School can be hard. Really hard. There are classes to attend, papers to write, books to read and deadlines to blow off. All of that adds up to stress and time away from friends and family.
Being in a band can also be hard. There are songs to learn, instruments to play, gigs to book and practice every free moment. This means less time to work on that college degree.
Now try combining those two worlds. A life full of textbooks, songbooks, lectures and club shows. That’s where Burris, the latest act to come out of the capital city, comes in.
The band originated as a two-piece acoustic made up of Chris Hochkeppel and Scott Graves, who first met in jazz class. Together, the duo played clubs and bars around the city. Later on, Ryan McKee and Matt Murray joined the Burris lineup, helping to round out the band’s distinctive style.
Hochkeppel, Burris’ guitarist, lead singer and songwriter, is originally from Lafayette. He plays French horn in Tiger Band but is drawn to acoustic singer/songwriter music like the work of Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews Band. His singing style contains elements of both Sam Cooke and Ray LaMontagne.
Graves is the drummer for Burris. Graves, from Austin, Texas, is a music student with a concentration in percussion performance. This focus allows Graves to play with a discipline that both aids in maintaining a song’s backbone and allows him to hang loose in the slacker sections of songs. Scott claims listening to both rock ‘n’ roll and jazz as influence for his methods, specifically naming jazz drummers Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Roy Hanes and Tony Williams.
Adding to Burris’ jazz flavor is the presence of a upright bass, played by Ryan McKee. McKee studies music composition, which is valuable in his work as a bass player. Ryan joked that his major allowed him to “write weird music that nobody will ever hear until [he] can get a good job.” With an instrument that offers much flexibility, knowledge of music’s principles assist McKee’s abilities to tow the line on a song that calls for prominent bass work.
Finishing out Burris’ crew is Murray, another Austin native, who plays percussion. He also has a concentration in percussion performance. What separates Murray from Graves’ drumming is his instruments. Where Graves plays on a drum kit, Murray uses a menagerie of percussion tools, such as congas, bongo drums, a variety of cymbals and a triangle.
Burris’ members have had some trouble describing exactly what kind of music they play. “According to iTunes,” Hochkeppel said, “we’re jazz.” He went on to say, “But I think with all our different influences and what we grew up listening to, it sort of forms this fusion of folk rock and blues.”
This may seem like a wide range to span for one band, but Burris manages to bridge the gap by practicing different styles and covering several varieties of other songs.
“It’s like a gumbo of music,” Murray added.
The band has performed around Baton Rouge, Lafayette and parts of New Orleans. Traveling through Louisiana has resulted in the members of Burris becoming good friends with other popular local acts, such as Levee Daze and Minos the Saint, Speakeasy, England in 1819 and GIVERS.
Since the release of the band’s first EP “Listening” on Feb. 3, Hochkeppel hopes to start an accompanying tour. For now, Burris has a set of shows this week, playing at Capital City Grill Downtown tonight from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Mud and Water on Saturday starting at 9 p.m.