PLAINS TWP. — Combining proven on-stage relationships from accomplished bands and a shared desire among members to improvise, Gatos Blancos is an ensemble to be reckoned with.
A Vermont-based five piece, comprised of musicians with Pennsylvania roots, the group brings together Patrick “Pappy” Biondo and Dylan Skursky from Cabinet, Justin Mazer and Al Smith from American Babies and John Morgan Kimock from Mike Gordon to perform “experimental Americana funk and blues” at 10 p.m. Jan. 20 at the River Street Jazz Cafe.
Biondo, who lived in Scranton for seven years and currently resides in Hinesburg, Vt., said Gatos Blancos was formed when Burlington, Vt. club Nectar’s asked him to book his side project, Pappy & Friends.
“I reached out to these guys to do more of an experimental thing, more electric driven, and they all agreed,” Biondo said.
Biondo said the tendency toward funk and blues comes from covers the group decided to tackle, such as songs by J.J. Cale, Jerry Garcia Band and the Funky Meters, which individual members don’t get to perform with their regular projects.
“It’s satisfaction for us to throw out some of these cover tunes, but with the project itself, we’re aiming towards writing as much original material for it as possible,” Biondo said. “Right now, it’s an experimental funk and blues thing, but when we started digging into original stuff, that’s eventually going to define what Gatos Blancos is.”
Mazer said none of the members knew what to expect when they got together at Nectar’s in December for their first official show, but that all members have put in significant time playing together in different configurations.
“What’s really nice for me is when you get on stage with guys you have put the time in with and you can trust, you let go of worrying about a lot of other things … and just see where it takes you,” Mazer said. “We definitely embrace that aspect.”
Mazer, a Shavertown native who now splits his time between Scranton, Philadelphia and Vermont, said the group allows the members to weave together musical ideas.
“Pappy does a lot of stuff with the electric banjo,” Mazer said. “We play with the marriage of the electric banjo and the Telecaster. I play a little bit of lap steal; or, I’m trying at least. It’s nice to have freedom to do whatever we want.”
“I think freedom is the key work here,” Biondo added.
Biondo said bringing the communication he and Skursky have in Cabinet together with the communication Mazer and Smith have in American Babies and throwing Kimock in the mix yields a good musical recipe.
Kimock grew up in San Francisco, Calif. but lived for several years in Bethlehem, Pa. before relocating to South Burlington, Vt.
“It’s always a real treat to be on a gig with that guy,” Mazer said of Kimock. “With Johnny, sometimes I don’t even have to look at him. He can just sense my temperament or how I’m standing on stage, and he knows where I’d like to take something.”
Biondo said he was impressed by Kimock’s abilities the first time they played together.
“He played a little trap kid,” Biondo recalled. “Even with just that tiny little kit, I could sense the dynamic and groove that he had.”
“It’s like you have four possible things you could be hitting on your drum kit, and it sounds like he’s playing an 18-piece drum set,” Mazer added.
Mazer also lauded Smith’s versatility, calling him a very musical, creative guy with great energy and spirit.
“He plays drums like a piano player and plays piano like a drummer, and it’s fun to see how he processes all of his instruments into having his own style,” Mazer said.
Beyond the intuition shared by members of Gatos Blancos, Biondo expressed excitement about having a Vermont-based group made of three Pennsylvania transplants, Skursky, of Wilkes-Barre, and Smith, of Philadelphia.
“There’s this really cool Pennsylvania-Vermont connection with this group that I think is why it’s so easy for us to vibe and get along,” Biondo said.
