For a quarter of a century groove-based jam band Buttered Loaf have been entertaining music lovers across Melbourne.
Throughout the early 2000s, Wednesday night was Loaf night. The band, spawned from the Box Hill TAFE jazz and contemporary music course, cut their teeth on a string of residencies at venues like the Public Bar, the Old Bar and the Cape Lounge.
With a mix of classic funk, soul, reggae, roots, rock, jazz and blues tunes and original grooves, Buttered Loaf soon became a byword for a good time, especially among fellow Melbourne musicians.
While the band has continued to play and develop, each of the five members – organist Sam Cope, guitarist Gideon Cozens, drummer Selwyn Cozens, saxophonist Joe Greenway and bassist Yuri Pavlinov – have all played extensively in live or in the studio with some of the biggest names in Australian music.
Selwyn said the shared love of all things old school and a focus on giving it all up for the song were at the heart of the Loaf sound.
“There’s a lot of improvising, but Yuri and I will quite happily sit on a groove and just not deviate for 10 minutes while the soloists shred, so we still have a dance floor oriented thing,” he said.
“We’re all musical omnivores, we’re all just ferociously into music. When we all bring it the band is a sum that’s greater than all its parts…I have a great appreciation for how lucky I am to have been able to play in a band like this for 25 years.”
Buttered Loaf are at Beav’s Bar on Sunday 8 February. Visit trybooking.com/events/landing/1527607 for tickets and more information.
