Shoppy
0
Posted
February 25, 2010 in
Music
CITY OF ORIGIN:
Riverside
MEMBERS & INSTRUMENTS:
Gabe Hartman (sax, flute, keyboards); Chad Villarreal (lead vocals, drums); Matt Wyckoff (bass).
KINDRED SPIRITS:
Talent, true musicianship, ingenuity, creativity, some real funk-based forms and a dollop of flat-out fun, too.
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/shoppy, www.myspace.com/shoppymusic.
There’s something to be said for clocking in over a decade in the Inland Empire’s music scene. Unlike many area acts, who are still “finding themselves” by dipping their toes in varied musical puddles hoping to strike a lasting chord, Riverside-based trio Shoppy have established a formidable musical position, having left their days of dabbling in this ‘n’ that behind. And though they’re still a mish-mash of all things funk and rock, for lack of a better descriptor, Shoppy is now, well, Shoppy.
“We’ve gone through different phases where we’d lean on one stylistic interest more than others,” says bassist Matt Wyckoff. “But we ended up kind of finding ourselves more as we branched out into these stylistic differences. Individually, we sort of come from a jazz/soul/funk background. We’re not a jazz group obviously, but we end up expressing that in a lot of the music and the songs we like to write, the different sounds that we gravitate towards, I guess.”
Credit the band’s 11 years together, which started between Shoppy lead vocalist/drummer Chad Villareal and Wyckoff.
Keyboardist/saxophonist/flutist Gabe Hartman was brought aboard to complete the trio setup shortly thereafter. Yes, there’s no guitarist on deck, and therein lies the challenge and unique quality of the band, as listeners won’t likely miss the lack of a six-stringer in the mix.
Shoppy’s played “every place there is to play in the Inland Empire,” says Wyckoff, including a few installments of the Orange Blossom Festival, but the group hasn’t done any real touring past Arizona.
Still, one of Wyckoff’s most memorable local gigs was the first iteration of KROQ’s Inland Invasion Festival in 2001, which found the comparatively new band on the same bill (but not the same stage) with prime attractions like Weezer and Social Distortion. “We ended up on the side stage,” he recalls, “but it was nonetheless a very, very good experience for us.”
Though the bio on their website accurately describes the band as sounding like “a six-piece funk orchestra playing alternative music with jazz sensibilities,” know that it’s this collective experience that makes Shoppy, well, sound a heck of a lot like Shoppy.
Shoppy at the Royal Falconer, 4281 Main St., Riverside, (951) 684-4281; www.myspace.com/royalfalconer, Tues, 9PM.
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CITY OF ORIGIN:
Riverside
MEMBERS & INSTRUMENTS:
Gabe Hartman (sax, flute, keyboards); Chad Villarreal (lead vocals, drums); Matt Wyckoff (bass).
KINDRED SPIRITS:
Talent, true musicianship, ingenuity, creativity, some real funk-based forms and a dollop of flat-out fun, too.
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/shoppy, www.myspace.com/shoppymusic.
There’s something to be said for clocking in over a decade in the Inland Empire’s music scene. Unlike many area acts, who are still “finding themselves” by dipping their toes in varied musical puddles hoping to strike a lasting chord, Riverside-based trio Shoppy have established a formidable musical position, having left their days of dabbling in this ‘n’ that behind. And though they’re still a mish-mash of all things funk and rock, for lack of a better descriptor, Shoppy is now, well, Shoppy.
“We’ve gone through different phases where we’d lean on one stylistic interest more than others,” says bassist Matt Wyckoff. “But we ended up kind of finding ourselves more as we branched out into these stylistic differences. Individually, we sort of come from a jazz/soul/funk background. We’re not a jazz group obviously, but we end up expressing that in a lot of the music and the songs we like to write, the different sounds that we gravitate towards, I guess.”
Credit the band’s 11 years together, which started between Shoppy lead vocalist/drummer Chad Villareal and Wyckoff.
Keyboardist/saxophonist/flutist Gabe Hartman was brought aboard to complete the trio setup shortly thereafter. Yes, there’s no guitarist on deck, and therein lies the challenge and unique quality of the band, as listeners won’t likely miss the lack of a six-stringer in the mix.
Shoppy’s played “every place there is to play in the Inland Empire,” says Wyckoff, including a few installments of the Orange Blossom Festival, but the group hasn’t done any real touring past Arizona.
Still, one of Wyckoff’s most memorable local gigs was the first iteration of KROQ’s Inland Invasion Festival in 2001, which found the comparatively new band on the same bill (but not the same stage) with prime attractions like Weezer and Social Distortion. “We ended up on the side stage,” he recalls, “but it was nonetheless a very, very good experience for us.”
Though the bio on their website accurately describes the band as sounding like “a six-piece funk orchestra playing alternative music with jazz sensibilities,” know that it’s this collective experience that makes Shoppy, well, sound a heck of a lot like Shoppy.
Shoppy at the Royal Falconer, 4281 Main St., Riverside, (951) 684-4281; www.myspace.com/royalfalconer, Tues, 9PM.
