Andrew Winn sits across from me, running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. The singer and guitarist for Agents of Good Roots is deep in thought, carefully contemplating his next words. As frontman for the Richmond band, Winn is compelled to speak for his three absent bandmates, and he chooses his words carefully.
"We've been rehearsing rather intensely for three weeks now, preparing for touring in 2001," Winn finally says. It's the kind of statement you don't expect to follow such heavy thought. Winn's earnestness, however, is only appropriate, considering his determination to present his band clearly and honestly. Agents of Good Roots is a band in transition. At Trax on Feb. 15, fans will see a new incarnation of an innovative band that fuses jazz and rock.
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"We started out with a very original sound from the get-go because of our instrumentation," Winn said of the band's formation around 1995. The inventive sound, in addition to Winn's distinctive gravelly vocals (a result of a skiing accident at age 14) and a rigorous touring schedule, resulted in the band's signing with RCA Records in 1997. The union turned out to be less than happy.
"Being signed brought many music industry pressures on the band's creativity," Winn said. "Consequentially, the sound lost some of its integrity." The band's second album with RCA, "Needle and Thread," saw the band reasserting their originality. RCA was not pleased. The heavily jazz-influenced album was not the radio-ready pop the label was looking for. Lyrics like "Turn off the radio king/ Watch him burn" probably didn't help either. Parting ways with RCA, Winn told me with a smile, "has been the best thing that happened to the band."
Now, Agents of Good Roots is ready to hit the road on a journey, dubbed the Fatty Melt Tour, that will take it all over the East Coast. Touring for the first time with the band will be their new bassist, Kevin Hamilton. Original bassist Stewart Myers left the band last year after the birth of his second child. With the lineup stabilized, combining Winn's vocals and classical guitar, Brian Jones on percussion, J.C. Kuhl on saxophone, and now Hamilton on bass, the band is reenergized.
Free from record label obligations and with Hamilton aboard, Agents is starting anew with the Fatty Melt Tour. Winn demonstrates the change with a swooping hand motion representing an airplane U-turn, complete with sound effects.
"There's been a major shift in the sound and effort towards a more jazzy, creative feel," Winn explains. Agents is comprised of four consummate musicians, and "Needle and Thread" illustrates that fact. A little bit Dave Matthews, a little bit Cake and a whole lot of something else altogether, the album shifts between tunes that rock out and songs that explore the intricacies and shades of jazz. Winn's singular voice and Kuhl's mellow sax flavor the album; depth of arrangements and extended instrumental breaks demonstrate that this is a band of musicians, not just four guys with three chords.
Winn nods vigorously when I suggest that fans who have seen the band before should expect something entirely new. "It's a return to subtlety and nuance in our music. All we're trying to do is please ourselves musically and hopefully people will like it," he says. But his casual approach to the band's current position - after the train wreck that was RCA - is undermined by his clear desire to have a successful tour and to be presented honestly to current and future fans.
When I ask where Winn would like to see Agents in five years, he again ponders the question carefully, though it's not because he's stumped. He's simply determined to answer the best he can. At last, with a sense of discovery, he says, "I hope we're still creating music that challenges ourselves."
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It's a recurring theme throughout our talk. After dealing with the drudgery and trickery of the music industry, Agents is a band ready to assert its musical creativity, not its pop sensibility. The Agents' gig at Trax is a chance to see an inventive, explosive band at work.
After a few one-off gigs that include the stop in Charlottesville, the Fatty Melt Tour kicks off in Blacksburg on Feb. 19. Agents of Good Roots share the bill with Ominous Seapods and Fuzzy Sprouts. The tour will find the bands everywhere from Chicago to North Carolina to New York City, home of many of Agents' influences.
Agents of Good Roots are playing at Trax on Feb. 15 with opening band Granian. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Doors open at 9 p.m.
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