Two members of former jam band groove on in new electronic project

By Jennifer Bill Herald Staff

It was a serendipitous incident.

Whatever went down that first time after practice with The String Cheese Incident, when two career percussionists who were resolved night owls decided to not let a perfectly fine evening go to waste and jammed into the night, ultimately set in motion the creation of what would become a live electronic music project.

Beat-masters Michael Travis, who played drums and percussion with the successful jam band since the beginning, and Jason Hann, who joined the band in 2005 as a second percussionist, have taken their knack for rhythm and formed EOTO, an all-improv looping project that has allowed them to chisel a new home for themselves in the ever-expanding DJ scene.

Parting ways last summer paved the way for the members of The String Cheese Incident to continue on their musical paths and explore other outlets for the beats still in their heads. Consequently EOTO, made up of String Cheese’s rhythm section, can almost guarantee a steady pulse and groovy base.

While some of String Cheese’s hippie-ish fans might feel out of sorts with this new venture, electronic music fans have welcomed a couple of new faces between the headphones.

Hann, reached in Indianapolis on Monday where they had played the night before, was getting set with Travis, Travis’ wife, and a crew member to hop in their RV and drive to Columbus, Ohio, for a show later that night. EOTO’s 55-show tour brings them ’round to Club Metronome in Burlington on Tuesday.

“EOTO’s basically two people improvising live electronic music, that would be the very short of it,” said Hann, simplifying what is a complicated process that unfolds on stage involving instruments, live mixing and computer artistry.

“It’s a type of club music that we’re playing, styles such as electro, dubstep (a dark, moody style from the UK heavy on the bass), drum and bass, glitch-hop,” said Hann, describing some of the styles that are associated with the genre IDM, “intelligent dance music.”

“We go through all these different moods of music you’d hear if you were going to a club to see a DJ perform,” Hann said. “Our biggest intent is to have that kind of flow … the energy is being created right in front of you, and the audience is part of creating it because it determines where you go next.”

On stage, Hann plays drums, percussion and electronic percussion, while Travis plays bass, guitar, keyboards and percussion. Both mix and remix themselves in the moment, controlling effects, for example, bringing an instrument up and down in volume. Hann can control up to 12 tracks of sounds in which to mesh together, while Travis can control up to nine tracks.

“If we are working on a particular theme sometimes we fill all those (tracks) up or not, after four minutes goes by we build up different parts and manipulate them,” said Hann, who was born in Miami and lives in L.A. with his wife. “It’s quite a process, but it’s now an effortless process, as we have been doing this live for two years now.”

While to many EOTO, pronounced “E-oh-toe,” seems miles away from the jams that popularized The String Cheese Incident, which frequently veered off into bluegrass and roots-rock territory, every now and again the band formed in Colorado in the mid-’90s would step into electronic land.

“Even though now we are influenced by the DJ scene, String Cheese did have an electronic side, a small part, so (EOTO’s) not completely unexpected for the String Cheese crowd, although it’s not for all Cheese fans, especially those who are into the more rootsy, bluegrass songs. At first impression we have computers on the stage, sometimes that can be a turn off. But then (some) realize that it’s live, all improvisation, and we make it in an incredibly organic way.”

EOTO instead catapults listeners into the world of DJ beats, improvising every twist and turn. Every show is different, dependent on their moods, their inspiration, and the energy and response of the crowd, which keeps it fresh night after night — something consequential to a musician’s motivation.

“I think that’s the nature of improvisation — every night when you’re in that mode … if you’re a painter and you’re making something up on a daily basis or you’re writing your diary on a daily basis, if you begin painting the same thing over and over you recognize that and try to paint something else, or you find different adjectives to describe how you did something, so it’s different for you,” said Hann, who has studied music in countries such as Ghana, Haiti and Korea and has thusly adopted a wide range of world-music styles. He has also worked with many musicians, including playing drums for soul singer Isaac Hayes on tour.

“That’s the really fun part, that constant searching (for musical supremacy) on a daily basis. If you see people getting tired — we read off the crowd, you want to make it effortless so people don’t have to think about what they’re doing when they’re dancing, it’s just a constant stream of music. You play to their reaction. That’s what makes every night different.”

Over the past several years, the members of String Cheese Incident have virtually all filled their time with other creative projects, including Bill Nershi and wife Jillian, with bluegrass/ acoustic band Honkytonk Homeslice; Michael Kang with African roots band Panjea; Keith Moseley with Keller Williams’ new band; and Kyle Hollingsworth with various side projects. Hann said EOTO was another musical channel for the pair.

“Travis and I jammed, it was something to do after the String Cheese practice. Another creative outlet to fill time between practice,” he said. “We would play till 4 in the morning because we’re night owls, (then we thought) ‘hey, let’s try to do this in front of an audience.’” That was May 2007, and since then two albums have been created for online downloading: 2006’s “Elephants Talk Only Occasionally” and 2008’s “Razed.”

Hann did allude to the possibility of another full helping of String Cheese in the future and definite collaboration between members. But for now, “(EOTO’s) become such a great outlet for complete diving in all the way and now probably 70 percent of the day I listen to house music to get new ideas,” Hann said.

He urged music lovers to get out Tuesday to what will be an “all-night dance party.”

“It’s absolutely different than any other electronic band you see — come get into the vibe and get it all out. We do a good job at that.”

Showtime is 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 for 21+; $12 for 18+.

Club Metronome is located at 188 Main St. in Burlington.

For more information, call 658-4771 or visit www.clubmetronome.com and check out EOTO at www.myspace.com/ eotomusic.

Contact Jennifer Bill at jennifer.bill@ rutlandherald.com.