User:Jaswaltonmusic/Father Figures

Father Figures is a free jazz/experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York.

History
Schatz, Walton, Edwards, Zahn and Chang met each other while attending NYU for jazz studies together in 2007.

They released their first, self-titled album in June 2010:

Adam Schatz: "Over the course of September-Decemebr of 2008, we recorded 5 hours worth of improvisations to 4-track cassette and a breaking Navy reel-to-reel 1/4" tape recorder. We dumped it into digital, sorted through everything and picked only what we loved, then chopped, mixed, produced, tweaked and arranged it into a finished album, consisting of 18 pieces. Studio engineer and wizard Shane Stoneback brought some amazing sounds out of the tape, and we are thrilled with the finished product."

The Band
Adam Schatz is originally from Newton, Massachusetts, and plays tenor saxophone, as well as effects. Schatz also plays in Brooklyn-based experimental band Blast Off, as well as the newly-formed band "Landlady".

Jas Walton, from Newcastle, Maine, also plays tenor saxophone, in addition to melodica. Walton can be heard in other groups in New York City such as afrobeat band Emefe and accompanying renowned vocalist Grace Weber.

Ross Edwards is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and plays keyboards - either Fender Rhodes or Nord.

Spencer Zahn, from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, plays acoustic bass, and also can be heard with Dave Treut and Kevin Johnston.

Ian Chang, hailing from Hong Kong, China, plays drums, and also plays with Brooklyn-based pop band "Body Language".

Father Figures takes the idea of free improvisation and pairs it with a heavy metal or indie rock attitude.

"Father Figures drags the music back into the garage, kicking and screaming — the kickier and screamier the better, from the sounds of it — for what they refer to as a "booze-fueled jazz/rock joyride." The Brooklyn-based quintet careens through its influences (a '60s free-jazz blowout here, a sludgy grunge crawl there, a marching band beat collapsing and regathering into electric-Miles orbit) with ragged, sweat-drenched energy. You don't need a mission statement to just hit the gas and go." (Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper)