New Dew
Portland, Oregon, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF
Music
Press
Impromptu. In the flow. Alive. Groovy. What do these words have in common? They all describe the live atmosphere that funk trio New Dew is creating right here in Portland. Playing an innovative blend of R&B, funk and jazz music, New Dew is here to set the stage for a refreshing new way of playing live music.
The band’s members- drummer Michael Stavish, alto saxophonist Kama Bell, and keyboardist Devon DiPaolo- formed New Dew in September of 2016 with the philosophy that music and performances can be fluid. With this in mind, only about a quarter of New Dew performances come from rehearsed material. The rest is created on the spot, based on the audience and vibe of the room. “We approach it where it really wants to go. Sometimes we play a section and then abandon it. We flip the songs upside down, we play only some of it, come back to it... [Our music] feels natural, human, imperfect and that’s why it’s good,” says New Dew’s Devon DiPaolo. You may even hear a cover of one of your favorite classic rock songs thrown in to the mix- if that’s what the moment calls for.
In terms of venue that they most enjoy performing in, New Dew looks for a space where they hope people will feel free to engage with their sound. Because their performances are energy-based, New Dew is at its best when they can feed off the engagement and interest of their audience. As DiPaolo explains, “Music is variable to the current listener, directly to their reaction. If somebody starts dancing, we will keep that tempo. If people like a solo, then we’ll solo more.”
In addition to regularly performing at house parties, New Dew has brought their unique sound to various bars and eateries across town including East Burn, The Triple Nickel Pub, McMenamins White Eagle Saloon, and The Analog Café. Be on the lookout this coming year for New Dew appearances at the many festivals Portland has to offer, as well as the release of their first EP, set to be out in July.
Ultimately DiPaolo says he would love to see New Dew’s performance style catch on with other bands. “What we do isn’t that hard, but it takes participation from everyone, I guess that’s the hard part. People are stuck in their ways about how a band works, so you have to be a sociologist. You have to pick up on how people are grouped, and how they are interacting with each other. Ideally, people are standing all together, as opposed to smaller groups. But sometimes you have to get them there.”
C.D. - Christina Donaldson
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
NEW DEW, as a name, is directly correlated to our image and temperament,” says the progressive soul group’s keyboardist, Devon DiPaolo. “Nature and green stuff has always been a musical motivator for us. Ideally, our tunes will affect you in the same ways that walking in the woods or lying in the grass does.” Formed in Portland Oregon, NEW DEW has attracted a constantly growing following, combining traits of hip hop, Jazz, and New Orleans Style Funk music. New Dew offers a diverse and energized depiction of hip-hop, jazz, and neo-soul music. “What we take from jazz is only in a compositional sense. Our music is malleable and can change at any moment. Our songs start as small basic grooves and leads and grow into something great.” Although the songs are greatly improvised, the players always seem one step ahead of the listeners, reformatting song forms on the fly and identifying impromptu covers and running with them, playing songs backward, in a different key or in some cases stripped down. New Dew’s players have a great deal of talent individually, and this shows every moment of their performance. In efforts to stray away from the jazz label, Devon defines the group’s sound in a different light. “Our playing is inevitably defined by the music we’ve listened to all our lives,” says Devon. “Growing up in the later 90’s and later with the explosion of Internet music sharing made our musical upbringing extremely broad. I listened to everything, taking inspiration from Bill Evans, and Oscar Peterson, to current hits by Coldplay, Keane, Vulfpeck, The Bad Plus, BADBADNOTGOOD. All of this is put into a J Dilla or Hiatus Kiayote sort of groove, creating a cool tight and endlessly collaborative sound.” “Beat oriented music has come into its own in recent years,” Says New Dew Sax player, Kama Bell. “Producers and electronic music are now well-established names known all over the world in the industry’s forefront. Styles of Pretty Lights, FKJ, Emancipator, Bonobo and many others are ingrained in our ears and end up all over our music.”
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