October Spotlight: Slippery People

Pete Davies is the creator and director of the band Slippery People - an indie/dance/pop/rock band with an island vibe. Pete is a Napa native and has been playing music in the scene for more than 2 decades. The Slippery People live band features an all-star array of Napa talent, including Robinson Kuntz (Last Pleasure, Change!Pop, Buttercream Gang), Max Bonick (Jealous Zelig, Invincible Star Jazz, Buttercream Gang), Joel Fennie (The Iron Heart, Once Over, Zak Fennie band) and Alex Garcia (He literally plays with everyone!)

We talked with Pete about the history of Slippery People, his experience writing and recording and his thoughts on the Napa music scene. Slippery People is releasing a new EP - “Out the Other Side” - later this month and will be celebrating the release with a show at Jam Cellars on October 31st.

Pete Davies in his element, performing live with Slippery People

Napa Noise (NN): You've been a veteran of the Napa scene for many years. Can you talk about the origin of Slippery People and how it became what it is now? 

Pete Davies (PD): Well, as long as I've been making music I've had ideas that I wanted to express, and when I was in the Buttercream Gang I was mostly satisfied with that as an outlet. But I always thought it might be nice to make something of my own. I looked at it as a challenge to my own limitations. In one sense it offers freedom, where no one is telling me no, but in another sense I'm confined to my own abilities. I started working on the album, it took about 3 years and about 3 years ago I released that album. That was during the pandemic, so there was no serious consideration of a band at that moment. Then about a year or so later I thought Porchfest seemed like a fairly low-stakes way to debut a live band so I put out a call to some musicians and we put together a band that played the music from that album. Slowly but surely it's developed and the songs have taken on different dynamics as the musicians have put their touches on things and we've gelled as a band.   

NN: On "Fandango", your first record, you wrote everything yourself. Did you play everything also, or did you have any contributing musicians? 

PD: It was pretty much me. I had some horns on the album, so our bandmate Alex Garcia played saxophone and he roped in some other players to play like tuba, trumpet, trombone and baritone sax. Those are all instruments I don't have the ability to play. There's a handful of songs that they played on and most of them were parts that I had written. The guitar, bass, drums, keys, percussion was me. I was limited by my own abilities, so in some cases I would be like "hey - can you do this thing that is in my head that I've kind of made a version of but it's way less precise and nuanced" and they would play their instruments on top of it in a way that would make those parts shine more. I was really happy with how all that stuff turned out. 

"Fandango" is available now on bandcamp and all streaming platforms.

NN: Your music, at least on Fandango, is pretty fun and energetic. Now that you have a band playing your stuff, how has it developed these songs and future songs?  

PD: It's developed in a few different ways. When I'm writing music, there's been a bit more of an electronic element to it. Using software, using drum machines. There's a lot of loops and grooves that I'm working on. Our live setup is not one that relies on a lot of technology in that way, our setup is more traditional. All of the individual players have their own styles, and sometimes they coalesce or diverge from the original idea and sometimes it is something that I would not have thought to do it that way but it sounds great. Sometimes things can become a little more funky or a little bit more heavy hitting and rock than what the original vision was. When I'm writing the songs I'm not thinking about a band performing it live necessarily - but then you have the band, there's our keyboardist, there's our guitarist, there's our drummer, me on bass, a saxophone - it becomes a little more rigid, it changes things. How can incorporate everyone, give them something to do? Most of the time it works out and doesn't require huge changes. Does it change how the songs are written? Yes and no. There's definitely times, like on a new song "Dance Until I Drop", where I had it more 70s/80s synth and disco vibe, but when we play it live our keyboardist played this salsa-y piano part that sounded really cool. It seemed weird to say "no, we're doing it this other way", so now my question is how do I incorporate that into the final product? At the end of the day, it's whatever is going to make the song the best.  

NN: Slippery People has the reputation of being a fun live band. What in your mind is the secret to a successful live show?  

PD: That's kind of like the dragon I'm always chasing. Personally, I'm drawn to things that make me want to dance, that have a groove to them. In our case, that's what is appealing to people. I enjoy things that aren't too self conscious. I know that I'm having a good time when I'm performing, and I try to live physically in the music. We're all people who have played in a number of bands and have diverse tastes, and that is definitely to our strength. We can all do certain things that lift the songs to be something more. I also really like to bring the audience in to sing along, or to give out percussion to them. I think anytime you can make something feel more communal, and less like "oh we're on stage, you're in the audience", and doing it well enough so there's a sense they can feel comfortable too because we've got it on lock. 

