What: Ruby Isle CD Release show with Me and My Arrow, New Century Masters & Spyder Baby Raw Dawg 3000
When: Saturday, Jan. 29
Where: Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave.
Cost: $7
Sometimes playing in a big band can promise more hurdles than fortune. Whether itâÄôs running the risk of being carted off as a rock âÄònâÄô roll gimmick or your melodies getting lost beneath sheets of overpowering noise, itâÄôs no wonder musical collectives are a playing field reserved for artists with only the most serious of ambitions.
And thereâÄôs one Twin Cities act that rises to that very challenge, enduring few missteps in the process.
Founded almost two years ago, Me and My Arrow is a 10-person musical bevy helmed by local songwriter Jacob Grun that is so uncompromising and varied in its aural exploration, itâÄôs hard to tack on a label without feeling like youâÄôve misrepresented some side of it.
Me and My Arrow doesnâÄôt do any drastic genre-hopping but there is certainly a presence of stylistic versatility coursing through each of their three EPs.
In âÄúPour Some Brown Sugar on Me,âÄù the band mirrors the arena country rock of My Morning Jacket as GrunâÄôs theatrical vocals soar over a shimmering wash of reverb and strings. But hook-heavy tracks like âÄúTmndâÄù and âÄúAya CashâÄù carry on with more of an Isaac Brock-like snarl, demonstrating how the music is capable of being just as aggressive as it is grandiose.
Grun had grand plans for Me and My Arrow from the outset. He started recruiting musicians for his rock ensemble while playing guitar in the now-defunct local act Ice Palace.
âÄúWhen that band came together that was sort of the idea, to bring a lot of people together for a more diverse sound,âÄù Grun said. âÄúSome of the people were friends and some of them were kind of randoms that I snagged up.âÄù
While Grun said the bandâÄôs creative process doesnâÄôt necessarily adhere to any sort of sure-fire formula, he admits that he acts as the primary creative force in regards to songwriting the majority of the time.
âÄúWe sort of have a report on how we communicate and definitely writing the songs. We work together, theyâÄôre all in the band because they have good opinions and something to add,âÄù Grun said. âÄúWhen we go into studio it gets picked apart a little bit more.âÄù
But not everything comes with such ease. There arenâÄôt many stages that properly suit a local act of such size and some shows theyâÄôre faced with problems of overcrowding.
âÄúWeâÄôve played stages where weâÄôre spilling out into the audience and have to crowd surf our gear through a bunch of people.âÄù
It takes a deft hand to handle something of such mammoth proportions, and Grun and his crew should be lauded for sticking such a tricky landing.
But not only are Me and My Arrow one of MinneapolisâÄô largest bands, theyâÄôre also one of the most active. Having produced three EPs in the past year and a half and a tour DVD on the way, GrunâÄôs creative vehicle hasnâÄôt lost any of its steam. LetâÄôs just hope they can keep up the pace.
