Un-Mundane moves on

Bob Lewis, above, and Justin King will perform at the first Un-Mundane at Canteen 900.

Un-Mundane ft. Bob Lewis / Justin King, Fri., Feb. 24, 7-10 p.m., Canteen 900 (900 Rutter Ave., Forty Fort). $5, BYOB. Info: boblewislives.bandcamp.com, justinking.com

by Nikki M. Mascali
Weekender Editor

A.J. Jump started the Un-Mundane monthly music series three years ago with one purpose: To have another outlet for local, regional and national original music.

After having its home at the River Street Ale House in Pittston, which was destroyed during September’s flooding, Jump has moved the series to Canteen 900 in Forty Fort starting with the Friday, Feb. 24 performance that features Bob Lewis and Eugene, Ore.-based Justin King.

“It’s set up like the jazz clubs and listening rooms in New York,” Jump said of the new venue. “It’s just a little bit bigger version, which is cool. And it has that BYOB vibe going on, which is cool as well. I was sitting there one day and thought it’d be perfect to do something there to revamp the series.”

Lewis agreed.

“I love the whole thing, the whole vibe, the kind of thing they want to portray with the whole series of Un-Mundane,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a sweet marriage and a great, great, great thing.”

Aside from the change of venue, other alterations to Un-Mundane include switching it from the last Monday to the last Friday of the month and opening the series up to all genres of music.

“There’s going to be some other genres incorporated that weren’t incorporated at the Ale House,” Jump began. “The Ale House was a bar atmosphere, there was some loud rock — this isn’t going to be blazing loud. I have Graces Downfall and Zelazowa coming next month, but they’re playing acoustic, so it’s going to be open to each and every genre but at a proper volume.”

King and Lewis will both play a 45-minute set, and DJ Nick Miller will spin during the intermission. Lewis, who released his five-song solo EP “NOw here” in October, will do mostly originals and two covers.

“They’re unconventional but go along with the vibe or the style of music that my original tunes are,” he shared. “We’re going to try to pack a rollercoaster ride of feels and dynamics into my set.”

Jump has known King for years, having first met the singer/songwriter/guitarist after one of his performances at Arlene’s Grocery in New York.

“The first 30 seconds of the first song just grabbed me and threw me around the room,” Jump recalled. “I was like, ‘This is just incredible.’ That night, I wanted to be friends with (him), and we’ve always stayed in contact, even with him living on the West Coast.”

While the two have worked in the studio, Un-Mundane marks the first time Jump and King will perform live together.

“It’s a long time coming — it’s just great to be able to play with somebody who I was a fan of first that now I’m working with,” Jump said.

Canteen 900 will offer a condensed menu Friday night, and a BYOB corkage fee will be waived. Jump estimated that 80-85 percent of the event will be seated.

“The intention of this is great music, and if you want to have something to eat, you can have great food,” he said. “If you’re just there to 100 percent socialize, it’s a music event, and it’s there to be listened to.

“If you can’t be quiet for 45 minutes, then bust out the Adderall,” he added with a laugh.