The current Slippery People lineup from left to right: Max Bonick (keyboard), Pete Davies (vocals/bass), Robinson Kuntz (guitar), Joel Fennie (drums)

NN: Let’s talk about the new EP. Is it a continuation of the sound established on “Fandango”? 

PD: They are songs that are written after Fandango, some as recently as 15 months ago and others older. I took some songwriting workshops, and some of these morphed from there into something I wanted to put out into the world. The main thing that contains them is that it was written in a specific span of a year. They’re a little bit more electronic. The intro and outro on the EP are actually taking the saxophone from a song on Fandango and stripping everything else away, using takes that got taken out or turned down and bringing them to the forefront, using that as like bookends to the EP. So it still has a connection to the first one, but it feels like you’re arriving at and leaving a space in time in my life. These songs are connected to that. Musically I did incorporate more people this time, a little less insolated and take into account more things people could add. There were some things that seemed to lack the ‘wow’ factor, and some of the guitar parts were a little boring, so Rob Kuntz (guitar player for the Slippery People band) came in and added some more guitar leads. And the band has been rehearsing the song “I Saw Stars”, and Max (Bonick, keyboard player for Slippery People band) came up with a part at practice and I thought we needed to record that. It was a rhythm that I didn’t think of on my own, it added a little something. Also brought in Lara (Hoffman of eggcorn) and Cierra (Schuer of Last Pleasure) on backing vocals, I’m always in favor of having more voices on my recordings. And then Joe Shoemaker, our buddy, adding synthesizers that were a bit more weird, he has a mastery of that technology that I don’t. It was fun to get people to pepper their little things in.  

NN: How do you feel about the current state of the Napa music scene? 

PD: I feel ok about it! There’s a lot of cool things going on. The fire at the Napa Distillery felt like a bit of a speed bump because that venue and Damian (Burford of Good Omens Presents – booker for the Distillery) were so inviting to local musicians. There was a certain fluidity to things that were helpful. It just felt very good. Now though, there’s still Jam Cellars, The Garden – I hope they start to book more local stuff – but I think it’s a combination of people taking advantage of the resources that are there for them and also people working to build an audience that will come to take advantage of those spaces and fill them and support them. It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship. It’s a delicate chemical balance between the ambition of bands and the support of audiences and the promotors. It ultimately all doesn’t matter if the songs and performance aren’t good, so that has to also be the foundation of this. The more people balance that and make it work in the context of our town. I recently saw Zak Fennie’s band – I thought that was rad, it had high energy, people were excited. There’s eggcorn, Divorces, there’s a lot of good stuff right now. I know that I really enjoy the music of a lot of those bands and I think that is more important and if we all keep doing what we’re doing it will persist.  

Pete performing at the Distillery

NN: Quick hitters - what’s your favorite song to play live? 

PD: I really like musically playing The Clash’s “Let’s Go Crazy” but I always feel self conscious about the lyrics. It’s a little different than how I normally sing and I often mess up the words. No one probably notices, but it keeps me from surrendering all the way to it. I just love the groove to that one. It lends itself well to our live performance. 

NN: Favorite Napa-specific show memory? 

PD: This is going way back – but one of my favorite memories was with the Buttercream Gang at Slack Ranch in the Cuttings Wharf area. It was a house show with really good energy. It was kind of a small house, also a little rundown and I remember people getting rowdy and feeling the floorboards bend a little bit. It just had a feeling that it might fly of the rails and it was really fun. Energy, you know? Even the people that are performing, it was a bit cathartic for the people in the audience. I always appreciate when we can be apart of people breaking down their barriers and surrendering to the moment. 

NN: What’s your favorite venue in town to play or see shows at? 

PD: Napa Distillery is my favorite to play at. I do enjoy seeing a show at the Uptown. It was pretty cool to see Beck play there, and to see Marc Maron perform comedy there. Classic old school theater.  

