Unexpected jazz-fusion approach of Super Soul Bros. stands out in new wave of video-game cover bands
San Jose’s Super Soul Bros. aren’t shy about identifying themselves as a “video game band,” but they also don’t require audiences to have any knowledge of video games, either. It certainly doesn’t hurt, as their entire set is comprised of video game song covers from games like Mario Kart, Zelda, Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog, but they play them in a smooth, grooving jazz-fusion style. The ensemble is made up of competent players, too, so to a non-gamer crowd, they sound just like a really soulful jazz instrumental outfit.
For gamers, though, there’s a certain shock that comes with hearing these classic video game songs performed by a six-piece band with drums, keys, bass, and a horn section, which really demonstrates how nuanced these old songs actually were.
“If you think about it, all those Nintendo games, they were composed by Japanese composers,” Super Soul Bros. keyboardist Robbie Benson explains. “In the ’80s and ’90s, jazz-fusion was a big thing, and it was in its prime over there in Japan. So a lot of the compositions in the video games already have a funky, jazzy vibe to them.”
With the potential to keep one foot in the jazz camp, and the other in video games, they’ve so far opted to align themselves with video game culture primarily by playing at events like Magfest, where hundreds of other bands will also cover video game songs, or sing about nerd culture. But it’s unlikely many of them have the musical pedigree that Super Soul Bros. does. Benson has been playing music since he was in diapers, and has played with many jazz/funk greats, and several members of the ensemble even studied music in college.
“We’re musicians that just so happen to be doing a video game band,” Benson says. “We’ve been booking ourselves anywhere that is willing to book us, but our shtick is doing video game music. It can sometimes be difficult to find a venue that’s open to that. They’re initially turned off by that idea. But if they hear us, they realize it’s listenable music for anybody.”
Their first gig was at Iguana’s Taqueria in San Jose about five years ago, at the same time as the Fanime convention, where they hoped to catch the attention of some kindred fanboy spirits. It may not have been a video game event specifically, but the chance for overlap with an anime crowd seemed high.
“The exposure we got from it was kind of limited, just whoever felt like getting a burrito. We were trying to play as long as we could, basically. We played on and off over the course of four to five hours,” Benson says.
It went well enough to encourage them to try again, which they did a year later during the following Fanime convention. By the second year, the group had some serious chops. After the show, they put themselves out there more, getting involved with events that catered specifically to video game crowds.
At this point, there is a pretty extensive network of bands playing video game music, like Arizona’s Minibosses, who do math rock renditions of retro video game songs (which also, in their own way, reveal how epic and triumphant these old tunes are). Other bands in this video game scene include groups like New York’s Anamanaguchi, who write original music using old 8-bit video game sounds. Video game bands only draw a cult audience, but that could change.
“Video games is the biggest entertainment industry now, larger than Hollywood, larger than pornography. It’s like a big money maker that, if we play our cards right, we’ll be able to find a niche and make some money doing it,” Benson says.
Super Soul Bros. now has a more prominent gamer audience coming to see them, and Benson finds himself wanting to educate his crowd about jazz-fusion, a genre he grew up loving. The music isn’t as popular as it was in the ’70s, but there is a modest resurgence recently with artists like Snarky Puppy, Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington.
“For a lot of people, they think of jazz as background music, not really music that you engage yourself with and listen to. That’s the general consensus for people that didn’t grow up listening it,” Benson says. “We try to show people, while it’s not EDM, it can still be energetic and really interesting.”
INFO: 9 p.m., Oct. 15. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.
WHAT THE BLEEP DO THEY KNOW Video-game cover band Super Soul Bros. play the Crepe Place Oct. 15.
