Eighth Whale lets music do the talking

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

The members of Pittsburgh-based band Eighth Whale, which combines hints of experimental, fusion, metal and rock into its instrumental sound, may have started off playing music for themselves, but they’ve gotten to the point where audiences are finally starting to pay attention.

However, the eclectic- minded quintet — which features Youngstown-area natives Allison Kacmar (bass) and Trevor Richards (guitar), along with Dave “DJ” Zaccari (drums and percussion) and Jesse Spillane (keyboards) — have no plans to follow up its recent “Basement EP” release with a full-length effort anytime soon.

“We want to get out and play and kind of develop a base,” said Zaccari, a Greensburg, Pa., native who now calls the Steel City home. “I think what we do is a lot more intimate and different every time we perform. So we’re trying to get some live recordings down and to see if there is anything that comes from that that is releasable.”

The band’s plan makes sense considering the foursome has garnered comparisons to everyone from Pat Metheny and King Crimson to Medeski, Martin and Wood and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Zaccari added that there are even hints of Rush. The point is the band’s live show may represent what the Eighth Whale is all about.

“It’s kind of a balance,” Zaccari said. “We have a lot of very fickly composed sections of songs, but we do try to leave some things opened up where we have a basic core structure or core progression that we expand with and move into different things. That way, every performance is different and sort of unique. But we still have a lot of stuff deep-rooted in meticulous composition.”

In a way, it sounds like early ’70s prog rock.

“Exactly,” Zaccari said. “It’s always striving to get new territory and more contemporary ideas in terms of tonality and structure. We do a lot with mix meter and mix key signatures to try to keep it as fresh as possible without losing a sense of a hook.”

Eighth Whale is an instrumental act. What does Zaccari and his band mates have against singers?

“We just decided we wanted to be completely focused on music,” Zaccari said. “There are a couple of us who could sing, but I just don’t think any of the material has lent itself to vocal capacity. We just want to keep that out of the equation for now. We just try to let the music speak for itself and not to worry too much about putting words to it. That way, everything is up to listener interpretation.”

Local listeners can judge for themselves when Eighth Whale returns to the Lemon Grove for a show Friday at the Youngstown venue. One thing the band isn’t mindful of is whether or not its music is too complex or convoluted for the average music fan.

“I would say that’s absolutely possible, and that’s again where the importance of the live show comes into play,” Zaccari said. “We would try to keep things as exciting as possible on the stage, and we at least want them to walk out of there having the experience of musical inertia or just being moved by that. Whether they understand it or not, I think they enjoy it.”

Perhaps the solution for this discriminating experimental act is simple: Why not just dumb down the tunes and let everyone walk away understanding the material.

“To be honest, that’s one of the things, when we got together, we just decided we were going to play because that’s what we like to do,” Zaccari said. “We hope that other people will, too. “