Idol Records
Shibboleth's James Driscoll (left), Rich Martin and Don Cento have blazed a variety of musical trails.
The biggest misconception about Shibboleth is that it only makes music fit for cheese-tastic '70s sitcoms. That style, while definitely fun, is really just a small part of what the three-piece Dallas instrumental band can do. Guitarist Don Cento, keyboardist Rich Martin and bassist James Driscoll have shown impressive versatility in recent years. In 2006, they played Dallas music of many genres at the Reunion Tower Revue. And last year, they mastered Stax-era soul as the backing band for local legend Bobby Patterson.
The trio's brand new Idol Records CD Experiment in Error features a wide range of sounds, from surf rock to country, boogie woogie to '90s rock. The album was recorded in Dallas by respected engineer Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Loretta Lynn).
We sat down this week with Martin and Cento to chat about Experiment in Error and the CD-release extravaganza planned for tomorrow night.
Hunter Hauk
Q: For those who may not know, how did you guys meet each other and start Shibboleth?
Rich Martin: James [Driscoll] had a little studio kinda set up in his house, and one time I was saying I had some songs I wanted to just play through. So it was just keyboard and basic drums, and then we thought guitar would be a natural fit with that. So James and Don had known each other forever, and we just started all playing together. This was about 2000 or 2001. But we didn't know what the direction was for a while. Don Cento: Yeah, we had a pile of songs, about 40 songs. None of them had titles – they all had numbers, so when we started playing at the Elbow Room, we'd just start at No. 1. No. 37 was our favorite. [Laughs.]
Martin: We must've played a three-hour set that first night at Elbow Room.
Q: Seems like you are going in a lot of different musical directions on the new CD, though.
Cento: Part of that was conscious, and part was just a result of bringing in a drummer for the sessions. We didn't start playing live really until after the first record, and that's when we developed the fuller sound. But the idea on this record was to do it all live and be done with it. Of course, three years later, that's not the case.
Martin: There were a lot of pauses in the action, recording this. But we realized it was just too much fun playing with the sounds.
Q: Why'd you decide to work with Stuart Sikes?
Martin: Our friend Peter Schmidt had suggested him a long time ago. How we finally contacted him, I don't remember.
Cento: We just got a number and called him. Had dinner with him at St. Pete's one night and talked about doing the record.
Martin: All the stuff that he'd done, it seemed like the logical choice. It's the same price anywhere you go, so it was like "Grammy Award winner, or some guy?" [Laughs.]
Q: Have your experiences doing different revues and backing Bobby Patterson changed your approach to recording and writing?
Cento: I don't know if it affected this album, but it's affected the life of the band, definitely, and the approach. And it's helped people relate to the name of the band. Unfortunately, the whole backup band was something we always wanted to do, but now it's starting to be the whole story.
Martin: Like, if we're gonna be a backup band, we only want to back up someone great.
Cento: And Bobby Patterson is definitely great. And Stevie Wonder and Nick Lowe, and people like that. [Laughs.]
Q: Some reviews of your records have included comments about the music being fit for zany TV show soundtracks and silly game shows. Does that kind of thing bother you guys at all?
Martin: Some of the songs on the first CD and even this CD have that sound, but it's just a percentage. And it's the kind of thing that people focus on, as if the other songs didn't exist. There's lots of stuff on the new CD – the latter part of it – that gets pretty deep.
Cento: It's an easy way to talk about our record, because there are no lyrics, and it's not jazz, so you can't talk about the solos. And it's not overly musicianship-y, so you can't talk about the playing. And it's not a soundtrack, so you can't talk about how it relates to a picture. It's hard for us to describe what we do as well.
Q: The CD-release show this weekend is part of a Lollipop Shoppe event. Do you find that crowd to be most receptive of your music?
Martin: They might be more aware of some instrumental stuff or '60s music. They might be a little more into that than other audiences. Plus, they make it a party atmosphere.
Cento: And us being ugly guys trying to play songs onstage – trust me, having dancing girls in front appeals to us as much as it does to the audience.
Shibboleth CD-release show
•Presented by the Lollipop Shoppe. Tomorrow at 9 p.m. at Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St. $10. 214-747-4422. sonsofhermann.com.
•Says Cento about what's planned: "The first set will be instrumental and off the new record, and the second set is all covers. [Sorta singer] Trey Johnson's doing a Leonard Cohen song, and, of course, Bobby Patterson [will perform]. We're playing some new material we've recorded with Bobby that's coming out down the line."
