by Michael LelloWeekender Editor
It’s natural to assume that Woody Brown is one of the seven guys in the band The Woody Browns Project. But he’s not. In fact, Woody Brown isn’t even a person — he’s a bird.
When the band was picking its name, it decided on the name of a former soul food/chicken joint it frequented in Wilkes-Barre’s Heights section called Woody Brown’s. And Woody, organist Fares Houssein and drummer Jay Stefanki said, was the name of a pet bird owned by the restaurant owner’s wife.
The name fit the band, Houssein said, “because their food’s mad funky and soulful.”
Anyone that’s seen the band perform or hears its brand new self-titled debut album can attest to that comparison. The Woody Browns Project has been bringing its music, which blends jam-band feels with classic soul, r&b and jazz, to audiences in Northeastern Pa. and beyond since it formed three years ago. It band began work on the album last October, saving money it made playing shows and using it to by time at the Recording Room in Scranton. The musicians produced the album themselves, with Cliff Evans doing the recording.
“We knew what kind of sound we wanted to do,” Houssein said.
That sound is tight and clean, and it serves the material well. For example, the first three tracks — a smooth, jazzy instrumental called “A to End,” the vocally driven “Misunderstanding” and the slinky and horn-peppered “Missed It By a Minute” — are diverse, but they share some common sonic qualities, thanks in part to the production, that help the songs work within the context of the album.
One piece on the album not recorded at the Recording Room is “Swank,” a lengthy live track from a show at the River Street Jazz Caf� early this year. It’s an important track in the band’s history for two reasons: it was the first time The Woody Browns Project played a show with its horn section, and it was at the venue where The Woody Browns Project has made a name for itself. The band will play its CD-release show at the Jazz Caf� on Nov. 7. Deciding where to do the show was a no-brainer.
“Hell, yeah, that’s our home!” Houssein said.
Houssein and Stefanski said they’ll welcome some guests to the stage Saturday, including Justin Mazer, the guitarist from JMMD and Misty Mountain.
The band is comprised of Jesse Ruppert (guitar), Bob Scorey (percussion), Stefanski, Houssein, Alex Santini (bass) and the newest members, Travis Davis (tenor sax) and Bobby Bottger (trumpet). The Woody Browns Project, like Cabinet, Mike Mizwinski and some other notable area artists, honed its skills at the Jazz Caf�, drawing bigger and bigger crowds as word of mouth spread. Now, Houssein and Stefanski said, the band is doing well in markets a little outside of the area, like Bloomsburg, with fans there also making the drive to Wilkes-Barre for shows.
The core of the band went to GAR High School together, besides Santini, who went to Coughlin. After a sax player joined and left, The Woody Browns Project decided its music definitely needed horns.
“I took a poster down to Wilkes, because we knew they had a good music program, and we got two calls,” said Stefanski. That resulted in Davis, a Baltimore native who attends Wilkes, and Bobby B., a Wilkes-Barre resident also studying at the university, joining the fold in January.
“It opened up another door with our music that we didn’t even think was really possible,” Stefanski said. “We always pictured ourselves as being a band with horns, but there aren’t really too many around this area.”
With its first album out and a big show this weekend at its home venue, The Woody Browns Project is geared up for bigger things, like possibly a tour and summer festivals. But the band is happy to just have made it this far.
“Just to get people out there into good music and getting them dancing is satisfaction enough,” Houssein said.
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The Woody Browns Project CD-release show, Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 p.m. River Street Jazz Caf� (665 N. River St., Plains Twp.). Cover: $5. CD for sale at show. Info: 570.822.2992, myspace.com/thewoodybrownsproject
