The Monster Zero Orchestra
by Ryan Williams
Next Show: Thurs, Apr 7 @
Melody Inn
Listen: > Download MP3 <
It’s easy to use the term “mastermind” to describe Koven Smith. Even the name of the group he leads, The Monster Zero Orchestra, conjures images of super villains and the rubble-strewn remains of cities crushed by giant, otherworldly creatures. It’s that sense of exhilarating menace that Smith wants to conjure with this project.
“I started the band because I wanted to recapture that feeling of exploration and danger that I got when I first started listening to jazz. I always loved Miles Davis's recordings from the 70s, which clearly had an ‘avant’ edge to them, but still were grounded in riffs, chords, and melodies in a way that very little ‘avant garde’ music of the time was. I wanted a band that was like that in spirit, if not in sound. I also wanted an excuse to play the "Theme from S.W.A.T." and The Dismemberment Plan's "Memory Machine" in the same set.”
Smith composes and music for the band as well as handling the drumming duties. The group has an ever-shifting lineup, which can be par for the course when dealing with a large ensemble. The current lineup includes Sean Imboden on alto saxophone, Peter Sparacino on tenor saxophone, Morgan Price on baritone saxophone, Ben Syversen and Jackie Coleman on trumpet, Jason Miller on trombone, Wes Wagner on guitar, and Joel Pontius on bass. Smith admits that finding new members can be challenging. However, it’s been getting easier. “Finding replacements was a lot tougher before the band had a reputation, but having a strong core of people who have been with me for a long time, like Ben Syversen and Jackie Coleman, helps keep the constant personnel shifts from causing too much damage. In the last year or so, Ben has been acting as my assistant musical director as well, so he takes care of finding replacements for people when they leave, so I don't have to worry about it too much anymore.”
Smith draws on an eclectic mixture of original material and covers for the Monster Zero Orchestra. “Once I've picked pieces to arrange or compose for the band, it's not too tough. The hard part is finding the material I want to arrange in the first place. There are so many songs I would love to do that would just sound corny with this orchestration, no matter how hard I worked on the arrangement.” Ultimately, though, Smith is willing to attack just about everything without fear. “I mean, we'll play "The Top Gun Anthem," but you'd better believe there's going to be a hot saxophone solo in there somewhere.”
Smith is also currently working on other projects along with Monster Zero. “I have recently completed a 30-minute suite of electronic dance music which will be performed with choreography by Katie Kasper as part of Motus Dance Theatre's spring production "Viae" at the Arts Garden. I'm also about to begin work on a short piece for chamber orchestra for a conductor friend of mine out in Cincinnati.”
Ambition and drive like that is making their April 7 th appearance at the Melody Inn the last Monster Zero Orchestra show Indianapolis might see for awhile. New opportunities and jobs are leading Smith and several of the band’s members to New York City, where adventures and fresh rubble await. Still, Smith says Monster Zero found a good home in Indianapolis for the give years it’s been around. “Surprisingly, Indiana has been a great place for this band. I don't think I could have kept a group of this caliber together for this long anywhere else. Because there's really nothing else like us out here, I've always felt pretty warmly embraced by this community.”
Catch the Monster Zero Orchestra this Thursday, April 7th at the Melody Inn, along with Philadelphia’s The Method And Result.
