Rerun, a jazz band from New Jersey, takes its genre into the realm of wacky funk and electronic rock. With Joe Mariana jamming on guitar, John Fee playing bass, Eathan Janney working the keyboards and Andy Sapko beating the drums, this quartet claims to be the new face of fusion music. Rerun's self-titled CD was released in 2002, and the band will be recording a new album this August. The jazz enthusiasts' Bloomington debut will take place on Friday, Aug. 6 at Uncle Fester's. Weekend spoke with Fee at his home in New Jersey while the band was packing instruments for an evening gig across town.
Q: How does your music express a "retrofuture?"\nJF: "We are bringing the hits of tomorrow to today. We are playing the music of the future now. We all majored in jazz at Rutgers University and were into funk fusion and retro. We were influenced by Herbie Hancock and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and we started out playing '70s funk jazz."
Q: How does '70s jazz differ from what you play now?\nJF: "We are incorporating a lot of synthesizer sounds and adding a rock vibe. Rerun is our first CD. It sounds like funk fusion with electronica rock. It has a Grant Green sound with some '60s soul jazz influence. To some extent the goal of Rerun was to make jazz more danceable. We are in the process of recording our second album. It will have a similar electronic rock jazz sound."
Q: How did the band get its name?\nJF: "We just picked it from the character Rerun in 'What's Happening?,' a '70s sitcom. He was a funky character who wore a red beret, suspenders and who did a lot of break-dancing."
Q: How long has the band been together?\nJF: "We started the band in '99. Three of us were sophomores in college, and Andy was a freshman. I had been playing bass in a band with Andy since high school. It was called Hairpiece. In the early years of Rerun we were all focusing on college. We just played a few house parties in New Brunswick and rehearsed in our house."
Q: What are your personal musical influences?\nJF: "In junior high and high school, I listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, '60s hard rock and hip-hop. I listened to John Coltrane and '70s jazz fusion such as the Headhunters."
Q: In what direction do you hope to take the band?\nJF: "We are trying to make this our full-time job. We make a living teaching, but we want to be performing for the most part. We want to build-up a following in more areas than the East Coast."
Q: How does Rerun write songs?\nJF: "Each individual writes their own songs and we all work on it to make it our own. There are not too many arguments in the songwriting process."
Q: How many hours a week do you practice together?\nJF: "We all live together, so we can rehearse when we want to. We usually rehearse three days a week, two to three hours at a time. We will be rehearsing more for the new album."
Q: Have you played with other big names in jazz?\nJF: "We have played with Papa Gross Funk, a band in New Orleans, and a band on the East Coast that plays funk fusion, called Ulu."
Q: Do you do much touring?\nJF: "We just played a bunch of dates in Pennsylvania and New York where we got a great response. I always like to see people dance to our music, having a good time. It is great playing every night, because the best way to get better as a band is to play live. I like playing with a group of friends that I can interact with and play off of. That is why I got into music."
Rerun will perform on Friday, Aug. 6 at Uncle Fester's, 480 E. Kirkwood Ave. in Bloomington.