NN: What’s the best thing you’ve seen or heard lately 

PD: Ooh. I read a comic book today that I’ve been enjoying. It’s by W. Maxwell Prince, who writes “Ice Cream Man” comics, kind of dark horror, spooky stuff. His new series is called “Art Brut”, about a slightly mentally unhinged guy who can hop into paintings that have been tampered with and fix them. It’s fantastical and a little comedic, and there’s also some art history in the writing. The art style is very crisp. It’s just nice, it’s something different.  

NN: How can we as a community help to cultivate the Napa scene? 

 
PD: Continuing to preach that it IS a community but it can also even be more of a community. It’s not on any one person to make that happen, but it does require individuals to make a choice to put time into supporting those things. It’s sort of an agreement between bands to continue to make it interesting and audiences to allow themselves the opportunity to be entertained, to take that chance. Often times with local bands, people are more interested in things they know or are familiar with. And I know there are people we all (as musicians) have known for a long time who’ve never come to see us play. If people can put more investment into the local art, the more it will put energy back into the local bands and that will also help create the situation where out of town bands will want to come and infuse their energy in what we’re doing. The more we understand that as musicians and audiences we have to work and exist together. It’s all about human connection.  

NN: What’s next for Slippery People? 

PD: Our band is playing at Jam Cellars on Halloween. We’ve got some tricks up our sleeves for some stuff that will only happen that night. It’s Halloween, so you should come dressed up. It’s also going to be celebrating the release of “Out the Other Side” EP. Then in December also, Glial Cell doing another show. But Slippery People first.  

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Catch Slippery People at Jam Cellars on October 31st
New EP “Out the Other Side” releasing soon
Follow Slippery People on instagram

September Spotlight: Eggcorn

Eggcorn during a live performance

Eggcorn is a band full of music therapists who also happen to be transplants to the Napa area. Started as a solo project by singer & songwriter Lara Hoffman, it has morphed into the indie pop sensation that now calls our scene home.  

The band recently has performed at the SoFi Battle of the Bands and has been stepping out into the greater Northern California area. We were able to sit down with Lara (and husband/bandmate Kyle!) at one of their recent shows to talk about all things Eggcorn and the Napa scene. 

Lara performing at the keyboard

Napa Noise (NN): How did your band begin, and what is your origin in the Napa area? 

Lara Hoffman (LH): It started with me writing songs by myself. It was always hoping to be a band. Once I envisioned it as a dance project, but that never really happened. But yes, I just used to perform under my own name, and it was kind of a way of recommitting and recontextualizing the music I was making and making a separation between 'this is just me doing it', and it kind of grew from there. So, once I made the album then I found the band. It was mostly people that - everyone's a music therapist. That's how I found everybody.  

NN: So, you did the record on your own? 

LH: The first one there was not anyone playing on it except for Kyle and me. There was additional production stuff, drum machines added and things like that. Otherwise, no one else is on that one. So, when we did start doing it live, it was changing the sound a lot. I wasn't getting anyone who was going to play synths. There is no electronic stuff really happening, so it's like a different sound obviously.  

NN: Interesting that you would go there; I was also thinking that your recorded music has a very atmospheric vibe. When you write your songs, do you actively think about how they will translate live? Has your approach changed at all now that you do have a live band? 

LH: I am able to think more from a bird's eye perspective. In general no, I just like writing songs and then they either seem like they would work in a band environment or they kind of don't.  

NN: Your record came out in 2022. Where did you record it?  

LH: We recorded it at home.  

NN: It sounds great. It's amazing how records made at home can sound so great.  

LH: There are high expectations for home recordings! 

Kyle Stringer (KS): And actually, when you think about what you used on that, you had like a USB mic for a lot of the lyrics.  

LH: I do think I redid most of the vocals. But there were some! 

KS: There were some! And they sound all right, you know? 

LH: They sound fun. Yeah! 

Lara & Kyle onstage together

NN: Eggcorn as a project started in Napa. How do you feel about the scene in Napa as a whole? 

LH: That is such a large question!  

KS: I think it's something that we both talked about at the battle of the bands. Yeah ok, there's dad rock, there's cover bands in town. We knew that. But what was really cool at the battle was to see all those bands, and there's like a scene within that that is really special, that makes really cool and original music. It felt like a coming together of this cool thing. Really original music. 

LH: I agree with that, and that is exciting. It does make it more special in the context of Napa. Like Slippery People and Change Pop, things that are a little more off beat and creative. I am sad about the Hollywood Room. I just hope that there will continue to be places that encourage independent, original music. Now is such a good time for that, all the bands that are doing that. As far as venues though, sometimes I want to like ... 

