Looking at the Summer Camp Music Festival lineup this year, it’s stacked from top to bottom. We’ve got plenty of jambands, a whole lotta bluegrass, and of course some of that untz with your favorite EDM acts. Adding a bit of flair to the lineup this year is Consider the Source. The New York City trio bills itself as sci-fi-Middle Eastern-fusion and they’re bringing this very unique sound to Three Sisters Park this year. I had a chat with their drummer, Jeff Mann, about what the band got up to during quarantine, working with a famous producer, and their upcoming SCamp appearance.
Sasha: What has Consider the Source been up to in quarantine? I understand the band took on some pretty interesting projects.
Jeff Mann: Absolutely, it was very strange to have to abandon a tour and come home to a mostly isolated existence. We’re used to keeping ourselves busy so we were challenged to get creative with what we could accomplish. We started by doing individual livestreams of all sorts. We did everything from talking about our favorite albums, to explaining song parts to hosting a few cooking classes. We also performed full band livestream concerts once we were able to. We tried to make each of these special by doing things like playing a full album for the first time or letting fans vote on the songlist. Our biggest project during the quarantine time was getting together with Producer David Prater for a week and a half to record an album. For the first time we were sending each other tracks, putting together demo recordings and having weekly Zoom rehearsals.
Sasha:Â How did you guys link up with David Prater? What was it like working with him?
Jeff : We were on tour in Colorado and he had just moved to the area. I think he was checking out bands coming to town and dug into us a little bit. He came to the show, introduced himself and we immediately started nerding out about all things music. He expressed the desire to do something together and we kept it in mind. When everything was pretty much shut down we figured it was the perfect opportunity to collaborate. This was really the first time we worked with a producer and he really let us do our thing and be ourselves. He believes in trying to present the band as a whole as strongly as possible and is extremely creative. We’re excited to see how it all turns out!
Sasha: Can you explain what the hybrid album is all about? How was the recording process for that different from what you guys usually do?
Jeff : For years we’ve been experimenting with performing different degrees of acoustic sets. We’ve landed on an instrumentation we call “Hybrid” as it contains many acoustic instruments from different parts of the world and also some of our electric equipment. We usually present these hybrid performances to a seated crowd so it has more of that sort of vibe though a lot of the songs are very upbeat. I used a scaled down drumset with extra percussion and the other guys used a whole list of instruments. That adds a challenge to the recording process but isn’t entirely new for us as other albums have had elements of that as well. We’re really excited to showcase this side of us for the first time on record.
Sasha: When can we expect to see the new albums drop?
Jeff : We don’t have an exact date but it’s looking like this Fall.
Sasha: What was the last show that Consider the Source played? How has the band been coping with the lack of live shows this past year?
Jeff : The last show we played was a few weeks ago in Columbus, OH at Woodlands Tavern which is oddly enough the last place we played before quarantine. We’ve been lucky to have been able to do some outdoor and socially distant shows scattered throughout the last year. It was far from our regular schedule but it felt great to play together for people every few months. Now that things are opening back up it feels like we can settle back into the groove of being on tour again.
Sasha: Why are you guys excited to come back to Summer Camp? What do you love about playing this festival?
Jeff : I’ve always wanted to go to Summer Camp since I was in high school. Umphrey’s McGee and moe. were two of my early favorite bands but I was never able to make it back then. Being able to attend as a performer has been an amazing experience. The lineup is always stellar and being from the East Coast it’s exciting to play for fans in a region we don’t get to visit as often.
(photo by Bradford Watkins Creations)
Sasha: Scampers have a lot of choices at the festival… why should they make sure not to miss the Consider the Source set this year?
Jeff : I like to think we offer something unique with what we do musically. The genre we call ourselves is Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Prog Rock and while we have fun we really try to give it our all emotionally and physically.
Sasha: What other artists are you guys looking forward to catching a bit of at Scamp? Are there any particular festival food vendors or other things you like to check out at the festival?
Jeff : This year I’m most excited for Ween. I’m also a big fan of the Wood Brothers and would love to catch them live for the first time. As far as food vendors go we’re always on the hunt for healthy vegetarian food before the show and fried Oreos so whoever can help with that is on our side!
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty stoked to see Consider the Source bring their sci-fi fusion to SCamp this year. I’ve seen them play before in Asheville and my mind was officially blown. Do yourself a favor and make sure you drop in to catch their set this year at Summer Camp. I’m sure it will be among your highlights of the weekend.
– Camp Counselor Sasha
– Camp Counselor Sasha
