Small things can come in great packages and for the jazz trio Mississippi Rail Company the challenge of being trio is one they welcome.
“There’s a lot of young people who are seriously interested in the roots of American music and, I think, finding those people and reaching them is a big part of what we want to do,” said John Paul, music industry junior and bassist of Loyola band, Mississippi Rail Company.
The trio, made up of Paul, music industry studies junior, Sam Shahin, jazz studies junior, and Travers Geoffray, Tulane environmental studies senior, has been playing music together for three years, released their debut, self-titled EP which stands for Extended Play, this past June.
“We wanted to go in, punch it in, and we did the whole thing live,” Geoffray said.
“Including the vocals, which is pretty rare now,” Shahin said.
The EP has four hand-picked songs, beautifully describing the band while incorporating influences such as Tom Waits, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters and Skip James. Paul’s bass tones, coupled with Shahin’s beats and Geoffray’s dynamic piano chords and voice, allow them to create songs that truly emulate the down and out world of the blues, while still allowing the listener to snap their fingers to the tune.
“There’s two sides of blues, there’s this real down and out sort of thing, then there’s this other sort of sexual, romantic side,” Geoffray said.
These boys may have a simple time explaining their interpretations of the blues, but when it comes to their music they have been faced with the challenge of addressing their number one issue: the lack of a guitar.
“Our biggest challenge is there’s only three of us,” Geoffray said. “We don’t have a lot of weapons.”
“There’s not a lot of crayons in our box,” Paul said.
But, according to the band, some of the best bands were trios: Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana and (early) Green Day and like these influential bands, their lack of an instrument option forces Mississippi Rail Company to hone their craft.
“I feel like a lot of our problems would be solved very quickly if we had another instrument. It’s a challenge that, I think, ends up making the song more musical,” Geoffray said. This trio has a simple goal.
“I want to bring all of these different traditions that we play to a new and younger audience,” Geoffray said.
Shahin laughed and said, “I’m just doing it for the chicks, man.”
Ashley Curtis can be reached at