KS: You're right. The market in Napa is sometimes like, let's just have cover bands because that's what people want. So, it is hard to keep fostering creativity.  

NN: You guys have played out of the Napa market, in Sacramento and San Francisco, etc. How have those shows been, do you feel like you are getting traction in other markets? 

LH: I feel like it's going slowly, but playing live shows is the organic way to do it. Which I like. Like if you actually do reach someone one night then they really do end up being your fan. As opposed to making them other ways. I don't know. It feels slower but it feels better to me.  

KS: What do you mean other ways? 

LH: Like other ways that feel less organic. Things that involve getting a publicist or something like that.  

NN: Playing in front of people, making that connection, are those the people that will be genuine fans? 

LH: Yeah! That's the good feeling too. Mostly I like performing, there's something special about it. And/or you connect with some other band, you always just makes new connections. It's fun because you don't really know what will happen. 

NN: OK, some quick hitters now. What's your favorite song to play live?  

LH: Probably RIP right now. Which we're not playing tonight haha.  

NN: What's your best Napa specific show memory? 

KS: I have a favorite. Do you remember at the Hollywood Room when there were a bunch of people in there who weren't really paying attention? You were kind of getting upset. And you held that note out really long and loud, and it got everyone's attention and they started cheering and they loved it. That was one of my favorites. You were like 'I'll show you!' and they were totally into it. It was funny and cool. We had turned it around.  

NN: What is your favorite venue in town to play at or to play shows at? 

LH: You know, I really liked the Folklore venue. Having not seen anything there before. There was something about that vibe that I really enjoyed. I love the Hollywood Room too, that was my favorite when it was still active.  

NN: What is the best thing you have heard or seen lately? 

LH: Right now, I'm listening to an audiobook that I'm really enjoying, it's called "All Fours". It's by Miranda July. It's about a mid-life crisis, but a younger mid-life crisis. I'm relating to it a lot.  

NN: How can we as a community help cultivate the music scene in Napa? 

LH: Come out to shows. Or if you are in a position where you can help people play, where you work, try to set up shows. Also just knowing that we all work together, as far as venues that are doing this, musicians also want to help venues. A "we will treat you well, you treat us well", I think that will continue to bolster the scene.  

NN: Anything to promote?  

LH: I'm going to be releasing a couple songs in either late September or October. 

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Stream eggcorn’s debut album “Your Own True Love” on all platforms 

Follow them on Instagram @justeggcorn  

August Spotlight: Weekend Youth

Serf Barto & Mikey Rhinehart from Weekend Youth

Weekend Youth was just crowned the winner of the inaugural SoFi Napa Battle of the Bands and they are also the first Napa Noise monthly spotlight.  

Forming in 2019, the band consisting of Mikey Rhinehart and Serf Barto had a bit of a rocky road to get to where they are. Both are veteran musicians from the Napa music scene and have played in various projects over the years. They started Weekend Youth with the plan to combine their experiences and influences into a contemporary and modern sound that was not currently being heard in Napa.  

They touched on all the things going on with them, including where they have been and where they are going and spoke about their songwriting process and some other fun tidbits. 

Serf taking a nap during their performance at SoFi Battle of the Bands

NN (Napa Noise): Congratulations Weekend Youth on your victory. How did you feel about the whole battle experience? 

MR (Mikey Rhinehart): For being a first-time event, it was very well executed. It brought a lot of community and cool musicians together that maybe would've never been put together otherwise. And to see all the businesses come together, it was truly a great communal event.  

SB (Serf Barto): I had three different high school teachers come up to me. My psychology teacher and both of my English teachers from high school came up to me. It was cool, the community really came out.  

NN: How do you feel about the overall Napa music scene right now? 

SB: It is coming back. 

MR: Yeah, it's exciting to see a bunch of new faces in the music scene. It's fun to see a lot of the musicians from previous bands starting new projects and it's great to see kids in high school (Noetic Pause) form a band and get second place! I think that's great and really helpful for the music scene.  

SB: I agree completely. I also saw Sike play, and they were awesome. Their singer was great. It's cool that they were Napa School of Music kids. I didn't get to see Noetic Pause live, but I heard they were great. I feel like music kind of went away for awhile in Napa, wasn't as vibrant but now it does feel like it's coming back.  

