This week Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern will feature two bands who will each bring their own unique and eclectic styles of music to Starkville this week.
Vinyl Soup, a roots-rock jam band, began in 2002, and features West Point native Andrew Hooker on Lead guitar and vocals. Hooker received a music degree from the Guitar Institute of Technology in California before moving to Nashville, Tenn., where the group began.
Hooker said he has strong connections to the Golden Triangle and Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern.
“I used to be in a band in high school called the Grounded Pilots,” Hooker said. “[The Tavern] was one of the first clubs I learned to play in; It’s neat to come back and play there again.”
The Band’s sound is an eclectic mix of genres which Hooker said is hard to pigeonhole.
“If I could pinpoint one [sound,] I’d say late ’60s and early ’70s music,” Hooker said. “We’ve been compared to the recent jam band genre too; We’re also heavily rooted in jazz and progressive rock.
Dave Hood, owner of the Tavern said Vinyl Soup’s ties to the area, and the popularity of their last visit will draw a crowd.
“I was counting on Vinyl Soup’s relationship to Starkville through relatives and friends to provide a base crowd for the first time they played last spring,” Hood said.
Vinyl Soup has been touring in support of its most recent record release Brandon and Travis and will
Born in Oxford, Zoogma’s unique moniker is only surpassed by it’s blend of electronic music, jazz and fusion.
The band formed in October 2007, Drummer Mark Harris said, and has gained popularity across the region since then.
“We played a couple of places like Parrish’s in Oxford where we started selling out shows,” Harris said. “The shows at Parrish’s got some hype and we started attracting fans from places like Memphis, Starkville and Hattiesburg.”
Hood said he hopes the band’s regional fan base and connections will draw a good crowd.
“Zoogma has ties to other bands that play for me like Gravity A out of New Orleans,” Hood said. “They also have fans on my staff so I expect good things from their first gig here on Wednesday.”
Hood said Zoogma will bring a unique sound to the Starkville area.
“One of the reasons I booked Zoogma is that their unique style of music, which they classify as experimental/live electronics/fusion isn’t being done around here,” he said.
The band plans to expand their touring over the fall, Zoogma’s keyboardist Preston Boutot said.
“Over the summer we recorded a demo and we’ve been working on some songs and getting them ready for the fall,” Boutot said. “We’re going to start touring more this fall, probably doing shows in different towns almost every weekend.”
He said, he rarely finds bands himself, and is instead contacted through the Tavern’s MySpace.
“The vast majority of them that are looking to play here have heard how supportive and music savvy our crowd is,” Hood said. “The atmosphere created between the bands and our patrons is impossible to duplicate.”
ZOOGMA & VINYL SOUP
Zoogma will perform Wednesday and Vinyl Soup will play Friday. Both shows will begin at 9:30 p.m. each with a $5 cover at the door.