Bluesy jam band bonds after only a short time together

Some bands have to play together for years before they develop the kind of chemistry to rip out a tight jam, but not Fusion Blue. The Sikeston, Mo.-based jam band never misses a beat, with each of the six musicians blending his own sounds into one precise, hard-driving, Widespread-Panic-meets-The-Allman-Brothers-meets-the-Grateful-Dead whole.

And that's after only one year together, with about six months of that spent as a four-piece. It hasn't taken Fusion Blue long to establish themselves on the Southeast Missouri music scene as one of the area's most popular jam combos. Their edgy grooves have earned a reputation for brining in crowds that like to get down at their local base, Rude Dog Pub.

"When people come see us they drink like fish," said keyboard player Drew Dollar, who was added to the roster six months ago before he even really knew how to play keyboard.

Listening to Fusion Blue jam out their foot-stomping, blues-driven romps, it's hard to tell Dollar has played for less than a year. His keyboard melodies float like a feather above the overdriven guitar leads and add a musicality that guitar, drums and bass alone couldn't approach.

And when Dollar sings on the band's cover of the Grateful Dead's "Deep Elem Blues," his gruff voice howls like the great blues masters of old.

Dollar isn't the only singer in this multi-talented group, he shares the duties with rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Presson (whose voice has a blues punch reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughn) and bassist Josh Monroe.

Their singing and playing skills come together on originals and covers that hark back to the blues tradition with added fire from raunchy guitar distortion, bass lines that run the length of the neck and choruses that say things like "get back to drinking like I always do."

Fusion Blue's name is a description of their sound, and it's not jazz-rock fusion. The band fuses blues together with hard rock to make an aggressive sound that can still be called jam.

"We want to rock your face off," said percussionist Nathan Beck, who along with drummer Tim Morrison make up the sometimes-syncopated and always driving rhythmic backbone. "We want to get out there and rock as hard as we can rock."

The members of Fusion Blue are nothing if not down home, talking in a slight country twang and playing in a garage at a country house. Dollar's huge 1970s era sideburns and straw hat are an illustration of the their style and background.

"We even have some country influence," said Presson.

"Yeah, Trey listens to Dwight Yokum," laughs Dollar. Presson is unashamed.

"That's good stuff," he replies.

Beck said he's a "Phish freak," but said the classics are what they grew up on. "We all loved our daddies' music," he said.

Through all the sounds that make up Fusion Blue, Southern Rock is definitely the strongest. Lead guitarist Branston Keefer's leads often bear resemblance to the licks of the legendary Dwayne Allman and band members, when asked about their influences, will all point to the Allmans as great inspiration.

"I love the Allmans and Panic," said Dollar.

Those elements have come together to give Fusion Blue a rather large following in the area. Rude Dog owner Mark Weber said Blue typically packs out shows at his club, and for good reason.

"They always bring a real good crowd with them," said Weber. "Their sound is somewhere between Widespread Panic and Grateful Dead with their own little twist. Nobody else really sounds like them."

Blue shows a musical cohesion that produces quality jams, said Weber, who played with them at a two-night blowout at the pub in celebration of the group's first anniversary last weekend.

"They communicate with each other when they're playing," he said. "They just know what each other will do next."

Now Fusion Blue is setting their eyes on shows in Fayetteville, Ark., and St. Peters, Mo., to add to their impressive gigology. The jammers have already played at the New Daisy Theater in Memphis and recently shared the stage with St. Louis jam favorites Madahoochie at Cicero's in St. Louis, a venue known for jam band shows.

An even bigger show looms on the horizon April 15 when they'll take the stage at CaveFest at the Shawnee Cave Amphitheatre in Southern Illinois. It's a festival that will feature such Midwest jam giants as Grateful Dead Tribute band Jake's Leg and Phish tribute group Helping Phriendly.

Fusion Blue credits all this to their manager, Ronnie Sells, who has helped promote the band since last summer. The reason he represents the band, said Sells, is simply because he's a fan.

"It was their music that got me then and it's still their music that gets me," said Sells.

With help from Sells and dedication to their craft, Fusion Blue hope to make appearances on the jam circuit more than something they do in their free time.

"If you can draw, act, sing or play you don't have to work an eight to five," says Keefer.

And no matter what, the band plans to keep its signature hard-driving style, not turning to the spacey, orchestrated interludes that are the trademark of band's like Phish.

"I don't play pretty," said Presson. "And I won't do it."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182