There is something special about first-time interviews with new-to-me performers like the Brooklyn-based group, Gentleman Brawlers who are planning
a Sept. 21 performance at the Strand Theatre, 345 Main St., in Rockland. A phone interview with Becca Fox (vocals, synths, dance) was set up even before I had checked out their plethora of videos so my chat with her, which ran for a whopping 35 minutes, was intended to find out more about the group. Ms. Fox was animated as well as informative with an energy that surprised me at that time but became understandable after witnessing quite a few clips on YouTube that displayed her electrifying vocal and dancing talents. In fact, that video experience led to the lead-off observation and question.

CONCERT INFO

GENTLEMAN BRAWLERS
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 21
VENUE: Strand Theatre
ADDRESS: 345 Main ST., Rockland
TICKETS: $22 advance, $25 day of
PHONE: 207-594-0070
WEBSITE: gentlemanbrawlers.com

Q: While diving into YouTube, I noticed that some of your videos went back seven years so how long have you been doing this?
A: Well, it’s an interesting question and it depends on who you ask. I would say that it’s over 10 years but the current sound is a lot newer — probably seven years or so. We started out as an indie-folk group with three-part harmony before we really knew the real identity of the band. Then gradually we had one song come out called “My Theory” — it was an Afrobeat-inspired tune that got me dancing. We were also playing with a lot more jazz influences at that time, so we started going in that direction and leaned into it. (Laughter) So that’s not a straight answer, but you know, that’s how art is, right?

Q: You got it. Have you performed in Maine before?
A: No, this is actually our first time, so I’m super excited. Obviously having never been to Maine, I’m excited for the lobster, I’m excited for the nature. I don’t know how much time we’re going to have to explore because the nature of our band is that we have musicians that have other gigs, so we may have to go back pretty quickly. I hope we don’t because I really would like to look around Rockland.

Q: Now as I watched those videos, I noticed that the number of musicians in them changed quite a bit so when you get to the Strand how many will be in the band?
A: So we’ll be hitting with seven when we come to Rockland, but I would call it a ‘collective’ more than a ‘band’ just because we play with a lot of different people (chuckle). It’s like a baseball team in that we have three different musicians on each instrument that we could call up. We have charts, we rehearse a lot so that everybody knows the material very well. And depending on the budget of a venue, we just can’t bring the full band so we’re pretty modular in that, but we’re pretty big, no matter what.

Q: I suppose size does matter when it comes to the sound.
A: To me, nothing quite beats the full-band sound.

Q: I would imagine that the configuration of the collective would find the songs taking on a different feel, a different life, as it were.
A: Yeah, totally! And we’re always adding in more material, but some of these songs we’ve been playing for almost 10 years and they still feel just as exciting as the first time we played them.

Q: What can folks expect at your upcoming performance?
A: Oh, my gosh: everything! We start by giving people a little taste of what’s to come in the first two songs and then we slowly introduce that “Hey, it’s not just us moving up here!,” because we all move together, and we always get a conga line going, it’s going to happen up there. We’ve started introducing a parachute to our shows, like the ones they used to have in gym class, and we have bubbles and a tug-of-war on stage. That was a long-winded way of saying what to expect at our concert, but we want it to be fun and inviting and mature so the simple answer is, “Expect anything!” because I’m always playing.

Q: Is there anything you would like to pass on to the folks reading this column?
A: Music is about feeling something so we give everything on stage to our listeners. I‘m hoping they come with an open mind. I think it’s really hard to go see a new band you’ve never heard before, that’s a big thing. Like we’re playing at the Strand and I know that it’s been tricky getting audiences out. I’m trying to reach people that we’ve never met before, that’s the same thing as being an opening band for a bigger act, you have to win them over. But I’m very confident with what we have to bring there, and our motto has always been: “If you can move, you can dance!” so whatever that means to you, it doesn’t have to be pirouettes or anything like that, but if you’re feeling something let us know.

Q: Where did the name of the band — excuse me, the collective come from?
A: Oh, God (loud laughter) I think the short answer is: we really love the name. Everyone always asks us this and there’s really no clear answer. There’s a long story that’s not so exciting, but it’s been a blessing and a curse because we are grammar Nazis’ and ‘gentleman’ is describing the type of brawler but people were constantly spelling it wrong. I can’t tell you how many different iterations we’ve heard! But we can’t change it, it’s got equity now so we can’t change it.

Q: Seeing this is a double debut for your collective, is there anything we haven’t discussed that you think we should?
A: Yeah, I’m just excited to meet people from Rockland and hopefully from Portland and beyond coming to the show. It’s an accessible style of music that I think people can really get into. We call it Afro/funk with indie dance in it, but the best description I always give to it is: If Fela Kuti —the father of Afrobeat — meets Talking Heads where you’ve got a performance aspect of David Byrne and his musicians, but then it has got that polyrhythmic sound. So musically I hope that people are like digging it, and I’m excited to be coming to a new town.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.