MR: I would agree. We have to still stay together as a Napa music scene and continue to support each other.  

Mikey Rhinehart performing in San Francisco

NN: Weekend Youth have a very current sound. How do you tap into what is happening now, what is your songwriting process and what sort of things have been influencing you lately?  

MR: We try to listen to all sorts of genres of music and stay in touch with music from the Bay Area and LA. The songwriting, the most important part is that the music that you're making feels authentic to the people that are involved. When Weekend Youth was becoming a duo we struggled with that and finding our identity, but we took a step back and really honed in on what both of us could bring to the project and took the songwriting from there molding it into our strengths.  

SB: I think COVID was really hard for me, I felt like I lost myself a little bit. I wasn't writing and I felt kind of stuck creatively. There was a song we working on forever, and that one song, figuring our way through it. Saying "No, we need to take a step back and figure out how to make it make sense for us". That was the moment where we really figured out who Weekend Youth really was. It sounds dramatic, but it's true.  

MR: We re-wrote this song 4 or 5 times, and we got one of the final mixes and we both collectively felt that it wasn't right. We went completely back to the drawing board and took a different approach to the song writing. We work with a great team of producers, the Canvas Group, and we really honed in on what we wanted our sound to be. "Mental Hell(th)", is that song, and it's coming out on August 16th. A little sneak peak there.  

NN: It seems like you guys are really gaining traction in San Francisco. It's been a process, but you guys appear to be working with the crowds there. How has your experience in the city been with audience and radio and just trying to break into that market? 

SB: It sounds silly maybe, but it's a lot of dreams come true for me. I love Bottom of the Hill, I grew up listening to Soundcheck. The fact that we got played on Soundcheck and we have a great relationship with Bottom of the Hill now, those are really exciting for me. It's been a dream of mine for awhile and it feels like we're getting closer.   

MR: It's all about performing to the highest ability that you can no matter what the size of the room or audience is. You can gain traction by putting on a good show, you never know who's in the crowd. It's just a building process. Staying active on social media and connecting with the fans via that, letting people know we're coming back to the city. We've been getting lucky and bands have been noticing that and wanting to play with us. We're really fortunate and greatful for the opportunity we've been given in San Francisco. 

Serf rallying the troops

NN: What's your favorite song to play live? 

SB: "Frequent Flyers" still. It may not be the popular choice, but that one's so fun to sing live for me.  

MR: I'm gonna go with "I Can't Sleep Without the TV On". It's got a really fun drum part.  

NN: Doesn't have to be Weekend Youth specifically, but what are your best Napa show memories? 

SB: Honestly the community stuff. Porchfest last year and SoFi this year. I feel like I forgot how special community is, it's just cool to hang out with the other bands we admire. Being around a bunch of creative people is really important.  

MR: I agree with Serf. The last Porchfest and SoFi this year. We've played a lot of venues in town, and they're all fun, but I think Sunday was really special. It was a cool thing to see Napa alive again.  

NN: What are your favorite venues in town, past or present? 

MR: Uptown, favorite to play and watch shows.  

SB: I'd say Blue Note. They've been really good to us.   

Weekend Youth killing it live

NN: What's the best thing you've heard or seen lately? 

MR: Shaboozey’s new album. It's a very unique sounding album that I haven't heard done well. It's mixing R&B, country & hip hop. I've heard other people try and do that but it has not been executed as well as Shaboozey does. So shout out to Shaboozey in Nashville. 

SB: Seeing Sike at the battle was great. I also really enjoyed Houseplants, I thought they had a really cool sound. I'm also excited that Slippery People is in Napa.  

NN: Last question - what's next for you guys? Any shows or music coming out soon? 

MR: We're playing August 12th at Brick & Mortar in SF. We're doing August 17th at Jam Cellars in Napa.  

SB: A really important one is on August 24th we're playing Napa Yard at a benefit for fentanyl awareness, the Michael Leonardi foundation. We're opening for The Framers.  

MR: We also have a new single, "Mental Hell(th)" that drops August 16th! 

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Stream Weekend Youth on all streaming platforms.

Follow them on Instagram

See Weekend Youth live in Napa at Jam Cellars on August 17th and at Napa Yard on August 24th