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Taking it gingerly

Wasabi reacts to rock/jam success at its own pace

Friday, April 11, 2008

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Wasabi, a six-piece band from Fort Collins that tries to stick to rock and blues but admits to jamming out every now and again, plays Saturday at Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill.

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By Margaret Hair (Contact)

Fort Collins six-piece Wasabi has the tendency to take extended solos during live sets and recorded performances, but the group is weary of the “jam band” label.

Despite being named the best jam/improv band in the Denver Westword’s 2007 Music Showcase and taking top honors at the Relix Magazine Jamoff, Wasabi guitarist Sean Waters said the band is firmly rooted in rock and blues, and prefers to be thought of that way.

The group stops at Maho­gany Ridge Brewery and Grill on Saturday as part of a relatively rare regional tour. Most of Wasabi’s players are working on solo recordings, and Waters said the band is happy about its recent fanfare and growing following, even if its members aren’t diving headfirst into the music machine just yet.

Waters spoke with 4 Points about drawing the jam lines, the band’s natural connection to blues and taking it slow.

4 Points: You were recently named the best jam/improv band in the Westword Music Showcase, but you typically describe Wasabi as a rock band. Do you have any issues with the jam band title?

Sean Waters: We’re lumped into the jam band category because we kind of improvise, but we do a lot of different kinds of stuff. We do rock and blues, and we’re more of a rock band than a jam band — that’s the only problem I have with that classification. …

We don’t just get up there and noodle around. We really like the blues and the rock ’n’ roll that came out of the blues — Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers Band. I wouldn’t consider The Allman Brothers a jam band, but their guitar players take leads. We have really great guitar players in our band that take a lot of leads.

4 Points: How did you get into playing music inspired by the blues?

SW: It’s just in our blood, we’ve been listening to it our whole lives. It’s the kind of music that speaks to us, so that’s the kind of music that we speak.

4 Points: You guys play covers from all across the rock board, from classic to alternative, depending on the crowd. Do you enjoy playing off the audience?

SW: We all enjoy performing a lot. It’s kind of like a drug, and it’s something that when you play with people in the audience, it’s a much better experience. It’s a much bigger experience than just playing in your basement — even though we do that, too.

4 Points: Do you guys have any specific plans for future projects or tours, based on the recent press?

SW: We’ve been together a long time, and we don’t tour that much because we all work, so it has to be economical and reasonable.

We were stoked about the awards — we were all surprised and incredibly stoked, and we actually won the Relix (jam band magazine) Jam-off as well. …

We’re kind of taking it as it goes. We like to play festivals and be a good regional act, so we’ll probably keep doing that. … We’re kind of taking a slow pace. None of us are quitting our jobs at this point and going at it full bore.