Space & Fruit Flavored Jams

The Past

If you're reading this blog post, you're likely familiar with my career as a solo performer. For years, solo acoustic shows were my primary source of income. I've played hundreds of shows in bars and restaurants alike. I've entertained countless bartenders and wait staff all across NH, ME, and VT (and even some regular people along the way). From 2020 to 2024, there were few weekends I wasn't singing Wagon Wheel to a room or patio of strangers.

Some have been incredible opportunities; the many times I played with David Corson or Kiana Renae at Breakaway Cafe (formerly Flight Coffee), the duo shows I've played with my good friend Jake Kallander, or the entire run I had with The Taylor Marie Band.

Others were...better left unmentioned.

The solo format has been a great learning experience for me. It's fantastic for writing compelling music; I've always believed a good song will always work on just an acoustic guitar. It's allowed me to truly focus on finding my singing voice and to stop emulating other singers. It's pushed me to consider the entire composition of my performance: the voicing of my chords, strumming patterns, the use of effects. I'm required to have an ear for all of that.

From a gear perspective, it's also the simplest to set up before shows; no need for mixers, monitors, making sure everyone's mic is set properly and everything is EQed. I can drive up to most of my shows with a Fishman Loudbox Mini, my guitar, and a mic stand. Setup takes about 10 minutes. Tear down takes half that.

There are significant strengths to the solo acoustic format, but by late 2021 I found I was reaching the limits of what I was able to do by myself. I joined The Taylor Marie Band around 2022, and this gave me a deeper understanding of what could be done in a band setting.

Off and on I would chat with the TMB bass player, Jake Kallander. We both had some ideas of formats we'd like to try, songs we'd like to play, and musical settings we'd like to experiment with. Unfortunately, none of these ideas would work within the bounds of the Taylor Marie Band. TMB targeted a country/pop audience. At its peak, the band had 5 members. Jake and I wanted to experiment with a smaller ensemble with a slightly more jam-band focused song catalog.

As many regular followers know, I stepped away from full-time music in the spring of 2023. I was spread thin with a new full time job, a new relationship, and practicing for TMB. Around late 2024, Taylor started to wrap up the TMB project. My life had calmed down by then and I suddenly had some free time.

I don't recall the exact date we held the first practice, but I want to say it was roughly November of 2024. Since then, I've been preparing a project with two peers of mine. You may have even attended one of two of our limited shows last summer. If you're a part of my secretive inner circle (or you read the title of the blog post), you already know I'm talking about No Mango.

No Mango is the canvas for all the rough ideas Jake K and I had bouncing in our heads. It's a blank slate, separate from compositional considerations of The Taylor Marie Band. Going into No Mango, I was excited to play with space (in the musical sense).

Space

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

In the Jazz scene, there's a saying so common it's almost a meme:

The notes you don't play are just as important as the notes you do.

This is wisdom commonly passed to new players who have overcome the fear of improvisation and are becoming comfortable taking an improvised lead by the horns. There's an excitement to stepping into a solo. Most beginners inadvertently allow this excitement to take over and end up playing ALL THE NOTES!!!!!

In the real world though, few songs actually ever call for ALL THE NOTES!!!!! Instead, you want to make sure you're not stepping on another performer, playing over someone else, or drawing the listener's attention from more important parts. Everyone is working together to create a single unified sound. You shouldn't always be playing at the top of your ability, and you don't need to. This video goes into more depth with a couple examples in case you're interested.

In The Taylor Marie Band, my job was to stay more in the back until the big, flashy guitar solo section arrived. My part couldn't be too important to the song, because it would disappear from the background arrangement when I move to take a solo.

In No Mango, I have the opposite problem. We only have four instruments (guitar, bass, drums, vocals). If I want to take a guitar solo, I need to stop singing (I'm not that good that I can do both). This means whenever a solo happens, we functionally lose the "rhythm guitar" and lead vocals. We then gain a "lead guitar" to play a solo.

Part of my interest in this format is the tightrope the guitar needs to play. The rhythm parts need to be interesting in their own right; simply playing chords makes every song sound the same. The lead/solo parts must also bring much of the harmonic context of the chord changes so the bass isn't left to outline all parts of every chord.

With such a stripped down ensemble, I also need to be aware of the groove and rhythmic context of the piece; I need to ensure what I'm doing locks in with the bass and drums. Likewise, the other performers need to be aware of the changing function of the guitar and adjust their playing as well. It's a format that asks for a high level of musicianship.

The People

Photo by John Matychuk on Unsplash

With such a high bar to meet, I'd like to introduce the two other musicians I asked to be a part of the team. Both have years of experience performing in ensembles of all sizes, both have experience with jam bands (something we'll be doing plenty of), and both have wonderful people to hang out and play with.

Jake Kallander is a good personal friend of mine, and the bass player for No Mango. Throughout the past 11 years, we've been in several acts together: Apt. 57, The Taylor Marie Band, Jake & The Talent, and many small one off acts as well. We've played late shows, early shows, and even last-minute shows. I once asked him to play a show with me that was supposed to start 30 minutes prior.

On the playing front, I've yet to meet another musician as dedicated to his craft as Jake. As his roommate, I'd often come home to him sitting on the couch practicing on headphones for the next Danny Savage show. During our time as Jake & The Talent, he bucked tradition and ended up playing most of the solos. With that kind of perspective comes a musical maturity and awareness of space that fits right at home in a trio.

For drums, we have Nick Pinard. I've definitely played more total hours of music with Jake, but I've actually known Nick longer. He's been jamming with Jake for almost a decade now, but we technically performed together first; in high school in the concert band.

Nick's family has a history of musical talent, and he picked up the drums from a young age. He's been the go-to drummer for countless jam nights in his parents' basement, and those nights require flexibility. Sometimes many players would join; he knew it was best to hold back. Other nights one or two people showed, and he needed to fill the voids. I've met few drummers with as much awareness of space as Nick. Jake and I are lucky to have him in the band.

The Future

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

The past year and a half, the three of us have spent many weeks fleshing out and perfecting our catalog. We've even started penning some originals! We all hope you join us in our exploration of this new space, and we hope to see you at future shows! Keep your eyes peeled for a website for No Mango soon. We've recorded some demo-videos I'm still mixing, be on the lookout for those as well!

Disclaimer: This post used Gemma 4-26b to flag grammar and consistency problems during writing. All content was written by a human.