Improvisational Stylings of EOTO

Based purely on my own assumptions and observations, the majority of the festivarians that will attend this year’s 10,000 Lakes Festival, at minimum, have heard of The String Cheese Incident.
Whether they have seen one of their shows, they more than likely are familiar with the band and the impact The String Cheese Incident made on the jam music community.
But EOTO is a far cry from what SCI did or has done. Do not expect to show up and hear “Smile” or “Miss Brown’s Teahouse”!

The brainchild of Jason Hahn and Michael Travis from String Cheese Incident, EOTO is an entirely improvisational electro dance party. With the incorporation of such a vast array of music genres, spanning from drum and bass to ambient new age to hard rock, every show EOTO performs is unique and one of a kind. This lends to EOTO having an audience that is committed to hearing what these two have to say, musically.

Although not entirely “switched,” Jason Hahn still plays percussion while Michael Travis plays bass, guitar, keys and operates a number of electronic devices and computers to add the textural sounds EOTO is known for creating on the spot. Michael Travis is accustomed to being a percussions man, having played drums for The String Cheese Incident on his own before Jason Hahn joined.

If you have never DJ’d yourself, watched closely how a DJ creates his/her sounds, or watched a youtube.com video on “How To Be A DJ,” then you may be unable to comprehend how uniquely difficult it is to create, with only two people, every single sound your audience is hearing. In a band, each member creates a particular sound or group of sounds using their instruments to achieve a balance within the arrangement. With EOTO, the intention is put on the here and now. To evolve each sound that is created further into the next moment is at the core of the flow of an EOTO concert.

In 2006, when EOTO was born, I was able to see them live. Although their sound then intrigued me and led me to see EOTO again, it was in 2008 that EOTO won me over. The arduous nature of performing completely different, completely new and unheard compositions each night is mind boggling. Most bands or musicians practice extensively before each show so they can nail down what will be played, how it will be played, and when in the show it will be played. To release themselves as artists to the process is quite admirable. Each night EOTO could fall flat on their faces and flop, but rarely within their sets does this happen, and certainly not for a whole show. To share that experience with a crowd bonds the musicians with the crowd.

EOTO is a great addition to this year’s 10,000 Lakes Festival, and I promise you, if you want to work out your boogie and get down for at least a few, treat yourself and go see EOTO. If nothing else, it is entertaining to watch Michael Travis on stage! (You’ll see the head bob when you see the show!)

EOTO: Barn Stage, 10KLF; Thurs., July 24, 11:30 p.m.