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Perpetual’ jammers groove in to Athens

2•8•2007

While the cold weather may plague people on the streets of Athens Saturday night, fans inside the Georgia Theatre will be warm, taking in the sweet sounds of Perpetual Groove. Even though Perpetual Groove - a band that consists of Brock Butler (guitar, vocals), Matt McDonald (keyboard), Adam Perry (bass) and Albert Suttle (drums) - has only toured for the last four years, the group has quickly become an impressive touring organization. They play Saturday night at the Georgia Theatre. PGroove's roots are in the jamband community but PGroove's music has an original sound that touches on the various genres of jazz, rock, electronica and hip-hop. PGroove is known for its diverse range of covers, but its original jams that command onlookers' attention spans and drive their emotions are what keep fans wanting more. "Things that are universal ... life, sorrow, love, loss, beauty - everyone feels these things. We all feel them in different ways, and people deal and connect with these emotions in their own personal way," McDonald said. "These things that inspire us all in our day to day lives are what inspire our music." "LIVELOVEDIE," PGroove's third studio album, which will be released March 6, was the first time the band had the opportunity to go into the studio and write songs with its producer Robert Hannon. Grammy award-winner Hannon is most notably famous for working with Outkast on its album "Speakerboxxx and the Love Below." The members of PGroove used their time with Hannon to write new songs and trim up the existing songs they wanted on the album. "This album was much more of a co-produced album with Perpetual Groove and Robert Hannon as opposed to Robert being the producer," McDonald said. PGroove focused its time in the studio well and took the opportunity to get the album just right. "When we recorded 'LIVELOVEDIE,' we had been together for five years," McDonald said. "It is our third album, we have been on the road together for four years, and we just knew what we wanted to do." "This album reflects the changes we are making as a band and how we have grown as musicians, friends, and people," McDonald said.

Original Article: http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/02/08/OutAbout/perpetual.Jammers.Groove.In.To.Athens-2704570.shtml

Perpetual Groovin’: Transplanted Athens band celebrates 10 years

2•8•2007

As it begins its 10th year of musical existence, Perpetual Groove seems to be shifting gears a little. The influential and enduring quartet, which appears Saturday at the Georgia Theatre, will see its third album, "LIVELOVEDIE," issued in March, and with the new release P-Groove will display a different side, one that veers from the "jam band" label it has long known. "I wouldn't say we're changing so much as we're augmenting what we've already been doing," says guitarist Brock Butler, who co-founded the band with bassist Adam Perry at Savannah College of Art and Design in 1997. "It's more like a new twist on our old approach regarding song length. We're trying to say more in a shorter amount of time. In the live medium, we'll still improvise and stretch things out, but our songwriting has gotten more succinct and to the point." "In the past year, we haven't been steering from any label, whether people call us a jam band or a rock band - it's all music to us," adds keyboard player Matt McDonald, who with drummer Albert Suttle joined P-Groove in 2001. "We are now a clear and defined version of what we wish to be. We're a band that's changing." McDonald says "LIVELOVEDIE" is the first P-Groove album to undergo extensive pre-production, with increased focus on lyrics and composition. And thus far, the band's considerable fan base - developed through years of constant and often brutal touring - seems to like the change in P-Groove. "A lot of people have told us it's a more mature sound," says McDonald. "I haven't heard any negative feedback at all. I'm looking forward to the next month, when the album comes out and we start getting a reaction. Hopefully, people will like it. I think it's our best work yet - I know it's the best thing I've ever done personally. We're all very proud of it." The band's 10th year stands to be a pivotal one, as a new album's release triggers a rash of dates, including the band's own Amberland event (originally held on a farm in Jefferson), which stretches over the Memorial Day weekend on a large plot of acreage in Lafayette, Ga. "Potentially, this is our biggest year," says McDonald. "We're older and more focused on the business side of things. Our third album is our best one yet, and we hope to be able to get a lot of folks to pay attention to us." "I hope this is our biggest year - it needs to be for us to get done what we need to do," adds Butler, who with his mates recently sold out a Saturday night show at the prestigious Knitting Factory in New York. "We need to get our sound and light guys the proper equipment to get the job done, and growth would play a significant role in that." Like many other artists, Perpetual Groove - which moved from Savannah to Athens this last summer - is one of those collectives synonymous with the Georgia Theatre. The band first performed there in 2002 and has been a repeat visitor ever since. A few months prior to ringing in the New Year on Lumpkin Street, the band played a special benefit performance for the historic space, raising some $12,000 to help fund much-needed plumbing work. "You come to know a place's ins and outs and the quirky things about it," says Butler of the Georgia Theatre. "We know most of the people who work there and a lot of the people who come see us, so we certainly feel like the home team when we play there." "They've done some nice work," says McDonald of improvements at the venue. "It's nice to be able to see and play in a historical building like that. And we hope other bands have the same kind of backstage experiences we've had and other bands have had for decades. The building needs to stay in good condition." An Evening with Perpetual Groove When: 10 p.m. Saturday Where: The Georgia Theatre, 215 N. Lumpkin St. Cost: $18 Call: (706) 549-9981 Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.georgiatheatre.com or http://www.pgroove.com

Original Article: http://onlineathens.com/stories/020807/living_20070208018.shtml

Perpetual Groove true to its name

1•29•2007

Amid the swirling synthesizers and eye-catching light show, Perpetual Groove stays true to its name. The quartet, with originated at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 1997, rides the jam band wave that crests at Penn's Peak from time to time, but the band's sound is unique unto itself. Perpetual Groove made a return engagement to The Peak Friday night for a rousing performance that lasted nearly three hours, including an intermission to allow the crowd to catch its breath. PGroove's monicker suggest danceable jamming, and the band delivers on that account, thanks to the versatile rhythm section of bassist Adam Perry and drummer Albert Suttle, who team to handle whatever intricate time signatures the group cooks up, often shifting in midsong. The mix has some 60's era classic psychedelia, but there are elements of other influences on display as well. Guitarist Brock Butler claims to be a reluctant frontman, but his six-string work bends and shapes the PGroove sound from behind his array of foot pedals and other technical wizardly. Butler says PGroove is first and foremost a rock band, and his heavy metal fretwork on "Speed Queen", which opened the second set, proves his point. Butler also handles singing chores when necessary. With all the instrumental firework, the vocals sometimes seem an afterthought, but Butler manages to make it work in a seamless fashion. The music took twists and turns in different directions, but the effect was the same for the audience, a good number of whom kept in constant motion throughout as the rhythms washed over them. On keyboards, Matt McDonald filled in during extended Butler guitar solo excursions with some spacey synthesizer work of his own. PGroove also has a new album coming out in March, called LiveLoveDie, and it mixed three numbers for that upcoming disc into the set. Coming up with an encore could be a challenge, but PGroove was up to it. McDonald played the unmistakable keyboard intro to the band's cover of The Verve's smash '90's anthem "Bittersweet Symphony", bringing the performance to an uplifting coda. It was a cool cover from a band that branches out musically with each concert. Kicking things off was Liquid Sunshine from Monroe County, which fit it well as a Perpetual Groove opener, throwing in a version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" for good measure.

Original Article: http://www.tnonline.com/node/119287