Local band The Bridge fuses elements of jazz, funk, bluegrass, rock, and electronica into a truly eclectic sound using a unique combination of instruments.
The quintet was formed a little over three years ago by Baltimorean Chris Jacobs, who plays guitar and sings, along with his friend Kenny Liner, who plays mandolin and does vocal percussion. Both men, who have known each other for 15 years and went to summer camp together, were living in Baltimore and had just started becoming heavily involved in music.
"We used to play acoustic, just the two of us, for fun with no plan of making a band. Then we got a gig and a bunch of our friends came out and we had a band before we even knew it," says Jacobs. A little over 10 years ago, when he was 16, he began learning to play the guitar. "I sacrificed some girlfriends and some other things for it, but I think it was worth it," says Jacobs.
His original role models in music included Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Grateful Dead, artists whose power to move people through their live music inspired him. Now, his tastes run the gamut and he appreciates all kinds of music, from Miles Davis to Muddy Waters.
The crowds that attend the band's concerts are diverse, with people ranging in age from 18 to 50, perhaps due to the melange of the music's style, which has been classified as a jam band, but which cannot be boxed into any specific genre. One thing that makes The Bridge unique from most jam bands is their focus on quality song writing. They try to provide both an exciting live show and songs with substance so that people will be able to take something meaningful from the show.
"For us, it's not just forty-five minutes of improv jams," said Jacobs, although they do often devote sections of rehearsed songs to improvisation. "We try not to play songs that have structure. We like to let songs breathe and adapt to the way we're feeling on a particular night." For Jacobs, everything related to his band seems to be more about fusion than about definition. "The concept of The Bridge is to bring together all different styles of music into our own little genre. We don't really know how to classify it and we don't choose to," says Jacobs. "We enjoy parts of all different styles and people feed off of that. There's something for everyone in our music."
He likes the fact that the name of the band contains several layers of meaning. "Music is really a bridge from one place to another, taking someone from everyday existence to that other place we like to go sometimes. It's a common ground for everyone to feed off of and enjoy."
Jacobs grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, where he experienced a mixture of city and country life, exposing him to Southern folk, bluegrass, and blues music, as well as to Northern jazz. "By osmosis, all of those elements seem to seep into your subconscious. It's the result of all the influences in our environment growing up, all the different types of music and culture we were able to absorb," said Jacobs. By the end of the year, they will have performed nearly 250 shows, including local appearances at the Recher Theater and The Ottobar.
The band just recently decided to try to make a living playing music. Before that, they did odd jobs like dog-walking and working at a textile warehouse three days a week, while performing on weekends. They have already produced two CDs, the most recent of which, Cross Street Market, came out in March of last year. They are currently producing a DVD of a live show they performed on Thanksgiving at The Funk Box in Federal Hill.
Jacobs' most memorable performance was this past New Year's Eve at the same locale, where, in addition to playing for a sold-out house, he got to jam throughout the night with The Meters,the legendary New Orleans funk band who are, according to Jacobs, "the quintessential innovators of funk."
The Bridge will be doing its third residency at the Funk Box starting next Wednesday night, which involves playing there once a week for 4-8 weeks in a row. "It's great for us because we end up with a lot of new material. It helps us stretch out and expand what we do," said Jacobs.
The band, whose music is very danceable, played at Hopkins for Spring Fair a couple years ago. Jacobs is particularly excited about playing here again because of the new lineup, which includes several members who he's only known for a few months, and because he believes they've improved musically since then. The members of The Bridge have developed a brotherly vibe from touring year round up and down the coast, as far north as Maine and as far south as Georgia.
Jacobs' favorite audience is college students because they're ready to party. He enjoys feeding off of their energy and partying himself. "They're in the mind set where they're looking for the next best thing to latch on to. I like that they're open-minded about new experiences and new things."
The Bridge performs Saturday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall. with opener The Bravery.
