The 29th Division fights on!
Our residency at Cary St. Cafe continues, performing every Wednesday night for friends and newcomers alike. The 29th Division, our current moniker, has been served up as a replacement to the 7 Pound Star handle of old. With changes in our lineup and a completely overhauled setlist, it was time for a name change as well. While we may switch this up again in the future, for now it sticks.
As the 29th, we’ve moved our material away from much of the JGB and Dead influenced music, pulling covers from the Phish, Robert Walter and MMW songbooks instead. We’ve also brought in songs by Marvin Gaye, the Guess Who, Radiohead and DJ Shadow, and continued with Jaco Pastorius and Temptations tunes that 7Pound used to perform. The lineup consists of Jason and Larry Alen Jarrell, on drums and bass respectively, myself on keyboards and the recently recruited Matt Walton on guitar. Larry and Jason were among the core of 7Pound, I being a late edition to the group prior to their disbanding. Walton comes to us from the Former Champions, his own jazz- and dance-based collective, as well as the VCU Jazz program. Justin Huppman has been at times a regular feature on guitar, and many of our opening acts have been included into our sets, including members of Silo Effect and 11th House who have both taken the stage for numbers with us.
In addition to the weekly gig, we’ve performed at the Curry House in the west end of Richmond and Emilio’s in the Fan. We have several upcoming gigs, dates for which can be found on my myspace page.
We’ve kept a fairly rigorous practice schedule, adding new tunes each week and refining them as time passes, and negotiations are in the works to add a boatload of dates both in and outside of Richmond. Check back to the aforementioned myspace page, as well as our in-the-works 29 DIV page for upcoming show dates and sample tunes.
As a brief aside and insight to the name, we’ve latched on to the 29th Division handle out of respect and tribute to the fabled military unit, though we have no direct link to the organization. The 29th Division fought bravely in World Wars I and II, acheiving great notoriety at D-Day, where they fought on the beaches of Normandy and throughout Western Europe. Their unit nickname “The Blues and Grays” refers to the unit initially being formed from members of both the Union and Confederate armies at the end of the American Civil War. Coincidentally, 7Pound was known to perform a tune titled “Blues and Grays”, and has been formed from members of assorted Richmond acts from a variety of backgrounds. A casual connection to be sure, but we’ve taken an open eye towards history of all sorts with this outfit, and we draw inspiration from a broad swath of musical, literary and cultural resources. Come check us out, it’ll be great.
Rock!
