The original
polkabillyjazzgrasspsychopunkbluesgroovers!
A
Colorado string band with a touch of brass!
A mix of blues, bluegrass,
jazz, funk, reggae,
ska, country, bossa nova, rock, etc., etc.
"The nice thing about Irrational Exuberance is that there is never a dull moment. . . The lyrics are often hysterical, and the styles draw from everything Lucard could get his hands on: bluegrass, folk, country, funk, blues and even a hint of polka."
--Colorado Springs Gazette
"As local favorites, their talent and prodigious love for all genres is genuine."
--Colorado Springs Independent
A bluesy slide guitar wailing away over a pumping reggae beat; a soulful trombone merging with African drums and the drone of a didgeridoo; a mandolin defining a bird-like calypso melody; an old cowboy tune laying the foundation for a jazzy horn solo. These are just some of the surprising juxtapositions that define the musical melting pot of Irrational Exuberance. "I like to call our music jazzabilly," says bandleader Malcolm Lucard, "because we mix the bluesy, jazzy side of music—the side with electric guitars, keyboards and horns—with the old string-band sound of bluegrass and folk—the side with mandolins and acoustic guitars. Then we throw in the reggae, ska, tango, calypso, bossa nova and funk just for fun."
I.E. features the sardonic, sometimes off-the-wall lyrics of guitar and mandolin player Lucard, the soulful stylings of vocalist and percussionist Crystal Bliss Brandl, the always articulate trombone and trumpet playing of Jeremy Van Hoy; the boogie-down grooves of drummer John Litchenberg and bassist Matt Hollensbe, and the harmonic musings of keyboard player Greg Borom. (Crystal and Jeremy can also play a mean didgeradoo duet).
The repertoire includes about two dozen Malcolm originals, including the bluegrassy breakdown "Two Headed Calf;" the honky-tonkin' "Moonboggle Boogie;" the driving blues-rock of "Heart Attack Blues;" the lounge-jazz-bossa-nova groove of "Cockroach," the rockin' uptempo blues funk of "Coffee Light and Sweet." (Many of these tunes are now available on Malcolm's new CD, which features several IE members. The CD is available though Hapiskratch Entertainment—check it out on the CD page).
Describing the band's sound is no easy task because I.E. (i.e. intentionally eclectic) tries to draw from as many styles as possible, from bossa-nova to ska, blues to bluegrass, folk to jazz, funk to fusion, psychedelic to punk, classical to jam-band, etc., etc. So what if it's harder to get gigs or to find the right record store bin for our sound, we just play the music we love.
Though the band emphasizes original music, the cover songs we perform help explain our influences: Antonio Carios Jobim, Tom Waits, Ani DiFranco, The Specials, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Thelonius Monk, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jean Ritchie, John Prine, John Hartford, Frank Zappa, Hank Williams, B.B. King, Willie Dixon and that very special song-writing duo: Traditional and Anonymous, among others.