Mosaic drummer Marcus Bleecker has a new gig. He's hitting heads for The John Popper Project.
The band includes Blues Traveller lead singer/harpist John Popper, bassist Tad Kinchla and DJ Logic, who all came together casually with no game plan, Bleecker said by phone from a tour stop in Atlantic City, N.J. — on what also happened to be Bleecker's birthday.
"I got a call two years ago and heard John was getting together a band and needed me to play drums," said Bleecker. "I have known him since we were kids, and I always knew that we would be doing some music together sometime in our lives.
"Anyway, when we all got together, it was really laid back. I have known Tad for years, too. The only person I didn't know well was Logic. But our first meeting, we just got together and started jamming things out. Since I knew John, I didn't worry about getting songs together. I just followed his lead."
The group did some gigs and some bootleggers caught the act. The tapes found their way to Relix Records. "Someone liked what they heard and threw some money our way so we could make an album. That surprised us because we're not a band that makes music to make money. We were trying something totally different, and it's been doing well so far."
What makes Bleecker smile is that people actually know the words to the songs when the band plays live. "Some of these songs haven't been out longer than a couple of weeks. And that's cool for us.
"When I turn on the radio, I don't hear anything that turns my head. I grew up listening to Dizzy (Gillespie's) drummer Art Blakey. I loved Duke Ellington and Max Roach. My parents were also '60s children, so I got into what they liked — The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. In fact, that's who I listen to when I get ready for a tour. I go back to (Led Zeppelin's) John Bonham and (Hendrix's) Mitch Mitchell.
Bleecker added that he has a 21-month-old son, "and when he wants to get into music, I hope he goes downstairs into my record collection like I did my parents' albums. There's nothing on the radio that I want him to listen to. And, I know I'm being very broad, because there is occasionally someone on the radio that is good, but for the most part, I hope my son picks through my old albums to discover his music."
If you go
What: John Popper Project, Trevor Hall
Where: Suede, 1612 Ute Blvd., Park City
When: Saturday, 9 p.m.
How much: $15
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com