Singin’ the blues away
Sick Finger Guru’s organic blend brings the good times
By Molly Coulter
Published on 04/05/2007
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As a pack of tail-wagging dogs greet their guest, the “groovy, grungy, jammy, face-melting rock” sounds of a fun-loving bunch drift downstairs from a loft in a wooden A-frame. A large brass cymbal adorns the swinging gate to the long front porch. The cars lining the curb-less street are a mix of utility vans and rusty pick-up trucks. Pine trees crowding the grassy lot reach into the dark sky. And the members of Sick Finger Guru pass their guest a frosted bottle (not can) of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Welcome to Flagstaff.
“There’s something to say about the Flagstaff scene,” says Ben Duval, the band’s guitarist and singer who also plays bass and harmonica. “There is something there and we’re at that level and playing with other bands. It’s not competition. Going back to our expectations, we were first worried about who we would open for and instead we play our own shows. I think there’s a good music scene in Flagstaff and that we’re cracking into it is flattering.”
Sick Finger Guru’s four members started jamming one year ago for kicks, booked a few shows at the Mountainaire Tavern and kept up the “just for fun” attitude. After a summer hiatus, the members reformed and realized they may be sitting on a gold mine. Or at least toying with a fat stack of groovy jams and expressive lyrics ready for local exposure.
“That summer season I was in my field studies in Utah and a lot of times we were apart,” says Jamie Lamit, drummer, percussionist and sometimes-bassist, guitarist and singer. “I thought, ‘that was pretty fun, but whatever. We’re not going to get together again.’ We got back together again at the end of the summer and played the Tavern and kicked it into gear.”
Bassist Rob Hart, who sits in on guitar, as well as sings, says he is surprised by the band’s momentum and is pleased he joined.
“It was my side project,” Hart says. A talented member of the local scene for the past decade, he’s spent most gigs playing lead guitar and singing with the experimental, alternative, punk rock band Anenome. |
“A lot of the music was nothing I ever played before. It’s kind of fun because of their energy. I have full expression. And now on that Grateful Dead song, I’m like ‘roll away.’”
The members of the band laugh as Hart explains.
“Each of us has a different background sound, but I’m a punk rock kind of bass player coming into the band with that,” he says.
“That’s the big bonus, is that we do have relatively different musical interests,” Duval says, who cites John Prine, John Coltrane, Phish and Widespread Panic as influences, while Hart says Sonic Youth and Pink Floyd start his list. “Rob’s not trying to play a Dead song like Phil Lesh. He’s playing it like Rob Hart.”
Among the Grateful Dead, Radiohead and Johnny Cash covers, Sick Finger Guru has integrated playful original lyrics and a crowd pleaser in which the members switch instruments while playing. The guys modestly say they’ve found a niche with each other that has transitioned into praise from local crowds.
“You can’t control an audience, I’m realizing,” says guitarist/keyboardist/trombone and harmonica player/singer Joey Blankinship. “It has to come from us, and us melding together. The music—and we really meld well as musicians. During practice you bring a song to the table and it goes better than expected.”
“It’s not rare that we finish a song for the first time and we look at each other kind of giddy,” Hart says. “It’s something that’s coming. When I wake up, I think about music.”
Lamit says one of the biggest perks is his own enjoyment.
“It’s nice to know that other people have fun when we’re having fun,” he says. “I love the feeling of playing music and it’s great to do it up on stage and share that with other people.”
“I never expected words that I wrote in my bedroom to come out,” Blankinship says. Duval says he’s happy the band’s nature-themed, sometimes overtly political words are reaching people. “We have something to say. It’s cool to say it and have people dancing. I have a pretty good bulls**t meter and people say ‘I really had a good time at your show’ when they don’t have to say anything. They’re coming up and giving a really good response a week or two later, which is really encouraging.”
The other members nod. “The response is a bonus,” Hart says.
The guys have put out a demo CD and plan to professionally lay down tracks, mainly for their own archives. Duval jokes that one day they’ll open for Panic at Red Rocks, but in the meantime they’ll hone their skills locally.
Check out Sick Finger Guru Fri, April 6 at Mogollon Brewing Co., 15 N. Agassiz, for some familiar tunes and new originals. The free show starts at 9 p.m. For more info, see www.myspace.com/sickfingergurus or call 773-8950.
p.s. The formatting is a bit odd because I copied and pasted straight from Flag Live’s web site and had to work around an ad I couldn’t delete. I suppose I could have edited it in html format, but I’m not going to get that anal. Sorry.
