Mile High funksters back in Bozeman on heels of new album release
Denver-based funk and soul ensemble The Motet, who are gearing up for the release of their new studio album Death or Devotion on January 25th, are set to bring an evening of spirited live music to Bozeman’s Rialto theater to help close out the first month of 2019.
For almost 20 years, the seven-piece have been fusing boisterous badass funk and swaggering soul with a thought-provoking inventiveness to create something truly unique. The Motet is continuing to evolve and further define their distinctive sound with the killer collection of feel-good grooves found on the new LP.
Death or Devotion, recorded during intermittent sessions at Scanhope Sound in their native Colorado, earmarks an important point in The Motet’s journey. Since emerging in 1998, they’ve cooked up eight full-length albums and entranced countless crowds. In 2016, the band welcomed Lyle Divinsky behind the mic and Drew Sayers on sax, joining Dave Watts (drums), Joey Porter (keys), Garrett Sayers (bass), Ryan Jalbert (guitar), and Parris Fleming (trumpet). Each member of the band brings something different to the mix with their own unique set of musical influences and styles. The collection of nine new songs finds the band pushing boundaries and breaking new ground, welcoming old fans and new audiences alike – continually providing a welcome escape for listeners.
In anticipation of their Southwest Montana performance, the Rolling Zone spoke with Motet guitarist Ryan Jalbert about the new album, funk music’s connective capabilities, and… Phish (?).
RZ: Hi Ryan. The Motet is kicking off its 2019 Winter Tour with some Rocky Mountain performances, including one at Bozeman’s Rialto. Obviously you’re bringing a fresh batch of tunes, but what can you tell us about your plans for these shows?
RJ: As far as the plans, we’re just super excited about the new material we’ve been working really hard on. We’ve been playing these songs for a while so they’re heavily in rotation. We’re going to be playing stuff from the last two albums as well, and we’re always trying to incorporate some new covers to pepper into the set. We’ve got some new album energy so we’re super excited about that.
RZ: The Bozeman show follows the first official week of Death and Devotion’s release, the new album. How excited are you guys to get what is the ninth full-length collection of Motet originals out into the world?
RJ: We’re super excited about it. You know, we’re still trying to figure out the most efficient way to write music. On previous albums we’ve booked a bunch of time together and all seven of us are in a room trying to write, which can be really productive and can be a little tricky to navigate. This time around, we experimented with some different approaches. What we felt was the most productive was to have the rhythm section – myself and Dave Watts, the drummer, Garrett Sayers, bassist, and Joey Porter, our keyboard player – get together [for] writing sections. We would have a session, bring in some music and we would record and try to sculpt a tune that we could send to Lyle. Kind of like, ‘here’s the intro, this is what we’re thinking for the verse, this is the chorus, maybe this is the bridge.’ Some of that stuff changes once we really start digging in, but Lyle can come back and just write some lyrics, make it a song. And then we pass it to the horns and they help melodically sculpt the tune and keep chiseling away at it. Then we all rehearse it, record it and play it live, and then go on to the next couple tunes instead of doing it all in one chunk. It took a couple years to get this album out, but the material really sounds like us, which is exciting.
RZ: The band has already released a few singles from the new album, but do you have a favorite from Death and Devotion? You’ve probably got a few.
RJ: The way we’ve done it is part of this approach, what we felt was conducive to the new model of releasing content consistently so people remember you’re a real band making new music. One of the ones I’m super excited about is the recent single we released, “Whacha Gonna Bring.” It’s funny, with that one, because Dave basically had an idea for a drumbeat and just wanted us to make something really simple that we could dig into. That’s one of the ones I’m having most fun playing, and I have an instrumental that’s going to be on the new album I’m excited about. We released a couple singles that I wrote, “Get It Right” and “That Dream.” But yeah, we’ve got a cool batch of tunes, some instrumentals and more vocal pieces we’re really excited about.
RZ: “Whacha Gonna Bring” also supported a ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaign this fall. The pairing seems pretty harmonious, at least lyrically speaking. How did that come about?
