Organic blues and jazz on tap at The Homestead
By Ross Boissoneau
Sun contributor
These cats can play. That will be obvious when Randy Marsh, Clif Metcalf and Lee Heerspink perform at Music On The Mountain July 22. The next show in The Homestead’s music series at the top of Bay Mountain features the threesome, a.k.a. Cat Daddy, performing music that recalls everything from the soul-jazz of the ’60s and ’70s to modern sounds.
Music is life for Marsh. If he’s not drumming up a storm somewhere, maybe it’s because he’s put down the sticks to showcase his harmonica playing. Or he’s working on his next gig, whether with Cat Daddy, Big Fun, the Jeff Haas Trio, or one of the many other musical entities he performs with.
But that all came to a crashing halt when the pandemic took hold of the world. “In early 2021 I’m not playing anywhere, fighting depression and boredom, wondering what’s next,” Marsh says. “I got a call from Lee Heerspink. I didn’t know him, but he said he was a big fan of Organissimo.” That organ trio, which recently celebrated a quarter century with concerts in Traverse City, Ann Arbor and Milwaukee, features Jim Alfredson on keys, Marsh on drums and a rotating cast of guitarists.
“He said he was doing a recording session and wanted me on drums. Maybe he’d get an organ player.” Marsh suggested he call Alfredson, who agreed, and with keyboardist Dutcher Snedeker and saxophonist Caleb Elzinga on board, Monsters Impromptu was born.
“It was music magic,” says Marsh. But when it came time to perform, getting all the players together became a challenge. “Jim is busy with so many things.” Marsh suggested paring the personnel down to a trio, and he and Heerspink enlisted Metcalf.
Thus was born the band. But a new band needs a new name. The three still hadn’t agreed on a name when they played their first gig, at a now-defunct wine and jazz bar in Grand Rapids. A woman who was there when they were setting up said, “I don’t know you” to the band, then looked at Marsh and said, “but you’re Cat Daddy.”
“I said to the band, there we go, we’re Cat Daddy,” Marsh says. And it stuck.
“It’s a different sound from Organissimo,” Marsh notes. The band does originals that reflect the individual approaches of the players. “Lee is a big fan of Joe Gloss (the original guitarist for Organissimo), but he’s kind of like John Scofield or Bill Frisell.” Metcalf brings together sounds reminiscent of Joey DeFrancesco one minute, Alfredson another, or the gospel-style music that originally spurred his interest in the organ.
Marsh’s approach is similar to what he does with Organissimo. “That was my style, what I brought to the band,” he says. “It’s a little experimental. I’ve got my freedom to create.” The band plays a number of originals as well as the occasional cover, arranged to fit their approach.
Marsh says the group hopes to go into the studio at some point, but coordinating their busy schedules has made doing so a challenge. So, too, is the cost of such a project. “Lee’s busy, I’ve got other things. We haven’t figured out the financing to record.”
Cat Daddy is a multi-generational band. Marsh is still a force to be reckoned with in his 70s, while youngsters Metcalf and Heerspink groove just as ferociously.
“I like playing with cats who are good. It’s a joy to play with younger guys. That’s what Art Blakey did,” Marsh says.
Regardless of age, he says the key for him is working with people who listen to each other. “My biggest gripe is playing with people who don’t listen. They’ve got their arsenal of chops, but they aren’t feeling anybody. Music is a collective consciousness. You play and listen and shape things together.”
So says the original Cat Daddy.
The Music On The Mountain performances begin at 7 p.m. and include a ride to the top of the hill on the ski lift. Tickets for all the shows are $22 and are available at tinyurl.com/Tickets-MOTM. The concerts go on rain or shine and are non-refundable. In the case of inclement weather, they take place at Mountain Flowers Lodge.
