Audio By Carbonatix
Out of the countless towns he’s played during his band’s national
tours, Sammy Gonzalez, bassist for local trio Jacob’s Ladder, still
prefers tiny Frankenmuth, Michigan. An obscure, German-themed tourist
destination billed as “Michigan’s Little Bavaria,” Frankenmuth is home
to one “amazing promoter,” Gonzalez says. “He throws shows at a place
called Fisher Hall, and there are always 200 to 300 people there.”
It’s just one of the many pleasant surprises for the band in recent
months, during which its profile locally and elsewhere has suddenly
increased. Jacob’s Ladder — rounded out by Oren Maisner on guitar
and vocals and Brian Hernandez on drums — has no booking agent
and only an indie recording deal, with the Coral Springs-based JMB
Records. Instead, Gonzalez has taken DIY ideals and adapted them to the
digital age. “I just use MySpace and contact bands, venues, and
promoters,” Gonzalez says. “At first, it was hard, but now it’s easy
because I’ve been doing it for a while.”
Friday’s gig at Churchill’s marks the kickoff of the band’s second
national tour in the past two months. All told, the band has embarked
on some seven tours in the past couple of years completely on its
own.
Besides boasting the tireless energy of rock musicians in their
early 20s, it helps that the guys’ sound is also fresh. True, they may
be relatively young, prefer bright colors, and smile and juggle fruit
in their promo photos. But the threesome is not a pop-punk band.
Maisner’s vocals and riffs are propulsive and sometimes hooky, but the
Jacob’s Ladder sound is ultimately spaced-out, wandering into funky,
reverb-drenched workouts that bely a jazz-band fondness for noodling
and experimentation. Indeed, the bandmates met as teenagers, playing
together in various school ensembles at Miami Beach High.
When they return from their tour, Jacob’s Ladder will head into the
studio with New Found Glory drummer Cyrus Bolooki to record a new EP to
shop to labels and booking agents. “Our goal as a band is to be on the
road ten to 11 months a year,” says Gonzalez. “We’re showing everyone,
‘Hey, look what we can do on our own — imagine what we could do
with a little help.'”
