Slide & Banjo- Let’s discuss the cover songs in your setlists. It must be the widest range of any band ever. How do you find and go from Franki Valli’s Grease to the Grateful Dead?
Jake Brownstein – Grease is a great song.
Slide & Banjo- I know. I had the record in 1978 when I was seven. Way before you were born.
Trying to figure out Eggy will yield the same results as trying to grab a squishy toy. The second you think you have it firmly in your grasp, it will slip right through your fingers. And that’s a wonderful thing. The Connecticut quartet of Jake Brownstein (guitar), Dani Battat (piano/keys), Mike Goodman (bass), and Alex Bailey (drums) are writing a unique tale as they find more footing on their journey up the jam band mountain.
While Eggy is considered a newer band on the scene, their roots and history date back to high school and their first show in February of 2013. Their path from playing Toad’s Place in New Haven to their upcoming debuts at Red Rocks and Bonnaroo has taken a few formative twists and turns. Nothing to derail what fate set in motion a long time ago.
Their second album, recorded over a couple of weeks in California, is ready to go. They’ve been touring relentlessly, in front of loads of welcoming fans in cities they’re playing for the first time. The time to boast “I saw Eggy when they were first getting started” is quickly running out. If it hasn’t already. This was clear on their recent winter headlining tour that ended with a bucket list performance aboard Jam Cruise.
Once again, Eggy generously allowed Slide & Banjo access to their debut shows in Little Rock AR and Oxford MS where their synergy and music were at an all-time high. Two of the biggest factors leading to the band’s current apex are locking up Bailey on drums in late 2016, followed by everyone moving into a house together putting Eggy first in their lives. This commitment to focusing on the good of the whole instead of the individual parts has cemented a long and wide path forward the four are enjoying to its fullest.
While the band is focused on the roads ahead, their journey to this point is a rare one. The four jam band enthusiasts have leaped the rail from fans to performers. They’ve fulfilled the promise they made to each other in the crowd at concerts. They will be the band people come to see in the future.
With a growing list of open ended originals, and a roster of covers that runs from The Beatles to Birdland or Phil Collins to the Fruit Bats, the rapidly growing Eggy fan base eagerly awaits what lies ahead.
Slide & Banjo sat down with Brownstein during their recent Mid South run. The band was riding high. They had just been announced as an opening act for Blues Traveler at Red Rocks on July 4th. This came on the heels of another bucket list item, performing at Bonnaroo in June. It wasn’t lost on Brownstein how far he, Battat, and Goodman have come since their days at Amity High School.
“The first show that was officially Eggy was 2013. Dani and I started the band in high school and that was Eggy and the Delegates. There are two waves of the band. The high school one. Dani and I took it seriously and kept things going after the others went to college. We had some friends from high school that weren’t in the original band but joined the college version. When Mike finished college, he replaced the bass player and joined the band.”
He continues, “It was two waves. We’re leaving high school and taking it seriously. Then it was, we’re done with college and we’re really taking it seriously. Alex came in when we were finishing college and ready to take things to the next level.”
That’s exactly what Eggy has done since December 2016 when Bailey who went to school with Goodman at the Berklee College of Music joined on drums. The perfectly fitting, final piece of the Eggy puzzle. For Brownstein, it reaffirmed a commitment he made to being a musician as a young child. “When I was 8, all my friends played hockey. It was between hockey or a guitar for my birthday. I chose guitar. I think it was wise for an 8-year-old to say, I can do music forever. Where I would have been a mediocre hockey player at best.”
Brownstein recalls, “At my bar mitzvah, I remember the rabbi talking about how much I love music and wanted to be a professional musician. I’ve known since before then; music is what I wanted to do. It’s a weird balance between being grateful we’re doing it and feeling like this is the way it was supposed to go for me. I’m so fortunate I’ve never questioned what I was meant to do.”
Ironically, it was Brownstein’s close friendship with non-band members Pat Amarate and Edward “Eggy” Torrence that provided the spark to make his musical destiny a reality. Brownstein shares the story of how fate stepped in to name the band after his childhood running mate. “He’s an amazing friend. Edward and I were really close. There were three or four years where we were inseparable. I slept at his house every day. He was never in the band but close to us.”
“There’s literally no sensical reason why the band would be named after him.” Brownstein muses. “We were kids at the lunchroom table shooting around band names. I have no idea what compelled anyone to say Eggy. When I suggested it, he (Eggy) was like Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Later, when he passed, we were like wow, we get to carry on his legacy. Now we know we named ourselves Eggy for a good reason.”
The band’s relationship with Amarate also started as teens but continues to this day. Amarate is a songwriter/collaborator for Eggy. Think Robert Hunter or John Perry Barlow’s contributions to the Grateful Dead. His relationship with the band also dates to the Amity High school days. A time Brownstein fondly recalls, “Pat was in high school with us as well. He was two years older. I remember going to a party in high school and seeing him talking with someone. He’s the kind of guy where you’re like I’m going to walk over there because I’m sure he’s talking about something cool. He’s always had a unique perspective. He’s also the kindest, most genuine dude. We are so lucky to be able to find a home for his words and to collaborate with him.”
With school behind them and the band lineup finalized, Eggy set some lofty musical goals. Feasible and attainable goals. But rarely achieved in the jam band world, if not the entire musical world. A group of high school friends making it big in their first band. What are the odds? How many thousands of times have friends and “amateur musicians” sat at a concert dreaming it was them on the stage? Eggy was determined to make this a reality.
They knew they’d be starting from the ground up and were happy to make the sacrifice and commitment to team Eggy. For Brownstein, he was about to find out if the musical calling, he’d known since at least age eight was meant to be. “Timing is everything and luck is everything. You can make your own opportunity and choose your destiny, but I feel we’ve been blessed. I’ve known Dani and we’ve been friends since age 12. Mike, I’ve known him since I was 13. Pat since I was 15. To be surrounded with friends who have had such an impact on my life and still be working with them today is profound.”
Coming up in part two, Eggy zeroes in on the mission ahead and begins to turn their dreams into reality. From Toads Place, BRYAC, and the Pacific Standard Tavern in Connecticut to upcoming gigs at Red Rocks and Bonnaroo. Finding their unique sound mixed with a mind-blowing range of cover songs. How Eggy is defying the odds on their improbable journey to accomplish their musical dreams.
Slide & Banjo– You get very intense when you find the zone on stage. Your facial expressions hit the John Mayer level at times. It’s obviously natural, not theatrical. Can you tell when you hit that extra level during a show?
Jake Brownstein- I don’t think you can try to go to “the” place. You have to be present and listen. Put your soul and heart into it. I’ve been playing music since I was eight. That’s the way I express myself.”
when is part 2 coming out
Next week.