Shugyo members combine styles, influences to shoot for the stars

Last year, before Shugyo was Shugyo, it was an unnamed three-piece project, and drummer JJ Seabaugh was searching to describe the band's budding sound.

He, guitarist Matt Gates and bassist Jason Heeter had been in another band together -- the Monstars -- but their new direction was undeniably different, he said. At the time, it was difficult to tell exactly what that direction was.

"He's an astronaut," Seabaugh said of Heeter, the tuba-trained Bill Withers aficionado. While metaphorically apt, he might not have excluded Gates and himself.

They're all astronauts.

Seabaugh's history playing hip-hop, death metal and the in-betweens has made him versatile, alternating between skittering funk and rumbling jam-rock.

Gates studied jazz trombone at university and guitarists such as Derek Trucks in his spare time to cultivate his active but articulate lead style.

And Heeter is indeed an astronaut whose bass style is head-turningly dynamic and expressive.

Together, Shugyo's experiments in sound are compelling, sometimes to the point of being off-kilter, but never to the point of losing coherence. Each member pushes his own musical boundaries, but Shugyo's strength is that they're all pushing in the same direction, whatever way that happens to be.

"An idea will come from anywhere," Heeter said. "It's basically us exploring ideas off of jams."

That process lends itself to the writing of some wide-ranging stuff, each song conceptually distinct.

On their original song "Hitch," they're a subtle, jazzy outfit riding out a prog-rockish, almost Eastern-inflected fantasy. Their slinky and lyrical "Chrome Dome" beckons from a dark and crowded place.

"Badoom m'Pow" showcases the best of their penchant for jam-band digressions over a groove that swirls like a funk band trapped in a lava lamp.

But they're not all party. "Pretty Things" is lush and tender, seemingly full of hopes or promises or memories.

The term Shugyo, Heeter said, refers to a Japanese concept of discipline, wherein an individual improves oneself through rigorous practice and dedication. And they bring to their performances a consistency befitting the name.

"It's a lot more focused. In Shugyo, we actually practice," Gates said, contrasting the current band with their former one. "But there's only so much you can learn in practice."

They typically put in the work performance-wise on Wednesdays, when they've become Pitter's Cafe and Lounge's de facto house band. But they're also gearing up for a pretty full festival schedule in Missouri, including MoRoots at the end of April, Cosmic Reunion at the end of May and TOCO Festival at the end of August.

They recently posted several songs to SoundCloud, and Saturday, they're playing with Ocean Disco and Dirty Reggae Punx at Pitter's.

Blastoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

811 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.