Laidback is a locally-grown band from Reston that breaks the boundaries of genre classification. On Saturday, Feb. 11, at 9 p.m., the band performs at the State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St. in Falls Church. Tickets are $12. Guitarist Brian Raubacher took some time to answer questions via e-mail.
Introduce the Band: Brett Whitson on vocals and guitar, Brian Raubacher on guitar, Bradley Hodson on the Bass, Garrett Wilhelm on the drums and Dave Adams on percussion.
How did you guys get together? Laidback got together as a threesome in 1999. It was Brett, Garrett and Brad. They all knew each other from South Lakes where they went to high school. I knew Brad and Brett from South Lakes Lacrosse and randomly met Garrett and jammed with him while hanging out with friends. I joined the band in late 2002. I don't think anybody really knows where Dave came from. We just kind of showed up for a gig and suddenly Dave was in the band. He proved himself quickly, so we let him stay.
Describe your sound: Sound a la Laidback can be described as Broadway meets soccer mom trumpeter, a marriage of Wham and Whitney Houston, the coming together of Huey Lewis and Huey Duck. No seriously, Laidback is bridging gaps. We are a jam band that can hold the attention of the "pop" crowd. We are a pop band that will jam until the sun comes up (unless of course we are in an area with no sun.) Laidback plays to their audience. We like all kinds of music, so why limit ourselves?
Biggest musical influences: We are all over the board on influences. Brett loves the singer/songwriter wilted soul singing songs of freedom type. Brad enjoys jazz, groove music and harder rock. Garrett is a big hip-hop fan. Dave knows only jam bands. He doesn't even know what pop means. Brian listens to the guitar greats. Over all, the list would look something like this: Blind Melon, Umphreys McGee, Eric Clapton, Santana, Incubus, Clutch, Dave Matthews, Jurassic 5, The Roots, John Coltrane, The Beatles, Vivaldi, Miles Davis, Phish, Pearl Jam, John Scofield, etc.
Other influences: I think that we are probably influenced by what's going on around us as well. Maybe things going on at home/work, even a television show we see or book we read and current events. The same things that effect everybody everyday.
Where have you toured? Laidback has made it up to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. We are in talks with booking agents in New Hampshire and Utah. Our newest development is out of the country in Europe and the Balkans playing for U.S. troops stationed overseas.
Anything special about this weekend's show? The State Theatre [Saturday, Feb. 11] is gonna be a good one. The Recipe is the Headliner out of the midwest. The Wood brothers is what excites us though. Chris Wood, the bassist, is also the bassist for Jazz ensemble Medeski, Martin and Wood who we are all huge fans of.
Future Plans? To keep doin' it. Keep playing music, writing music and see if we can't make a full blown living out of it. With the continued help and support of our friends, family and fans alike there is now doubt that through perseverance we can pull this off.