Dustin Milotte: Three is a Magic Number
Projecting a sound of funk heavy fusion The Colonel Sanders Trio is one of the newest additions to the Knoxville music scene, and this week all the unacquainted music lovers here in town have two chances to get onboard. First on Thursday at Manhattans in the Old City, then again Saturday night at The New Knoxville Brewing Company.
I had my first chance to hear the guys a few weeks back at their last New Knox gig. Arriving just after the first set, I was surprised to find the tasting room almost uncomfortably packed. My initial reaction: “Who are these guys, and how did they manage to draw this well at one of Knoxville hardest to find venues?” I recently sat down with The Colonel Sanders Trio to get the scoop.
Gilbreath describes their collective sound as “mostly based on improv” with much of their original material stemming from recorded jam sessions. Listening back to those tapes they would find musical seeds to cultivate together into new tunes. This approach to writing lets their music flow out conversationally on the stage with genre mutating melodies book-ending open areas of exploration. Those originals are balanced by a constantly expanding repertoire of cover songs. For example the one show I witnessed included covers ranging from Curtis Mayfield’s “Stone Junky” to The Beatles “And Your Bird Can Sing”.
What does the future hold? With about fifteen varied instrumental compositions under their belt they are excited about the possibilities of recording an album. These three Farragut High graduates, all currently studying at UT, seem honestly inspired by the sheer fun of making music and with their play anywhere, practice whenever possible attitudes it seems certain that nothing is off limits for The Colonel Sanders Trio.
Check them out this Thursday at Manhattan’s in the Old City and again this Saturday at The New Knoxville Brewing Company. Both shows start at 9:30 p.m.
Visit the band's website here.
