Santa Cruz, CA’s beloved On The Spot Trio is set to revisit its old stomping grounds for a performance at Moe’s Alley on Thursday, July 21st with support from Swatkins. The trio’s return to California will continue the following day with a show at South Lake Tahoe’s The Divided Sky on Friday, July 22nd [get tickets].
For the founding members Danny Mayer (guitar) and Kris Yunker (keys), who comprise the current On The Spot Trio lineup alongside recent addition Andrew Klein (drums, Big Mean Sound Machine), the band’s return to Moe’s Alley marks a full circle moment.
As Mayer explains to Live For Live Music, Moe’s Alley was the site of the group’s first-ever show more than 15 years ago. “It was the first time I had played with a band I had put together that meant something to me. I recruited a bunch of musicians I knew to be in the band quickly, we didn’t even have a name. Then, I got a call from the local paper [to do a story about this new showcase of local artists]. We just kept saying that we threw it together ‘on the spot’ for the show, so we just said let’s call it On The Spot. And that’s how the band formed, in this venue.”
On The Spot Trio slowly became the go-to opening act for a variety of national tours rolling through Santa Cruz. “The first time I played with [eventual collaborator/Soulive drummer] Alan Evans was in that spot. That’s how we know everyone in the music scene,” he adds, “through this venue, because we were the local support.”
On The Spot Trio toured nationally from 2009 to 2012 before landing on the east coast and shifting focus to other projects. Mayer and Kris Yunker both went on to play with Alan Evans’s Playonbrother, now known as AE3. Yunker logged a year on the road with Goose and now tours with his own Kris Yunker Trio alongside guests like jazz guitarist Will Bernard, Mike Dillon (The Mike Dillon Band), Jen Durkin (Deep Banana Blackout), Paulie Philippone (West End Blend), and Adrian Tramontano (Kung Fu, Twiddle). He recently served as a last-minute replacement for Soulive organist Neal Evans on the final night of the band’s beloved Brooklyn Bowl residency, Bowlive. Mayer spent time touring with the Eric Krasno Band before linking up with The Disco Biscuits’ Marc Brownstein to form a new jam-funk outfit, Star Kitchen. He also released his debut solo album, Beginner’s Mind, last fall.
Drummer Andrew Klein, the newest member of OTS, joins the band from Big Mean Sound Machine, which he co-founded, toured with, and recorded with for the band’s near decade-long existence. Klein rounds out the lineup with his unique rhythmic style, incorporating aspects of Afrobeat, jazz, funk, hip-hop, avant-garde, experimental music, and a healthy infusion of improvisation. Together, the three musicians concoct a psychedelic soul-jazz sound with a pinch of improvisational jam and boogaloo attitude.
While On The Spot Trio’s touring schedule has been ramping back up of late, a pair of well-received shows in the Northeast in early June and recent appearances at Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival and JibberJazz Some Kind Of Jam, the group has not performed in its native California in more than half a decade.
Grab your tickets for On The Spot Trio’s triumphant return to Santa Cruz, CA’s Moe’s Alley on Thursday, July 21st here. For tickets to the band’s Friday, July 22nd show at South Lake Tahoe, CA’s The Divided Sky, head here. For more information, visit the band’s website.
Get a taste of the action with a live video of On The Spot Trio performing “Soquel” at Ridgefield, CT’s Nod Hill Brewery on June 3rd, 2022 below.
On The Spot Trio – “Soquel” – Live at Nod Hill – 6/3/22
[Video: otstrio]