RJ: We didn’t write the song with anything in mind, really. Lyle just wrote the song and the message kind of worked well, aligning with that voting period. We all agreed it’s not supposed to be political, that it was just a song but could also be interpreted as a call to action. Voter registration is something we’re passionate about, so we partnered with HeadCount and they helped to share the single. It all worked very organically.
RZ: The Motet uses music as a means to spark conversation. You guys certainly put your own spin on it, but how would you say the genre of funk is an opportune vehicle to help create that discourse?
RJ: It’s interesting. I think any music can be an opportunity to engage conversation. One thing about funk, some of our favorite music is just about partying and then there’s a lot of artists that have done both. James Brown, you know, Earth, Wind & Fire’s a band that really takes it deep and talks about some loftier concepts. It’s kind of nice to walk that line and try to have a little bit of both in there. I think of it as very social music, music that brings people together. You can listen to funk regardless of what state of mind you’re in, but it is dance music and that energy is conducive to social interaction. It’s a sort of communal music, I think.
RZ: As the guitarist, your psychedelic jams add a ton of flavor to the material. And if I’m not mistaken, you’re a big Phish man. How do you suppose that trickles in?
RJ: That has sort of gotten out there. I definitely came up on Phish as a kid coming of age and getting his license in the ‘90s New England jam scene. I’m from Massachusetts, so being 16 years old and sort of discovering music and discovering the Phish world, that changed my life. Going to the first show, when my parents finally let me go, I knew every single song they played, every word. Being in the Worcester Centrum and witnessing all those thousands of people singing along, being inspired and coming to life, seeing that experience [and] what a band could do to people, it was amazing. That was a formidable experience, and I was definitely very influenced by Trey [Anastasio]’s playing. I had a jam band in high school, but then I went to music school and it was a process of unlearning that, really. I was already seeing a lot of other people influenced by Trey, and I was determined to definitely not sound like that at all. His influence, I’m sure it’s there, but I didn’t want to be a Trey guitarist. There’s amazing guitarists out there, but I didn’t want to be one of those guys where you could be like, ‘Oh this guy really sounds like Jerry,’ because I’m influenced by so much stuff, and so much jazz. I hardly get to see Phish anymore. It’s like every three or four years my schedule aligns, or I’ll get a rare opportunity to go. It’s a lot of fun.
RZ: You’re dropping this new album and hitting the road, but where do you see The Motet, say, this time next year?
RJ: We’ll hopefully be well underway with recording new music. We’re going to tour pretty heavily this winter, then we have a little time off. We’re going to do some writing and get some music going, just try to keep the ball rolling. So, hopefully by this time next year we’re already trying to come up with some album art and do all that fun stuff for the next release.
RZ: We don’t want to get too excited about that because we have a new one coming out right now. Speaking of, do you have a preference on how folks get their copy of Death and Devotion?
RJ: I’m always partial to purchasing music. I’m a vinyl collector, and we’re going to have it out on vinyl at the shows. My suggestion would be to buy a record player if you don’t have one and enjoy it that way, the way music is supposed to be enjoyed. If that’s not your thing, then please purchase it. Purchasing music helps me to feel a little bit deeper of a connection with the music, maybe having some ownership with it. If I’m trying to figure out what to listen to, I like to default to my downloaded library before I just go to Spotify. I’d rather listen to what I’ve purchased with intention. But of course, we’ll have it on all the streaming platforms. I encourage fans to listen to it, in any way, and if you like it, feel free to download or purchase it.
The Motet comes to Downtown Bozeman’s Rialto theater on Thursday, January 31st. The music begins at 8:30pm. Advance tickets to the 18+ show are $23 at www.rialtobozeman.com. Doors at 7:30pm.
Learn more about the band at www.themotet.com or find them on Facebook for updated tour details and other announcements. Their new album, Death and Devotion, is available Jan. 25th and features singles “Whacha Gonna Bring” and “Highly Compatible.” •
