It’s sheer music biz savvy: A band celebrates 10 years together,
releases a new CD, hires a new bass player, sets up a celebratory gig, and then
breaks up. Pure genius.
That’s precisely
what Moving Mountains — then known as The Goods — did a year and a half ago.
And the band — drummer Jeff “Woody” Woodruff; bassist Chris Meeker; Lou Chitty,
keys; and guitarist Miles McHugh — was at the top of its game when it pulled
the plug.
“That does
need an explanation, doesn’t it?” Woodruff says. “In November of 2016, we
played a show at Three Heads Brewing to celebrate our 10th year anniversary as
The Goods. We also released a four-song EP called “Departure,” which was a
fitting title because that was our last show.”
The band
didn’t give a specific reason for the break up, but the subsequent hiatus
didn’t last all that long. The band found itself holed up in its cluttered
studio in Fairport, and what emerged in the coming months was a collection of
songs that, perhaps, sounded like distant cousins to Goods material, with its
plural beats and jam. But this new sound had a keener edge and progressive rock
finesse and volume. There are a whole lot of fresh dynamics in there as well,
with stretched out progressions and grooves. The quartet has taken its old,
harmonious sound and re-tooled it, making it darker and, frankly, better.
“That was on
purpose,” says Lou Chitty. And it was made possible by the band members’
unorthodox approach to their instruments, starting with the drums.
“I try to
stay in touch with the groove no matter how fancy it gets,” Woodruff says. “My
style is an amalgamation of rock, Afro-Cuban with traditional West African drum,
and xylophone rhythms and melodies. I try to be a musical drummer and to be as
melodic as I am rhythmic.”
Woodruff
gets a heap of help on the bottom end from Meeker, who lets his fingers do the
walking all over his five-string bass.
The guitar
and keys are the progressive hot sauce that gets liberally slathered over the
top. Both guitarist McHugh and keyboardist Chitty play their instruments in
more of a supporting role, layering on texture and atmosphere. McHugh
contributes his sound via a parade of stomp boxes at his feet.
“I get a lot
of comments on the number of pedals I have,” McHugh says, “usually from other
players. But I’m trying to learn different combinations. I like to create
different colors. Straight-up guitar sounds, everyone has heard those already.
And with Woody’s drumming, there’s a lot going on. So instead of filling up
those other spaces I play more like a keyboard.”
With its
sound as new as it is itself, Woodruff concedes Moving Mountains’ new approach
is a balance between responsibility and freedom; the band plays them.
“Artistically,”
he says, “I feel there is more possibility.”
This article appears in May 23-29, 2018.
