Pipe Circus returns for Hornucopia

Font Size:

By David Burke | Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:03 PM CDT | () comments

Out of sight, out of mind. That’s what the Wisconsin band Pipe Circus thought might happen after its members decided to take a nearly year-long hiatus last June.

“When you take a hiatus, it’s hard to get back and get your fan base back,” Pipe Circus lead singer/co-founder/guitar player Pat Peterson said in a phone interview. “Everything moves so fast these days, and the turnaround is so fickle.”

The band found that its crowds were still there when the band returned, particularly in California and most spots along the Midwest — with the exception of its home state.

“It’s hard enough in our area in Wisconsin to get people to see music in the first place. You have to be amazing,” Peterson said from the band’s home in Whitewater, Wis.

Elsewhere in the Midwest — including Hornucopia in The District of Rock Island, where the band played in 2003, and returns on Saturday night — the band is welcomed back with proverbial open arms, with larger crowds each time.

But not in the Badger State.

“I wish there were less of a sports-bar mentality in this state, and more of a ‘try new things musical’ kind of mentality,” he said. “I love Wisconsin — that’s why I’m still here, and I still love the crazy weather — but people here are so fickle, so not willing to try new things.”

He pointed to Milwaukee’s famed Summerfest, where he claimed three-fourths of the bands performing were cover groups.

“You can hear ‘Play That Funky Music, White Boys’ 10 times in a day,” he said.

But that’s not where Pipe Circus, founded by Peterson and a former roommate about nine years ago, fits in. The band will do cover versions, he said, but most of the time will slice and dice them into a medley.

During its nine-year career, the band has melded numerous different styles into its sound.

“We’ve always had a passion for rock, good old-fashioned rock,” he said. “I think our musical differences contribute to our sound. Some of us like to listen to Faith No More and that kind of thing, but I’m more into Steely Dan and the Beatles. Our drummer could care less about the Beatles.”

But the band later moved into funk, playing and listening to more Earth, Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder, and leading up to Chronic and Outkast.

“A lot of our rhythms are real hip-hop/funk. But our latest stuff, we’ve experimented in a lot of Latin and jazz,” said Peterson, 33. “My voice is just starting to get a little more jazzy and R&B.”

Add to that mix, electronica and reggae, he said.

Not all influences are on the table at once, he said, but several songs will give an audience the idea of the spectrum.

“You can hear two or three different genres in one song, but the influences are leaning from song to song,” he said. “The voice is still there, the songs are still there, so it’s still identifiable. After nine years, you get to tailor what you sound like.”

Coming back from its hiatus, the band has cut back its schedule. What were 15 shows a month are now only six or seven.

But, at least for a band that’s reuniting with its fans, those half-a-dozen shows are golden.

“When we show up, they come in droves,” he said.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.