Mr. Whiskers and The Nine Lives at 3 Daughters Brewing 02.03.24
[Great photographs courtesy of Funk Eye Media]
See, right off the bat, that’s incorrect. You would think that Mr. Whiskers and The Nine Lives would imply that there were ten people on the stage, but there weren’t. There were THIRTEEN!
Kyle Sareyani is a very gifted multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, keyboards, and flute (and probably others as well). He has played in a number of local bands and has just joined Displace. Sareyani also backs Jennifer Real and plays solo shows.
Several years ago, while working as a stage hand at a Snarky Puppy show, he was bitten by the big band bug, determined to create a similar sound. As we saw Saturday, February 3, at 3 Daughters Brewing in St. Petersburg, he has done just that.
The “Nine” Lives includes: Tim Adger, drums; Levin Vinson, bass; Adam Barnett, keyboards; Sam Barber, guitar; James Jones, guitar; Kevin Miller, trumpet, flugelhorn; Alex Savinon, trumpet, flugelhorn; Sebastian Mujica, trombone; Nathaniel Reynolds, baritone saxophone; Justin Rice, tenor saxophone; Jay Hicks, alto saxophone; Ian Kellogg, alto saxophone, clarinet; and Kyle Sareyani, band leader, guitar, vocals, flute.
Let’s pause here to talk about logistics and to praise 3 Daughters for their incredible new stage. The stage is huge, now situated on the north side of the room. There are damn few places where Mr. Whiskers could fit all of his Lives. You’d have to Tetris them in at a place such as Crowbar or State Theater. Jannus Live would work. The point is, unfortunately, there are precious few venues capable of showcasing a band like this deserving of being heard, because they are AWESOME.
The band has quite a few originals in their repertoire, but obviously in a beer hall such as 3 Daughters you have to appeal to a wide range of fans, and Mr. Whiskers did precisely that. The 13 men roared out with “Done Before,” Justin Rice featured soloist on tenor, before playing the always popular “Pick Up the Pieces” (Average White Band) and then “Superstition” (is the horn chart for this song the one players everywhere learn first?). Most of these musicians were new to us; we got to know trombone player Sebastian Mujica really well: a fine player and even better dancer; think Big Sam Williams formerly of Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Original tune “Biggest Chicken in the Yard” had a distinct Latin groove before they rocked “Locomotive Breath” (Jethro Tull). These charts reminded me of Frank Zappa’s 1988 band (the last one), playing songs such as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Ring of Fire,” and a Beatles medley. These are songs you probably weren’t expecting to hear with SEVEN horn players! Sareyani soloed on flute. Same goes for “Life During Wartime” (Talking Heads), with the leader soloing on guitar.
The Modest Mouse tune “All Float On” was followed by the “Friends” theme “I’ll Be There for You” and then two more band originals, “Hey Child” and “Mystery.” There was fun with “Tequila” as Sareyani sang “Cerveza” instead (they don’t serve tequila there, so…). Kevin Miller had a trumpet solo, then Ian Kellogg on alto, followed by Mujica and trombone jumping off the stage to play and dance throughout the crowd, to great audience delight. Finally, the Mardi Gras shout-out tune “Hey Pocky A-Way” (The Meters) was sandwich between two more originals. End set one.
How do you put together a band like this? Sometimes, it’s good to be lucky. Like when Sareyani discovered four cats who had played in the band at Brandon High School and have been grooving together ever since, plus a friend of theirs. These five practically dropped into Sareyani’s lap: Sebastian Mujica, Nathaniel Reynolds, Jay Hicks, and Alex Savinon, plus James Jones. In case anyone asks you about the benefits of music education, especially teamwork.
Whiskers & Lives tore out of the gate set two with the Pee Wee Ellis classic “The Chicken” (Jaco loved this tune), Jay Hicks (alto), Alex Savinon (trumpet), and Levin Vinson (bass) with fine solos. Sareyani sang and took a guitar solo on “Thickest Peach on the Vine” (use your imagination here — he claims he has no idea what the title means). All of the players contributed to the amazing sound. Drummer Tim Adger and guitarists Sam Barber and James Jones rocked all night long.
More originals poured out, including the heavy funk of “Sometimes” and the appropriately named “Smoov”; Rice had a nice feature. The dance floor filled up quickly with the opening notes of “Play That Funky Music,” and the hits just kept on coming with “Brick House > Jungle Boogie > Boogie On Reggae Woman.” Adam Barnett, who had his own cheering section, had a fine electric piano intro to that Stevie Wonder tune.
“Afrodesiac” was truth in advertising, some fine Afrobeat, which cranked up to double-time toward the end. That flowed into a fine Steely Dan workout on “Peg” and a riotous “Bennie and the Jets,” with Sareyani and Mujica both jumping off the stage and running around the full house. “Bennie” rolled right into their tune “Bad Guy,” with a “Life During Wartime” vibe.
They rocked out with “Preacher Man,” heavy funk and Barnett wailing on synths. The final tune of the set was a solid “Genuine,” and the vamp extended so that Sareyani could introduce all TWELVE of his NINE Lives!
We look forward to seeing and hearing this great band again, just as soon as we locate suitable-sized stages! In the meantime, keep a lookout for the band’s first album, coming soon.
[ONE: Intro > Done Before*, Pick Up the Pieces, Superstition, Biggest Chicken in the Yard, Locomotive Breath, Life During Wartime, All Float On, I’ll Be There for You, Hey Child* > Mystery*, Tequila, Rehab*, Hey Pocky A-Way, Morphin*; TWO: The Chicken, Thickest Peach on the Vine, Sometimes, Smoov > Play That Funky Music > Brick House > Jungle Boogie > Boogie On Reggae Woman, Afrodesiac > Peg > Bennie & the Jets > Bad Guy, Preacher Man, Genuine, band intros]
