lot of different genres: rock, funk, bluegrass. We like to extend things out a little more at festivals. We like to get weird. I think people should anticipate sitting back and enjoying the ride. See where the music takes them. It's unknown for us a lot of times. We don't always know what's going to happen, so it's fun for everyone to be along on that musical journey.
-
Right on. Well thanks again for your time. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.
-
Scott: Absolutely. Thank you. We're really looking forward to it. We've heard some really great things about this festival.
-
-
-
Watch The Jauntee perform "Puppy In My Pocket" here:
-
-
