By Caitlin Gambee
Northeastern-bred band Logan will be vying for a Boston Music Award this year. Nominated in Best Funk/Jam Band, they will bring its personal style to this year’s New England Music Organization (NEMO) festival.
Other nominees in the same category are Addison Groove Project, Hazie Maze, Spooky Daly Pride and last year’s winner, Superhoney.
“I don’t really think we’re going to win, but I am really happy to be recognized with those bands,” said lead vocalist, Josh Baird.
In addition to Baird, the band is composed of Ryan Karp on guitar, Scott Dyke on bass, Mark D’Alfonso on organ and keys and Dan Holmes on drums. Spawned from the Northeastern rock ensemble almost two years ago, Logan is still cementing their sound. Influenced by mostly classic rock and blues music, Karp describes their sound as “covering everything from a jam feel to a roots and rock feel, but with strong ties to the blues.”
The band’s many influences include Stone Temple Pilots, The Allman Brothers, Sublime and Lynyrd Skynard.
“Focusing our sound has been a challenge; it’s hard to keep everyone happy and find a common ground to stand on,” Karp said.
The band, who encourages downloading and distributing their music off of their Web site (www.loganrock.com), has one CD available, “The Monte Sessions.”
The first track, “Fired From Your Love,” is a strange mix of the established jam band O.A.R. and the outrageous energy of James Brown. Logan successfully creates a hyped dance atmosphere with their explosive opening track. Karp’s impressive guitar solo stands out, but all the frantic energy comes at the expense of the clarity of Baird’s vocals, which seem slightly muffled. The track closes with the scathing line, “You can’t fire me/I quit.”
Logan slows it down on their second track, “Boston Day.” This song is full of familiar Boston images, such as walking down Tremont Street.
Karp’s guitar work stands out once again, as the dulcet verse segues into the heavier chorus. Baird’s deep, soulful voice compliments the crisp drumbeats.
“Down the Corner,” the final track on Logan’s short, first recording, begins slow and soft, but quickly rises in energy as Baird wails. It remains on high as D’Alfonso kicks in the organ solo. By the time the piano outro begins, the music slows down, as if the instruments have tired themselves out.
Overall, Logan’s music has been successful in redefining what exactly a jam band is.
Logan’s increasing popularity has brought them an expanded fan base that reaches just out of the Boston area.
“One girl followed us down to New York City,” Baird said.
“I think she even tried to kiss my mom,” Karp added.
However, Logan does not let their newfound praises get to their heads. Except for Karp, who graduated in 2002 with a degree in music literature, Baird and the rest of the guys are entering their senior year at Northeastern. Baird and Holmes are currently music industry majors, D’Alfonso is a finance/MIS major and Holmes is a business major.
“I really want to reach out to the Northeastern community,” Baird said. “We aren’t here for much longer but want to represent Northeastern.”
Whether Logan is playing or not, the boys are true to promoting the live music scene.
“I encourage people to get out there and experience what live music has to offer, as opposed to the club scene,” Baird said.
Logan can be seen next on Oct. 2 at Plough and Stars in Central Square, Cambridge. For more information, check out their Web site at www.loganrock.com.
