Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White


Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

Serving the campus of the University of Alabama since 1894

The Crimson White

Green Bar hosts Athens-based band Dank Sintra

They may be University of Georgia graduates, but the members of Athens, Ga. based jam band Dank Sinatra will be saying, “Roll Dank Roll” when they perform at the Green Bar this Friday.

Dank Sinatra features Clint Meadows on bass, Matt Henderson on keyboard and vocals, Joe Gaines on guitar and vocals and Josh Birmingham on drums. The band members met through mutual friends at The University of Georgia and formed Dank Sinatra in spring 2010.

With a musical style that defies ordinary genre descriptions, Dank Sinatra blends elements of rock, blues, jazz, funk, electronic, jam and soul, creating a sound that is difficult to categorize. However, the band members don’t focus on labeling their sound; they focus on creating it.

“We don’t really think about [labels] too much,” Meadows said. “We try to keep pushing ourselves and evolving our sound as a group.”

For the members of Dank Sinatra, the process of writing music and developing the band’s style is a collaborative effort.

“We’ve written songs in different ways. Often times it will be a collective effort with everyone, or a few members at a time, writing parts together usually based on an initial riff or jam,” Henderson said. “We like to have times at practice where we can jam around and try to come up with different ideas together.”

Dank Sinatra released its first full-length album, “Just Charlesin’,” in July 2011, following the 2010 release of the five-song EP titled “Papa Mountain.”

During the recording process for “Just Charlesin’,” Dank Sinatra aimed to recreate the thrill and excitement of playing in front of an audience.

“Recording can be pretty tedious and time-consuming, but it’s a great feeling to get new music recorded,” Meadows said. “We like to record together as a band with a more live-show feel to help capture the energy of playing together.”

This Friday won’t be Dank Sinatra’s first time performing in Tuscaloosa. The band performed at the Green Bar in June 2012.

“We had a great experience in Tuscaloosa,” Henderson said. “We always love coming to Tuscaloosa because of the great tradition in the town.”

In addition to playing shows throughout the Southeast, Dank Sinatra played at the 2012 Wakarusa Music Festival in Ozark, Ark.

“It’s definitely a lot more exciting performing at a festival [than performing at a normal venue] because everyone there enjoys music and wants to hear new music,” Meadows said. “But there is also added pressure because you want to perform well on a bigger stage to a new audience.”

Dank Sinatra’s repertoire includes a variety of both original and cover songs, including covers of the Rolling Stones, the Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Outkast and many other artists.

The band has an unusual way of selecting songs to cover, Gaines said.

“We put a bunch of song choices in a hat, and then we each draw one. After two selections are made each, we then play the songs that are remaining in the hat,” Gaines said.

Several of the band members are working on their own side projects outside of Dank Sinatra. Henderson is putting together a band that will only play Mario Kart songs, Meadows has been producing tracks with A$AP Rocky and Spaceghost Purp, and Gaines is in a Poison cover band called Venom.

However, the band members make sure to save time for Dank Sinatra.

“We have a bunch of new songs we’ve been writing and playing live, and we’re heading into the studio in February to start recording a new release, which we’re really excited about,” Henderson said.

Dank Sinatra will be performing at the Green Bar on Friday, Jan. 25. The show starts at 10 p.m., and the cover charge is $5.

For more information on Dank Sinatra, visit www.danksinatramusic.com, and to listen to “Just Charlesin,” visit danksinatramusic.bandcamp.com.

 

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