EOTO is the ultimate live music experience. Together, Michael Travis and Jason Hann (the percussionist and drummer from The String Cheese Incident) create, record, mix and remix live music on stage, producing a unique musical experience every time they play. Although the duo comes from the bluegrass-based jam band, The String Cheese Incident (SCI), the two do not attempt to imitate the same sound. Hann plays the drum kit, percussion and sampler while Travis is in charge of the tonal elements playing bass, guitar, keyboards, hand percussion and live mixing. Travis and Hann’s improvisation and cutting edge technology allows the pair to create an electric/house/breakbeat vibe that undoubtedly leads to an awesome dance party every time.
After checking the band out on YouTube, I anticipated a ridiculous dance party and lights show that I would get to be a part of Tuesday night at the Gravity Lounge. There was, however, no lights show, and the fairly small, mellow crowd definitely did not evoke the dance party I was looking for. While there were a number of fans happily grooving to the beat in their own little musical worlds, there seemed to be a greater majority of people who were not dancing, or at least not wholly immersed in the musical experience that EOTO asks for. And, although most everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, the lack of high energy from the crowd similarly seemed to affect Travis and Hann, who produced a continuous stream of mellowness with the occasional climactic boom of intense, fast-paced beats that the crowd would respond to with cheers and fist pumps. In this way, EOTO and the crowd completely worked off of each other. While I was in the mood for a more energetic show, the majority of the crowd seemed to be satisfied with the subdued atmosphere, so that’s what EOTO gave them. Because the music is 100 percent improvised, EOTO is not one of those bands you go hear live to enjoy your favorite songs and see the artists whom you have idolized for so long. Rather than being about the band, EOTO is about the experience. After speaking with Hann after the show, he reconfirmed my thoughts about how important the crowd’s role is in enjoying the music and influencing the band’s performance.
“It’s all improv, so it gives it a different kind of life ... the band is the crowd,” he said.
The impact of the crowd on the band’s music is so strong that it is visually noticeable and amazing to watch and feel, as it gives the music a much more personal feel.
The name EOTO illustrates another way in which the band is all about the experience. Pronounced e-oh-toe, Travis and Hann provide no explanation for the meaning of this strange name. Just as the music changes from show to show, so does the meaning. In this way, fans can choose what they want EOTO to stand for depending on how the music affects them. Such names include End of Time Observatory and Each One Teach One. While I don’t exactly know what I would call EOTO, it definitely is an experience I would recommend checking out. EOTO’s performance Tuesday may not have been exactly what I was hoping for, but it was by no means an indicator of future shows to come. EOTO is an ever-changing musical project relying on the crowd as much as the crowd relies on the band.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
