Miracle Orchestra Reunion
Miracle Orchestra Reunion shows
Artist Review by Bill Carbone
I co-founded Miracle Orchestra in the fall of 1996 along with guitarist Geoff Scott. Bassist Garrett Sayers and saxophonist Jared Sims were original members, and though we were much larger at points, ultimately it was the four of us that hit the interstates and toured pretty much non-stop until we broke up in 2002.
During those years the MO was my whole life. We played so much and over such great distances that it was pretty much impossible to do anything else. We plugged along and built up a great following in the Northeast, and we also did well in several cities in the Midwestand put a little dent in the West coast too. We were young and passionate and, more so than many bands out there living the dream, were fiercely dedicated to our instruments and improving as individuals. We pushed everything hard – ourselves, each other, our booking agent, the limits of our van and bank accounts! Our passionate approach to the music also led to a not-so-great break up that in one way or another we all have regrets about. Thus we were all quite excited for our first real reunion shows that took place this past December in Bostonand New York.
For me personally the reunion was a bit of a healing session. I was hotheaded as a kid, and over time I’ve mellowed and learned to see that most of my less savory moments were the result of being a young man on a big stage who wasn’t really sure what he was all about yet. Though I’m no Buddha, I do feel quite relaxed and happy playing music now, and I just couldn’t wait to approach Miracle Orchestra with that energy.
We bounced around emails to pick tunes and then I dove in to the page that was made for us on Archive.org to try and find them. I was excited to find that our performances weathered much better than I expected them to; in fact, we sounded damn good back then! Nonetheless, for the most part I didn’t even remember the names to most tunes, much less the 17 parts each one seemed to have. Our songs reminded me a bit of the cars we all drove in the 90s: smooth but a good bit bigger and more self-indulgent than was really necessary!
After a single rehearsal and a few beers, we became the first band ever to play at The Haven, a new bar owned by the former booking agent of the infamous Matt Murphy’s in Bostonthat’s located in Jamaica Plain, MA.
Our first set was good, but definitely cautious. It was obvious no one wanted to step on toes and that’s not necessarily the best for MO music because we were all about rolling over each other’s toes to get to new places. The second set was much more like it: we played hard and took chances, not all of which really worked, but that’s ok. Colin Fisher, who played trumpet with us for several years, also joined in on several songs.
Two nights later at Cameo Gallery in Brooklynwas an entirely different show, one that made me realize our Bostonshow was a bit like playing in a MO cover band. The edgy energy of New Yorkalways seemed comfortable for us; we once played 13 straight Fridays at the Knitting Factory and also used to do the midnightto 4 amslot at Wetlands all the time, and I always remember feeling that we played our best and hardest in the Big Apple. At Cameo, the band hit hard from the start. From the first tune, the old classic “Sweaty Rumpshaker,” we went at it with reckless abandon.
The second song, “The Secret Life of Juan Valdez,” which was always one of my favorites, was, to me, transcendent. On “Juan” Garrett and I always had this sneaky way of jamming on a hard, almost electronica groove where we’d lock up so tight but change one little tiny thing every 16 bars or so. Geoff and Jared would smatter it with sounds and over the course of a few minutes it would morph into a beast of a sound. At Cameo, we actually got into some pretty slamming, almost metal drum and bass-ish parts on it, and then I started to get that feeling that I used to get. I still get it on other gigs sometimes, but playing in MO was all about chasing it down every single night. The best I can describe it is a ball of energy just behind and below my chest plate and ribcage that can only happen when I get all the way past thinking about how and what I’m going to play and just let things flow. I’m awake and aware, just not trapped in thinking of the “right” thing to play. It usually happens, as it did on this night, when we all get there together: Jared is absolutely wailing on 
the horn, Geoff is splashing the music with the sounds, and Garrett and I are just on auto-pilot but not just playing the same groove all the time. From that point on, I felt it off and on all night. The show was by no means perfectly executed, but I heard and felt like what it might be like if the Miracle Orchestra was still a band that toured today. We could do some serious damage.
The other feeling that came back was ending a song, feeling like I’d just scored a touchdown at the Superbowl, and then realizing that maybe it was just a little too intense for the audience. The MO, like most jamband music, is pretty self-indulgent and the fine line is having the band and audience get off together. For the four of us the happy place was always deep, and sometimes a little dark and/or fast and furious. There were definitely a lot of people that loved to go there with us, but not as many as if we had kept it a little simpler and traditionally happy sounding. That doesn’t seem to have changed!
Nonetheless, the response we got from people was better than I could have ever imagined – I really didn’t know if anyone cared anymore and it turns out a lot of people do. I know we all had a seriously intense experience reliving the MO and we’ll definitely be doing it at least annually, hopefully more. I guess if anyone really wanted us to play his or her festival we might consider it….
Both reunion shows are available for free download at archive.org/details/MiracleOrchestra
Bill Carbone was the drummer for the Miracle Orchestra from start to finish. He now plays with Melvin Sparks, 10 Ft Ganja Plant, Dead Cat Bounce, the Drummers of Peace and Equality, Akashic Record, Beau Sasser and also leads his own group BuruStyle. He is a music teacher at WesleyanUniversityin Middletown, CT, where he’s also a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology. He also writes for the New HavenAdvocate and has written for Modern Drummer and Wax Poetics. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/billcarbone
Garrett Sayers, the MO bassist, now lives in Boulder, CO and performs with the Motet, Dwele, and the Kyle Hollingsworth Band among others. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/garrettsayers
Jared Sims, the reedsman and electronic button pusher of the band, is busy as ever, performing with the Latin band Mango Blue, Akashic Record, Dead Cat Bounce, and many, many others. He’s got a couple of solo albums out as well. He’s about to finish his DMA in music at BostonUniversity. He can be reached at www.jaredsims.com
Geoff Scott, MO’s guitarist and singer, led the Tuesday night Matt Murphy’s session for several years and currently performs every Thursday at Bull McCabe’s in Somerville, MA. He also performs with Club d’Elf and MC Kabir and gigs frequently on bass now as well. During the days he’s a composer and music organizer for video games. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/GNscott
