Ramble On

When Electric Rag Band holds the official CD release party for its fifth CD, The Esoteric Ramblings of..., this Friday night, most of the Mercury Lounge crowd will know what to expect. In fact, many of those in attendance will already have the songs well ingrained into their memory -- and that's to be expected. After all, Electric Rag Band is more or less the unofficial Mercury house band.

As the first band to play Mercury Lounge and the group that anchors the bar every New Year's Eve, the little rock and roots band from Tulsa encapsulates much of what the Mercury Lounge vibe is all about, but at the same time it's much more.

When sitting down at Mercury Lounge with band leader Pat Cook, he reflected back to the band's start in 1994. According to Cook, "I kinda quit that band and I really got into old ragtime and Piedmont Blues, stuff like Blind Blake and Blond Boy Filler and Blind Willie McTell. I had this idea to do it as a three piece rock and roll band, so I called and talked to the drummer and bass player from Johnny Walker Blues Band and we started messing around with it."

"We started out playing all songs from the '20s and 30s," he said. "Our first album, which came out in '96, was our adaptation of all those songs. It was really strange for people at the time, though, because they never knew what it was or what to call it."

Over the course of 19 years, Electric Rag Band has continued to evolve, both in its lineup and in its music. While Esoteric Ramblings is very much a rock record, once you dig in, it still reaches back to the Piedmont Blues of the '20s and '30s for inspiration. Even so, Cook and his band mates put a fresh and lively twist on the tunes to make them timely enough to fit comfortably next to contemporaries like Reverend Horton Heat, The Legendary Shack Shakers, JD McPherson, and Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. Yes, it's got a retro vibe, but Electric Rag Band is taking roots rock and moving it forward without leaving its influences behind.

When discussing the new CD, Cook openly said, "This is a more rock and roll CD than some of our previous stuff, but we still push the harmonies forward."

As the group looks to play more shows out of town and break into new markets, Cook said that he wanted a disc that was representative of what the band is like live.

"If you listen to this CD and like it, that's pretty much what you get when the band rolls up," he said.

It's not that Electric Rag Band doesn't enjoy playing in Tulsa, but as Cook is playing music full-time now, both with Electric Rag Band and solo gigs, he also doesn't want to oversaturate the Tulsa music scene.

"We were the first band to ever play Mercury Lounge on the New Year's Eve right before it officially opened, 2005-2006," he shared. "We don't play there as often as we used to because they've got so many great road bands coming through, but it's probably better that we're not playing there all the time."

Over the past year, doors have opened for Cook to play a number of other rooms, exposing him to different audiences, like a solo gig at The Yeti after North Mississippi All Stars played Cain's Ballroom and an Electric Rag Band show at Fassler Hall, playing between a number of the New Tulsa Sound bands.

Fortunately, Electric Rag Band's eclectic sound allows the band to fit in at all kinds of clubs. Looking back, Cook shared that the group initially started playing at Joey's and was a regular at The Buccaneer and Caz's, when those bars were hosting live music.

"We were the first non-Irish band to play at Arnie's, the first band to play at Unit B and the first band at Deadtown Tavern. I guess you could say we're a band of firsts," he said with a chuckle.

After 19 years and a list of firsts, Cook has earned the right to follow his own muse with Electric Rag Band. Even though the band's sound has evolved, it has done so gradually, not only making Esoteric Ramblings the band's most contemporary sounding album, but also its most natural. Elements of blues, ragtime, rockabilly, country and rock all come together to create something that's both unique and familiar at the same time.

Electric Rag Band
COURTESY/DANIEL CHRONISTER

What really sets the band apart, though, is its energy. Although Cook can sit back and play in the pocket, he's also not afraid to fire things up and get both the audience and the band fired up. The current trio lineup that includes son Daniel Cook on drums and Shane Stewart on bass is perfectly in sync with Cook and can turn on a dime to follow him and whip the audience into a frenzy or pull things back and show a bit of restraint. More often than not, an Electric Rag Band show turns into a small party, with the band and audience feeding off of each other's energy.

Even though the band has done well in Tulsa, response has been even greater outside of the band's home, as the new album has already gotten radio airplay in Germany, Netherlands, France, and Argentina. The band has also serviced the album to four different stateside formats, including stations that report to the Americana and FAR "Freeform American Roots" charts and is just beginning to see response from that effort.

Looking forward, Cook can't help but feel like things may actually be lining up for Electric Rag Band, at long last.

"You know, I'm kind of excited with the success of JD McPherson because I'm thinking roots rock might be a good place to be right now," he shared. "I've never been in the right place at the right time, musically, so maybe things are finally falling into place."

Regardless of the outcome, Cook shared "This is what we want to do," and you can rest assured that after 19 years, he's not going to change directions to follow a trend.

As for now, if you haven't gotten on board with Electric Rag Band, now is the time. The band celebrates the release of its latest album, The Esoteric Ramblings of the Electric Rag Band, with a CD release party at Mercury Lounge, this Friday night, March 15. You couldn't pick a better time or place as the new disc is a perfect summary of what the band has developed into over the years, from the stripped back roots rock sound to the album artwork, designed by Thom Self and Ian Robinson, who have made over 70 posters for Electric Rag Band shows. If you're in town this weekend, get on out to Mercury Lounge and join the party with one of Tulsa's most underrated and long-standing groups, The Electric Rag Band.

Send all comments and feedback regarding SoundCheck to ghizer@urbantulsa.com.

Soundcheck

Ramble On

Roots band's vibe far from esoteric

hen Electric Rag Band holds the official CD release party for its fifth CD, The Esoteric Ramblings of..., this Friday night, most of the Mercury Lounge crowd will know what to expect. In fact, many of those in attendance will already have the songs well ingrained into their memory -- and that's to be expected. After all, Electric Rag Band is more or less the unofficial Mercury house band.