If on a Tuesday evening you find yourself with nothing exciting to do, you might hear yourself thinking, “I remember people talking about the Seamonster Lounge and that band McTuff – maybe I should go there.” If, as it happens, you decide to get on a bus, call a taxi/uber/pink mustache/orange flag/horse and buggy, walk or drive to the Seamonster on a Tuesday night, say, around midnight, you will see, in the back right corner of the shotgun-style bar a trio of musicians: Joe Doria on keys, Andy Coe on guitar and Tarik Abouzied on drums.

The band, which plays magical, dance-inducing music precisely and with an uncanny ability to improvise, has a new record out, McTuff vol. 3. The instrumental record is laced with sticky licks, it knows when to tug and pull with pacing and how to electrify in synchronicity and, most importantly, how to surprise with musicianship and a sense of play. Simply, the thing hits! The Monarch Review got to ask One Super Important to each band member about the group’s genesis and how the new record came to fruition.

Jake Uitti: How did McTuff, a band with so many musical moving parts form, from it’s first rehearsal to the culmination of vol. 3?

Tarik Abouzied: McTuff existed for years before I joined the band. I, like many others, used to go to Seamonster on Tuesday nights to watch them do their thing and was always blown away. D’Vonne was and is one of my favorite Seattle drummers, and Joe and Andy both have this rare quality of being master musicians that always put the groove and the song ahead of any selfish tendencies. Though I was sad to see D’Vonne go two years ago, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to make music with these guys.

Even having heard the songs dozens of times before, getting up to speed took a while. Nothing is ever played twice when you’re in a band with Joe Doria, and it took a lot of gigs for me to find the hidden road signs in his playing. That’s what the first year of Seamonster was all about for me, and by the time we were recording Volume 3 in December of last year I finally felt comfortable having a musical conversation with him and Andy. As far as I’m concerned, that’s what the record is all about.

Volume 3 is a musical representation of the way the three of us interact. There’s a lot of humor and playfulness, with a strong foundation of familiarity and trust in each other’s skills and ears. We know each other really well and had been playing that music for a while by the time it was recorded, and I think that closeness is evident in the album. A lot of our personal influences also come through in the writing and improvising, from Jimmy Smith to Jerry Garcia to Soundgarden, and it’s fun to hear how such a wide variety of music comes together without any one crowding out the others. I think that’s a reflection of the respect we have for each other and the space Joe gives Andy and I to do our thing while essentially playing two instruments at once.

Anyway, enough about Volume 3. Great things are ahead, can’t wait for Volume 4.

Andy Coe: I remember Joe asking me if I wanted to join him, Skerik and D’Vonne Lewis for a Joe Doria Quartet gig.  The concept for the music was essentially paying tribute to Jack McDuff, with a little Jimmy Smith and Curtis Mayfield thrown in for good measure.  The show was great!  So we scheduled another.  Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice… the band, along with my brother David, had been throwing around band names.  The name McTuff  came up and just sort of stuck.

After about a year of playing shows and festivals, we started a weekly Tuesday night gig at the Seamonster with the McTuff Trio.  We continued that weekly along with tons of other quartet/trio gigs along the West Coast, South and Midwest for about 3 years.  At that point the band came to a crossroads and almost ceased to exist.  Joe and myself decided to keep doing the Seamonster weekly while trying to find the ‘right’ drummer.  That’s when we found Tarik and it just felt right.  2 years later now, through the perfect combination of badassness and comedy, we’ve come into our own again as a powerful trio.

Before we recorded Volume 3, we had been playing and working out the songs at our shows for a while.  That along with everyone’s superb musicianship and playful attitudes made for a very good day in the studio.  Like Volume’s 1 and 2, Volume 3 is a completely different beast and really showcases what McTuff has become.  One of the things I like about this band is our adventure’s into the unknown.  We rarely know what we’re going to play or how exactly we’re going to play it, but that’s how we find new places and work towards playing the vibe of the moment.

Joe Doria: Almost every Hammond player out there knows the GODS of the instrument (Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, McGriff …and on that list goes) and their music. I loved that sound and so began the process of dragging out a real Hammond rig and playing live. I had been playing shows and weeklies with “The Dan Heck Trio” for many years were we did a lot of Wes, Jimmy, Jack and more along with originals and completely random covers of pop/rock/soundtrack music with the organ trio format. And in the duo, “DOS(e)” with John Wicks, that continued even further with more obscure (but groove-centric) song selections and styles. Anything and everything essentially was fair game and put into the organ trio format. It was always about improvisation, concept, and listening. It’s also where I learned my own way to re-arrange on the fly from song to song on each show, which then creates a “no show is the same” vibe – the basis of McTuff.

I knew Skerik (one of the most musically honest and curious players in town) and played with him in projects like “El Guzano” with Mike Stone to his incredible “Syncopated Taint Septet”. He fully understood the organ based music thing so he was my first choice on sax of course. I knew I needed a guitarist who not only understood the organ jazz thing, but had the versatility, openness, and attitude to handle a lot of other styles, and so Andy Coe was my first choice.  I had met D’vonne Lewis on random outside gigs, loved his personality and being, and whenever we played it was a natural lock (best way to put it)… so natural that I rarely (throughout all this time) have had to guide or explain too much in regard to the music. It was just there with us, which is special, so he was my first choice on drums for the project. And so began the concept of doing a little show at a little venue called “Egan’s Ballard Jam House” where we did an Ode to the music of Jack McDuff (and McGriff, and Jimmy Smith, etc.). I believe it was David Coe (Andy’s brother) back then who shouted out the band’s name which was humorous but eventually stuck because it was so apt, McTuff!! We decided to do more shows. I introduced my originals and the band was killin’ it, and so McTuff was off to the races.

Doing a trio weekly at The Seamonster we built the repertoire which led to “McTuff Volume 1, and playing more shows and fests and entertaining people. The band was evolving wonderfully in scope and sound and that soon led to a very different and special “Volume 2: After The Show” release. A very different release and still one of my favorites.

But life throws some curve balls and overtime players move on, so McTuff shows slowed as I found myself in need of a drummer. Keep McTuff going or no? I wondered. Andy and I eventually met and played with Tarik Abouzied and once again saw the next evolution of McTuff. Play on!  Tarik is another of the area’s most adept drummers and that combined with his wonderful energy, awesome sense of humor and attitude, has led to the current and fun new McTuff sound. Playing weeklies together, we spawned “McTuff Volume 3: The Root” (which also features our friend Skerik again). It’s a very special release comprised of originals showcasing the new McTuff sound, playfulness, and edgy drive that keeps listeners entertained and feeling good. It just feels right.  I’m very proud of this release and all the members.

Yes I put McTuff in motion, introduced the originals and more, but the McTuff sound and vibe…the “IT”…it’s not about me, it’s about the human beings above COMING TOGETHER TO CREATE… and it is wonderful. Hopefully we’ll see many more years of these creations.