For Cy Pierpont, The Hi-Bridge Band began with a return to music he once thought he had left behind. Following Sonny Knight's death in 2017, the former Sonny Knight & The Lakers drummer stepped away from playing before building a recording studio above his garage and reconnecting with former bandmates. The resulting project brings friendship, restraint, and a love of vintage soul-jazz into focus on "Cannonball" and "Nuevo Cose." In this interview, Pierpont discusses the musicians behind the grooves, why fewer notes can make a stronger record, and how life with two young children shapes his approach to making music.
Q: For listeners discovering The Hi-Bridge Band for the first time, how would you introduce the project, and what brought this rotating cast of local musicians together?
A: Hi-Bridge Band is really less of a "band" and more of a studio project of mine. I just happen to be blessed with some remarkably talented friends, so I bring them in to make the stuff actually worth listening to. Everyone featured so far passed through my old band, Sonny Knight & The Lakers, at some point. So it's obviously kind of a spinoff of that band.
After Sonny passed in 2017 I pretty much told myself I was done touring or playing out at all really. Honestly, I didn't play a single note of music for a couple of years. All the touring with Sonny probably took my attention off my record label, Secret Stash Records. So I spent a couple of years really leaning back into the label side of things. But, the heart wants what the heart wants and I got the itch to start playing again.
In 2020, my pandemic project was converting the little workshop above my detached garage into a recording studio. As soon as the studio was put together I started writing and recording, first to a 4-track reel-to-reel, and then eventually an 8-track reel-to-reel. Although I've owned recording studios in the past, I knew nothing about recording. I was always on the other side of the glass.
Once I got my arms around it a bit, I started calling over my old bandmates to come through and help write and/or play on stuff. Cannonball and Nuevo Cose are some of the earlier tracks we made in that space. Oh... the studio kinda overlooks Saint Paul's High Bridge, so that's where the name comes from. You get a nice view of it like half the year. I always called it the poor man's view.
Q: What musical backgrounds and influences do the players bring to the band, and how has the St. Paul music community shaped your approach?
A: I mean we all speak the same musical language from our time in The Lakers. Like everyone brings their own thing for sure, but when someone shows up to work with me at my studio, they pretty much understand the feeling I'm chasing. Especially the guys that have all played together before.
I'm the guy in the room with basically no jazz experience. I think that's what keeps a record like this on the rails, honestly. I'm looking for breakbeats, hypnotic rhythms, and simplicity that listeners can really connect with. I like to create the space for some of my really gifted friends to stretch out a bit. But if we're all stretching out, it ain't for me.
Riley literally arranges for and plays in big bands. He has a deep love for that stuff. Blair is just, Blair, man. He's the best country guitar player you'll ever meet. But he can also pick up an archtop and make you cry with beautiful chord melody stuff.
Connor (woodwinds) was a pretty regular sub in the later days of The Lakers. That dude is a musical sponge. He does everything from Celtic folk gigs to rock, funk, you name it. He's incredible. He and Riley still gig a ton together. You wouldn't believe how fast they can work.
I was extra lucky to get Kevin Gastonguay on Cannonball. He subbed in for The Lakers a few times, but I wouldn't want to give the impression he was a regular or anything. I'm pretty well convinced at this point that he's an alien. No human can be that talented, and also be that easy to work with. Like he must be part of some elite alien strike force sent here to gain our trust and admiration and eventually take over.
Q: Your sound blends soul-jazz, funk, and R&B, with plenty of room for the groove to breathe. How do you decide when an instrumental needs another layer and when it needs more space?
A: Great question! If you've ever heard my project with Riley called Pierpont & Helgeson, you'll know that I love adding lots of layers to arrangements. That's such a huge part of what P&H records are all about. This isn't that. There's way more restraint in the arrangements here.
For the Cannonball/Nuevo Cose release, I just wanted it to feel like my friends and I in a room. I never really had to give it too much thought. I have a deep love for 60s and early 70s soul-jazz records. Most of those records were cut with really simple ensembles: bass, drums, guitar, organ, and like a horn or two... maybe some percussion. So I stuck to that formula I guess.
But it's such a cool question. Because I really do think space is kinda the name of the game with these tracks, even Cannonball, which has all those hand drums. I remember when Riley came over to write that tune. I had already demoed out all of the bass, drums, guitar, and percussion... so he was basically playing along to that on organ. I just kept saying, "less notes, less notes."
He recorded some ideas and I would play it back for him, continually taking chunks out with the mute button. I told him to write it with so few notes that he's kind of embarrassed by it. He's so cool. So many musicians would be a little upset by that. But he was down. He approaches his work with very little ego. Whatever the song needs, he's there for it.
Anyhow... that's how that one came together with so much space in the head. It makes me smile that you clearly picked up on that in some way!
Q: On "Cannonball," Blair Krivanek's guitar moves from tightly controlled funk into a fiery lead. How did the track develop, and what made that guitar moment the right centerpiece?
A: BK's a bad bad boy. That's all there is to it. When you have access to a talent like that, you just give him the space to do his thing.
As for how it developed, this record is pretty organic. It's just a simple head tune, yah know? Go listen to those old Grant Green or Lou Donaldson records and you'll hear the same kinda setup and delivery. Blair just really knows how to shape a solo so it feels very musical.
Q: What does "Cannonball" suggest about the music you're working on next? Can listeners expect more singles, a full-length release, or opportunities to hear the band live?
A: Honslty, I dunno. Riley and I are working on the next P&H LP. Blair and I just started another LP as well. I'm meeting up with another former Laker, who isn't on this stuff to discuss an LP built around his new compositions. I've also started a record with a killer vocalist (for which I'll continue to call up my former bandmates).
So I kinda think the Hi-Bridge stuff will just sort of happen when it happens. Maybe we're on a session for one of these other projects and someone has an idea they wanna try. Maybe we start something for one of these other records and it doesn't fit. Whatever.
As far as live shows, I think that's still a no for me. A local promoter just hit me up about it and I passed. I don't really do anything half way. So if I suddenly start doing shows, I'll go all in on that. The logical conclusion of gigging is touring, and I've got two small kids at home, so I really don't wanna spend time away from them.
I always thought it'd be super cool if the rest of the guys wanted to do it with a different drummer, though. So who knows.
Q: Recording in Cy Pierpont's home studio overlooking St. Paul's Highbridge gives the project a distinctive setting. How does that intimate environment affect the performances, and what do you hope listeners feel when they hear the finished recording?
A: That spot was super cool. It was small, like 400 square feet. Just one room. No separate control room. It felt good in there for sure... Cozy. The house was build in the 1870s, and the little studio spot above the detached garage was very unassuming. Anytime someone came up there to work for the first time, they were pretty shocked when they entered the space.
I'm kind of obsessed with playing as quietly as we can on sessions at my studio. Even when it sounds like we're diggin in, it's actually pretty quiet in the room. It just always seems to sound better to us that way.
What I really hope listeners hear is friends making music together. It's a pretty intimate sound, and I hope they can put themselves right in the middle of it. My family and I have since moved, so I'm not set up in there anymore. But the new spot is waaaay more of a vibe honestly.
Listen to The Hi-Bridge Band's "Cannonball" here: https://sc.lnk.to/hbb-Cannonball.
