Little Feat and Blues Fest share similar formula for success
The band Little Feat – like the annual Sarasota Blues Fest the group will headline on Oct. 24 – is a survivor.
Both the band and the festival have gathered a strong following over the years by appealing to a broad cross-section of the population. Look closely at an audience attending a Little Feat concert and you won’t be surprised to find a large turnout of the boomers that fueled the band’s early success in the 1970s. But you’ll also find a healthy showing of Gen X-ers who signed on in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as the group came to follow the more improvisational, jazz-influenced approach of keyboardist Billy Payne. Also in the mix, even younger fans, drawn by the energetic, jam inspired vibe of the group’s legendary live performances.
It’s a remarkably similar breakdown to what you’ll find with a typical Blues Fest audience. In a town where much of the arts community has stratified into mutually exclusive niches, the Blues Fest has developed a crossover appeal that has sustained it even as other long-running area events like the Sarasota Music Festival have gone on hiatus due to a rough economy.
But then, the event’s promoter, Barbara Strauss, has never been one to play it safe.
Audience members move to the beat at the 2007 Sarasota Blues Festival. Photo by Robert Frederickson.
Rather than hunkering down and trying to ride out the current tough times she has "doubled down," so to speak, by going after, and landing, a bigger name act to headline this year’s event than her booking budget usually allows.
"Marquee value is what sells shows," Strauss said in a recent interview, "and Little Feat has that."
She explained that she has tried to land the band in the past, but always came up just a bit short. "I have tried many times. But we could never agree on compensation, or there were scheduling conflicts" she said.
"A lot of businesses have cut back," she continued, "but I thought it was important to step up." So this year, she dug a little deeper, paying a bit more to put on the type of show she thought would be right for the times. "The buzz on the street is great," she explained. "I think everyone is looking forward to it."
Though signing up Little Feat may have cost Strauss more, as an extra bonus for fans, the band will play a longer set (at least two-hours) instead of the usual 1:15 minutes of past headliners.
As legend has it, Little Feat was formed in 1969 after Frank Zappa heard one of the guitarists in his band – The Mothers of Invention – playing a song the band member had recently penned. That guitarist was Lowell George and the song was "Willin’," which later became a hit for Linda Ronstadt. As the story goes, Zappa was so impressed with George’s songwriting that he suggested the slide guitarist set off on his own, knowing his opportunities would be limited with the Mothers, which was, after all, a showcase for Zappa’s own musical talents.
George took Zappa’s advice, taking fellow Mothers of Invention band-mate Ron Estrada with him. Drummer Richie Hayward and keyboardist Billy Payne were added shortly thereafter and Little Feat’s original lineup was set.
George’s exposure to the groundbreaking if not somewhat skewed musical vision of Zappa and The Mothers helped shape Little Feat’s early success, though that vision was channeled in a less campy, over-the-top direction than Zappa pushed it. Still, with early songs like "Fat Man in the Bathtub," "Dixie Chicken" and "Trouble," musically and lyrically, Little Feat sounded like no one else.
By the time their third album, "Dixie Chicken," was released in 1973, the band was a critical success and had developed a cult following among fans and fellow musicians alike. A second guitarist, Paul Barrere, an old high-school friend of George’s, had been added to the lineup by this time, along with renowned percussionist Sam Clayton.
Mainstream commercial success would prove elusive however. So the group sustained itself by concentrating on its live performances, following the model of bands like The Grateful Dead and more recently Phish, Widespread Panic and The Dave Mathews Band.
With the death of George in 1979 from an apparent heart attack, most thought it was the end of Little Feat. And for the better part of the decade to follow, it was. But the band’s six albums continued to sell well and their cult status grew even larger over time. So in 1987 the band re-formed. The current lineup includes Payne, Barrere, Clayton and Hayward, along with Ken Gradney on bass and Fred Tackett on guitar.
Little Feat has continued to record over the years, scoring modest success with releases like "Let It Roll" "Shake Me Up" and "Chinese Work Songs."
While fans are grateful for the band’s recordings, they know the real place to appreciate Little Feat is as a member of the audience at one of their live shows. It’s a theory that can be put to the test on Saturday Oct. 24, at the Ed Smith Sports Complex on 12th Street.
And if you go, take a look around at the crowd and judge for yourself the relative merits of two other competing theories: namely, whether Strauss and her Sarasota Blues Fest or the Sarasota Music Festival has the right approach when it comes to responding to tough times.