“The group combines rock, funk and just about anything else that gets the feet moving and the heart pounding. This tight six-piece is a truly exceptional act.” – On Tap Magazine
Most bands claim an eclectic sound: The Method found a way to get it done.
Representing decades of collective years of music making, with roots formed from Upstate New York to Virginia, The Method has in its short time played throughout the DC and Virginia scenes and left jaws agape and dancing legs sore. Coming off the heels of a string of shows in early 2009, The Method released “Boulevard Sessions EP,” the band’s first major studio effort. The band celebrated by playing a landmark CD release show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. A month later, the band won Ontap Magazine’s Battle of the Bands and earned the opening spot for Blues Traveler at the Celebrate Fairfax! festival in June. The Method was also named Runner Up in Relix Magazine’s national Jam Off, a competition for unsigned artists that delve into the jamband community.
Genesis of The Method
Formed in late 2007 from the remaining skeleton of DC-based projects, the band quickly coalesced around a sound that had little boundary and total freedom. First and foremost the members of the band were musicians, and were willing to draw influence from almost anything: Hill Country blues, middle period Motown, late jambands, even the legends of prog-rock. A typical show ranges from uptown grooves, funk, progressive jams, 70s-tinged rockers, and hooky pop numbers. Most of all, a Method show is a lot of fun. Fun for us, and definitely fun for our fans.
An idea started in the living room of two transplants in Atlanta with Justin and Satya writing and editing and critiquing each other’s song sketches. Having found musical refuge in projects and bands other than each other, the sketches remained unformed. When the two inexplicably ended up in Washington, DC at the same time, they thought it would be audacious to reject fate, and committed to creating something permanent — a way of building on what they started 600 miles away.
Dave, an old friend and many time bandmate and musical collaborator of Justin’s, was an obvious call to develop the sound and flesh out the ideas. Armed with a prodigious knowledge of theory and an amazing technical ability, Dave also brought with him Tim, a veteran of the DC scene and someone whom he had been looking to play with in a committed setting. In the Spring of 2008, we met Brian, whom the band saw playing keys methodically and tastefully with another band on a shared bill, knowing instantly he was needed to augment The Method.
After a string of shows and many productive sessions in the studio, The Method embarked on a brief hiatus in the beginning of July to do the usual “soul searching.” In Fall 2008, the band, rejuvenated and with a new sense of commitment, got back to practicing with a new addition – friend and frequent guest vocalist Scotty Fowler. With his powerful and melodic voice, Scotty brought to The Method a dimension it needed to take the next step. Scotty also plays a pretty soulful guitar, adding yet another weapon to the band’s already deep arsenal.
In August 2009, The Method bid a bittersweet farewell to one of the founding members of the band, Justin, who decided to pursue a career practicing medicine after years of healing dancing-challenged people with his sick bass grooves. In his stead, we plucked Brian Zupruk, an Ithaca native and veteran musician, out of the ether. Brian will continue to provide the groove The Method relies on to keep bodies shaking at all of its shows.
Over the past year, The Method has been exploring new musical territory at mid-sized venues across the greater DC/NOVA area, and is expanding into the broader East Coast scene, playing shows in NYC and Baltimore. Thanks for all your support as we continue to push ourselves.
The Method is:
Brian Dodds — keys, loops
Scotty Fowler — lead vox, electric axe
Dave Salvo — lead axe, vox
Satya Thallam — electric and acoustic axe, sax, aux., vox
Tim Ward — drums, vox
Brian Zupruk — bass, groove
*Justin Shuster — songwriter, original bassist, resident physician
