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LUCKY CHOPS BRASS BAND
An Interview With Members of The Band
We first heard the Lucky Chops Brass Band during the Sud de France Festival last spring, which is really a wine crawl to the best French restaurants and bars in New York City aboard a Frenchified double-decker bus. Sounds fun, right? It was. Incredibly so. But it wouldn’t have been half as memorable without the live soundtrack that followed us around the city – a unique mix of funk, jazz, and rock that made everyone aboard itch to get out of their seats and dance.
The Lucky Chops Brass Band has been performing around New York City since 2006. You might already have had the opportunity to hear their magical music-making live; the band’s hard work and infectious music has made them one of the most popular bands in the area and they often play gigs at a diverse range of events – from wine crawls to traditional shows to Bar Mitzvahs and even performances in the NYC subway. Lucky Chops is composed of five friends: Daro Behroozi on tenor sax, Raphael Buyo on sousaphone, Jesse Chevan on the drums, Josh Holcomb on the trombone, and Ivan Rosenberg on the trumpet. Their mixture of traditional funk, jazz, and world elements and their own creative jamming makes their sound unique, but comfortably catchy. Listen to one of our favorite songs on the band’s last EP, Lucky Chops Vol 1, called “Bourbon St. Parade”; it’s a riff on traditional New Orleans parade music with fun solos that will make you feel you’re on Bourbon St. taking in the best music around.
The Lucky Chops’ new EP is coming out this month. Although it’s a busy (and exciting) time for them, we were able to catch up with members of the band via e-mail to ask them a couple of questions about their music and their inspirations.
French Sommelier: When and where did you guys meet?
Lucky Chops: We all met in band class at LaGuardia Arts High School in Lincoln Center back in 2006. Our Sousaphone player thought it would be fun to put a brass band together and eight years later we're still here! Since then we've added some new faces to the mix but our roots are still planted in the five boroughs of NYC.
FS: How often do you practice?
LC: We like to work hard so in addition to our busy performance schedule we tend to rehearse up to four (sometimes more!) times per week. We have to constantly change our practice locations so we don't make enemies with our neighbors!
FS: What are your main musical influences?
LC: We have a wide variety of influences: jazz, gospel, EDM, rock, reggae and beyond! As far as old records go, we are all big fans of Mahalia Jackson, her version of Crying in the Chapel is one of our favorites. We also really like Dvorak's New World Symphony, which dates back to 1893.
FS: What are your main motivations as musicians?
LC: We strive to be the best musicians we can be while making our music accessible for the world to enjoy. We want to create artistic music for the people!
FS: We enjoyed our wine crawl with your music. If you could pair any wine with your music, what would it be?
LC: Well our audience ranges from children to seniors so I'd say we're more of a grape juice band!
Thanks to The Lucky Chops for taking the time to respond to some of our questions. Check out their website at http://www.luckychopsbrassband.com for info about upcoming shows and to find out more about their new EP. Make sure you take in a live show – we promise, The Lucky Chops Brass Band’s music will carry you away!
Elizabeth -
An Interview With Members of The Band
We first heard the Lucky Chops Brass Band during the Sud de France Festival last spring, which is really a wine crawl to the best French restaurants and bars in New York City aboard a Frenchified double-decker bus. Sounds fun, right? It was. Incredibly so. But it wouldn’t have been half as memorable without the live soundtrack that followed us around the city – a unique mix of funk, jazz, and rock that made everyone aboard itch to get out of their seats and dance.
The Lucky Chops Brass Band has been performing around New York City since 2006. You might already have had the opportunity to hear their magical music-making live; the band’s hard work and infectious music has made them one of the most popular bands in the area and they often play gigs at a diverse range of events – from wine crawls to traditional shows to Bar Mitzvahs and even performances in the NYC subway. Lucky Chops is composed of five friends: Daro Behroozi on tenor sax, Raphael Buyo on sousaphone, Jesse Chevan on the drums, Josh Holcomb on the trombone, and Ivan Rosenberg on the trumpet. Their mixture of traditional funk, jazz, and world elements and their own creative jamming makes their sound unique, but comfortably catchy. Listen to one of our favorite songs on the band’s last EP, Lucky Chops Vol 1, called “Bourbon St. Parade”; it’s a riff on traditional New Orleans parade music with fun solos that will make you feel you’re on Bourbon St. taking in the best music around.
The Lucky Chops’ new EP is coming out this month. Although it’s a busy (and exciting) time for them, we were able to catch up with members of the band via e-mail to ask them a couple of questions about their music and their inspirations.
French Sommelier: When and where did you guys meet?
Lucky Chops: We all met in band class at LaGuardia Arts High School in Lincoln Center back in 2006. Our Sousaphone player thought it would be fun to put a brass band together and eight years later we're still here! Since then we've added some new faces to the mix but our roots are still planted in the five boroughs of NYC.
FS: How often do you practice?
LC: We like to work hard so in addition to our busy performance schedule we tend to rehearse up to four (sometimes more!) times per week. We have to constantly change our practice locations so we don't make enemies with our neighbors!
FS: What are your main musical influences?
LC: We have a wide variety of influences: jazz, gospel, EDM, rock, reggae and beyond! As far as old records go, we are all big fans of Mahalia Jackson, her version of Crying in the Chapel is one of our favorites. We also really like Dvorak's New World Symphony, which dates back to 1893.
FS: What are your main motivations as musicians?
LC: We strive to be the best musicians we can be while making our music accessible for the world to enjoy. We want to create artistic music for the people!
FS: We enjoyed our wine crawl with your music. If you could pair any wine with your music, what would it be?
LC: Well our audience ranges from children to seniors so I'd say we're more of a grape juice band!
Thanks to The Lucky Chops for taking the time to respond to some of our questions. Check out their website at http://www.luckychopsbrassband.com for info about upcoming shows and to find out more about their new EP. Make sure you take in a live show – we promise, The Lucky Chops Brass Band’s music will carry you away!
Elizabeth -
