Thursday, September 29, 2005

Group brings banjo up to Bee Speed by Matt Wake First-time listeners of the Nashville band Bee Speed will probably ask, "What the hell is that?" "That" is an electric banjo. The instrument, played by Charles Butler, is featured prominently in Bee Speed´s self-titled debut. The groups music is a riveting blend of jazz, pyschedelia and bluegrass. Butler´s banjo is distorted and manipulated to create amazingly unique tones. Former Gravy bassist Christian Grizzard and percussionist Justin Amaral create and earthy pocket. The group formed in the summer of 2004. Butler was invited by Amaral to play at a Berklee Alumni party held in Nashville. Grizzard also happened to be at the gig. The three musicians hit it off and soon began recording "Bee Speed", which was released in 2005. The CD covers a dizzy spectrum of styles. It includes versions of Chick Corea´s "Spain", Billy Cobham´s "Red Baron", the Grateful Dead´s "Black Muddy River" and several originals. The band often finds itself nestled between rustic bluegrass and galactic jazz-rock categories. Butler began playing five-string banjo at the age of 15. His influences include Pat Martino, the Grateful Dead and Joni Mitchell. "(The banjo) is an amazing instrument", Butler has said, "one that has tons of unrealized potential."

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