Thank you to the Daily Times for reaching out to interview me about The Larks. The article can be found online HERE and also below:
SALISBURY -- For more than a decade, The Larks have been one of the sturdiest and funkiest acts on Delmarva.
This weekend, the group is set to play a pair of free shows in Salisbury and Berlin.
Founding member and lead guitarist Pete Bozick recently sat down with The Daily Times to talk about his band and its latest set of endeavors.
What can you tell me about the current lineup of The Larks' players?
The Larks are entering our fourth year with the same core lineup, which is Jim Miller on trumpet and flugelhorn, Charlie Greenhalgh on bass, Dave Gladding on drums and me on guitar. These guys are some of the most talented, professional and sought-after musicians I know. I'm very grateful to have the pleasure of creating music with them. In addition to being great players, they are all good fathers and husbands, good Christians and really a joy and a pleasure to be around. It's a fun-loving, family atmosphere every time we get together. We're always joking and having fun. They make it a pleasure to go to work.
What can you tell us about these two shows?
We're really pumped. Both of these will be new venues for The Larks. April 20 is Salisbury's ever-popular Third Friday, and we will be at the very new Remedy Church, located in the third floor of the City Center building. This church was started by a young couple, and they really connect with the young people of the area, usually the ones who need to be reached the most. We're hopeful our music will help draw attention to their efforts.
April 21 will be The Larks' first official appearance at The Globe theater in Berlin. This is a great venue for live music, and (owner) Jen (Dawicki) has done a great job with the menu, the bar and ambiance. Though we've all played there separately in different groups, we are very excited to come in as The Larks and funk the place out. As the saying goes, the whole is greater -- and funkier -- than the sum of its parts.
What's the band been up to in 2012?
We recently released another album, "Live From The Rehoboth Jazz Festival," which features 10 great tracks, both covers and originals, and a couple special guests: Kyle Coffey on keys and Joe Genovese on tenor sax. The whole album was recorded live to two-track with no overdubs, so what you hear is exactly how it went down that night. We are very proud of this effort; the band was smokin' that night.
We've also just begun incorporating a vocalist, a young cat named Jamaal Simmons. He's played two shows with us so far, and has about a set's worth of tunes with the band. We are hoping to have him fully in the mix by this summer.
In addition, we've launched a revamped website and a series of "Pay What You Want" releases. Whatever you think the music is worth, we're cool with that. Want to pay 20 bucks? Great! Want it for free? Take it, it's yours.
You guys are the cream of the crop. Is there a feeling of satisfaction being in that position, or are you always trying to one-up yourself?
That's awfully kind of you to say. There is a sense among the group, or a feeling that we don't have anything to prove to anyone. We just go out and do our thing and let the music speak for itself. On the other hand, if you don't have growth, you have death. I've seen it happen time and again to so many bands. So we do try to push ourselves in new and challenging directions. We are constantly writing and refining our original songs and challenging ourselves with some of the newest, funkiest cover tunes we can find. We have been adding some hot new stuff coming out of New Orleans. For example, we have three Trombone Shorty songs in the bag now. I've also been reaching back to the classics and my hero Pat Metheny, and working in some of his songs, which has been long overdue.
What do you want people to take away from this pair of shows, and what's next for the band?
Up next for the band is a run of shows in Ocean City this summer and a few special -- and super secret -- projects for this fall and winter.
If there's one thing I hope people take away from either of these shows, that would be a copy of the new CD.
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