Boyne’s Funk Brothers: The Pistil Whips

Jan. 4, 2015

Several years ago, on the streets of Boyne City, Will Love stood playing the saxophone. Eric Dane Jaqua passed in his car and noticed the fellow musician, but kept on driving.

A couple of years later, the two met in person at Blissfest; Jaqua was playing with his duo, Hipps-n-Ricco, and Love was performing with the Galactic Sherpas’ horn section.

"I met Will’s stepmom one of the nights at the festival," Jaqua said. "It was dark and I couldn’t see her face. She told me her son was in a band and they were from Boyne City. When someone shined a light on her face, I realized it was a woman that had cut my hair at the salon in Boyne. I finally put it all together and found out he was the guy playing on that street corner."

Jaqua also learned that Love was a senior in high school. "And I couldn’t believe his age after hearing him play the sax," Jaqua said.

FUNKY PUNCHLINE

Deciding their respective talents would complement each other’s well, Jaqua and Love formed a duo combining funk, blues and jazz sounds.

Love plays the clarinet, keys and beatbox flute, in addition to sax, and Jaqua plays the guitar and Farmer FootDrums, a drum set that’s operated only with the feet.

As their official bio says, "they joined forces to become the eternal brothers of funk."

Eternal brothers also need an official name and that’s where their Pistil Whips moniker comes in.

"The name is kind of a bad joke, but on purpose," Jaqua chuckled. "I thought it would be funny to have people think that our name is spelled like pistol whips because that sounds like a hardcore band, but then you see that it’s spelled like the pistil from a flower and you hear Will and I playing and"¦ well, that’s the punch line. And, to most people, it’s probably a relief!" Funk is only one element of The Pistil Whips’ upbeat, yet complex, sound. Jaqua uses an octave pedal to make his guitar sound like a bass and he sings over the combo of guitar and Farmer FootDrums, adding a little rock and blues to the mix.

Love, in turn, blends in some dubstep, soul and gypsy jazz to make a musical brew that recollects the likes of Tune-Yards, The Black Keys or Morphine. Even their cover tunes have taken on a distinctive Pistil Whips sound.

SOULFUL GRIT

"Some of our favorite cover songs are ones that we have turned into our own," Jaqua said. "We do a funky blues version of "˜Stayin’ Alive’ by The Bee Gees. Another one that we cover is "˜Use Me’ by Bill Withers. And we have a lot of new original material that we are working on."

Their most popular original track to date is called "First Impressions Are The Worst." Ironically, it’s the very first song they wrote together as a duo. Other glimpses into their original sound show them blending a retro feel with Love’s dubstep saxophone lines with a lot of blues, a little grit and a surprising amount of energy for just two musicians.

While they are writing and rehearsing for the full-length album they plan to put out in 2015 on Jaqua’s own Quo Vadis record label, fans can listen to an early studio recording on the duo’s website and can catch them live at a range of local venues, including regular shows at Petoskey’s Vernales restaurant and in downtown Petoskey at The Noggin Room.

"And don’t forget, our songs are great dance numbers!" Jaqua added.

For more information on The Pistil Whips and their upcoming show dates, visit www. thepistilwhips.com