Pat Metheny on Snarky Puppy… “Something I’m into right now”
By Sean Fenlon on April 20, 2014
I LOVE Snarky Puppy. 🙂
I did not learn about Snarky Puppy through Pat Metheny, but rather through my good friend and live-music-aficionado Rich Dent.
However, Pat Metheny also found Snarky Puppy and had some incredibly complimentary words for the group during an interview he provided to JazzFM.91 (Toldedo):
A few weeks later, Snarky Puppy leader Michael League stopped by for a similar interview and was played the Snarky Puppy snippets from Pat’s interview — he was hearing it for the first time.
http://www.jazz.fm/index.php/listen-mainmenu/podcasts/8770-interview-michael-league
Below are selected highlights from the interview(s) translated to text:
——————————————-
Pat:
“What album am I into right now?… there’s a band that’s been floating around for a couple of years… I’ve heard their name a lot then I finally got into their music… and it’s a little bit unusual for me… because it’s not exactly my kind of thing… at least in terms of being on the jazz scene. It’s a band called Snarky Puppy and I can hear that they have a certain amount of influence that’s coming a little bit from my thing and my band and many, many other things too. But in terms of organization, writing, and sort-of an orchestral sense of a small group thing. But it’s more than that. It’s just… their latest record has some really, REALLY good melodies on it. And that’s the thing I’m usually looking for and kind of wish I was hearing more of. Things you actually like you remember the first time you heard it. Like, I can sing it. And those guys did that for me – I was like “Wow, that’s fantastic” and just on a writing level – really admire it, and they play great on top of it. So that’s something I’m into right now.”
DJ: “What are your thoughts on that Mike?”
Michael League:
“I can’t believe it. It seems like you’re playing a joke on me right now.”
DJ: “I swear, it’s Pat Metheny. I swear it.”
Michael League:
“Oh my god.”
DJ: “Did you know that he was a fan or that he had spoken nicely of the group?”
Michael League:
“No. Somebody a couple of weeks ago said like “Hey man, I just heard an interview where Pat Metheny …? you guys up.” And I went online and searched “Pat Metheny Snarky Puppy” and all I could find was like “If you like the music of Pat Metheny, you might like…”
DJ: “Like a genius thing from iTunes or something.”
Michael League:
“Yeah, and so I just it thought it was some…”
DJ: “Well there’s the evidence right there.”
Michael League:
“That’s amazing, I mean…”
DJ: “Well what are your feelings on Pat? Give me a sense – does his music matter to you? Is it…”
Michael League:
“I mean, Pat Metheny is… you know, yeah, you know without gushing about him, yeah, he’s an icon for all the reasons that icons are icons. You know. Um, for me, I really love… when I was in college especially, he had a huge influence on me. I would say primarily textural-ly. You know, I mean one of the things that excites me most about music – why I love artists like Bjork and Radiohead and, you know, Portishead and Pat, is because the way in which they use combinations of instruments, you know. It’s never just… bass, guitar, drums, or… There’s always these beautiful textures.”
Apparently, Snarky Puppy is also what Bobby McFerrin is into right now:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanfenlon/14135955318/
Cory Henry is definitely someone that I’m into right now (special thanks to @joeyliner for snapping the pic):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanfenlon/14742491408/
Cory Henry is definitely someone that I’m into right now (special thanks to @joeyliner for snapping the pic at The Highline Ballroom in NYC):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanfenlon/14742491408/