Sometimes anti-drug campaigns really do work, though not always for the intended purpose.
Spare Parts drummer Mike Bruno said he was inspired at the impressionable age of 5 by “Bob the Clown,” who visited schools to “tell kids not to do drugs and whatnot, while drumming. The message that really came through [to me] was, ‘play the drums.’ “
So he did.
With influences ranging from The Police’s Stewart Copeland to the more obscure Steve Gadd, Bruno formed Spare Parts in graduate school with bassist Colin Scott, keyboardist Kevin Kozol and vocalist/horn player Shane Jonas. All four hold master’s degrees in various disciplines of jazz, and together they forge a sound that Jonas describes as “funky fusion dance music.”
“There are R&B elements, reggae elements and rock elements,” Jonas said. “Jazz musicians probably wouldn’t call our music jazz at all.”
Despite being in the middle of recording album No. 3, the band travels a lot.
The four-piece enjoys playing shows that have gotten steadily bigger, and in March, Spare Parts is playing the 2008 Peru Jazz Festival in Lima. Although the band members are fans of Peruvian percussion-based jazz, they’re eager to share their own style.
“We see what’s going on and try to express it through music,” Jonas said. “I think people know what we’re trying to do and appreciate it.”
Listen to Spare Parts’ “LSD” from their album “Brain Candy” at redeyechi cago.com/chitunes.
Spare Parts
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
