Eckobase

Fayetteville Arkansas quintet Eckobase have been rapidly climbing in not only popularity, but in respect as well for their sound and highly praised live shows and with good reason. In other words, this band rocks! Eckobase's unique blend of jazz/jungle/trance/fusion and creative instrumentation make them one of the most requested acts on our livetronica radio station. After weeks of errant emails lost in the labrynth of cyberspace, luck finally shined upon us and we are now able to bring this interview to you. Here's what Eckobase had to say:

LDN: Eckobase has been coming up quickly as a name people identify with the livetronica sound and scene. Simply put, people just love your music and your live performances. Please tell our readers a little bit about Eckobase, who you are, where you are from and how you formed.

EB: Eckobase formed in 2000 out of Fayetteville Arkansas. Since then, the evolving line up has seen many changes and now is centered as a five piece ensemble, since December 2003. Eckobase is dedicated to psychedelic and improvisational live performance, experimenting with electronic sounds.

LDN: Your sound is definitely leaning on the jazz fusion side of the livetronica and drum and bass universe. You actually know how to play the grooves that producers such as Roni Size can only sample. Some of what you guys do even sounds like Weather Report on heavy psychedelics. This is definitely a respectful comparison. Do any of you have any formal jazz training?

EB: Jeff and Shane have both had formal music education at universities, but all members have studied jazz. We play a few jazz standards and rearrange them into our Weather Report on heavy psychedelic style!!!!

LDN: Brothers Past plays out quite a bit, often far away from home. I know from experience that being on the road can take a lot out of you. Besides being energized by the music it's clear you love to play, how do you stay charged up and feeling good while traveling as a band?

EB: This is an especially relevant question, since we literally got home from a five-week national tour late last night! We have fun on the road. It definitely helps when you are playing in front of receptive people each night and we've definitely seen our audiences grow dramatically nationwide, especially in the past year. We route and book the tours we do ourselves, and I think we do a pretty good job of structuring things to keep our mental health intact. We all have friends scattered across the country and chances are if we have an off day somewhere, we're all out and about, hanging out with friends or doing something interesting. This past tour we had some free time in both Colorado and Chicago and there is just something about hanging out with friends that seems to re-charge everyone's batteries.

LDN: What instruments and gear are you currently using in the studio as well as on stage?

EB: Well, we have really become gear sluts in our venture to create electronic music. Our bass player, Jake uses an 18 inch sub and two 10 inchers to produce the sound of his bass and bass synth/moogerfooger sounds. Jeff uses a trumpet, Korg Karma keyboard, and a digitech effects pedal, as well as melodica for the occasional dub. Shane uses a Maletkat, which is a MIDI vibraphone-like instrument that triggers his mallet and synth sound modules. He also plays a flute, Roland 303 and sampler, as well as the occasional short wave radio. He uses effects pedals and a loop pedal for his instruments as well. Carter plays a Godin or Gibson guitar through an array of guitar effects and a Boomerang loop pedal. He also plays a Korg rackmount synth and software synths that he controlls with a Korg micro synth and protools /reason/ableton live software on Mac laptop. Clayton uses Pearl drums and a Roland spd-20 electronic drum pad. However, he is currently upgrading to an integrated electronic/acoustic drum kit using Yamaha e-drums and external effects and tone generators. Some people say that we have a lot of gear.

LDN: Working on the road as an indie band is a lot of work and can take a lot out of you. How does Eckobase deal with the stress of this and stay refreshed?

EB: Cracker Barrel, Dungeons and Dragons, and the trailmaster at the helm! No really! We do play D&D on the road it helps us pass the time and keep our imaginations going instead of zoning out on the road.

LDN: When can our readers expect your next release and where can they acquire it?

EB: We are planning to begin recording a full length CD this winter and hopefully release it in the spring. In the meantime, we have a demo that is downloadable at archive.org along with other live shows. Check the livetronica calendar for our ever evolving music schedule.

LDN: Tell us about a day in the life of Eckobase?

EB: We all have day jobs so that is what we do most of the time. When not at work we enjoy playing music, disc golf and working on new material.

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