Influences
While the band expertly, albeit loosely, writes and performs "jazz-based" material with a strong(er) funk rhythmic groove, they are influenced - either directly or subconsciously - by a highly varied set of genres and specific artists. They cite musical influences from jazz and/or funk legends Bill Evans, Art Tatum, Miles Davis, Medeski Martin & Wood, The Meters, Galactic, Horacio Hernandez and more unexpected influences from the rock genre such as Yes, Rush, Primus, King Crimson and The Beatles.
Their less-than-hidden penchant for progressive rock, especially its heyday in the 1970s, shines through very clearly on many Drop Trio tracks. Musical elements common to prog-rock, such as odd time signatures (7/4, 9/8, 11/8, etc.), meandering epic-length compositions, and classical-derived, non-repeating song arrangements have become more and more commonplace in Drop Trio's repertoire as the band has evolved. An early example of this is "Flux" from the Big Dipper album, a Robert Fripp influenced track which was written almost exclusively as a study into multimeter funk grooves, replete with angular riffing and an almost clinical, seemingly complex arrangement. Testament to the exploratory nature of "Flux", in 2005 Drop Trio performed an avant garde live set at DiverseWorks in Houston that was composed entirely of varied incarnations of "Flux", rearranged and rewritten to be a pseudo "concept performance" with an obvious theme of composed and impromptu tempo and time signature studies. Fans are divided on whether or not some of Drop Trio's more progressive works are easily listenable for anyone beyond themselves.
Never holding to a single musical influence, one counterpoint (of many) to "Flux" is "The Allen Smithee Show" (also from Big Dipper) where melodies, brilliantly resolving chords, tone and mood are paramount over patent self-indulgence (the latter of which in some ways is the band's overt, albeit charming, modus operandi.)
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Famous quotes containing the word influences:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.”
—Max Lerner (b. 1902)