Read My Lips McKenzie: These Shenzhen Jammers Are Here to Get Freaky

Jam bands were a part of my regular diet as a young, northeast American concert-goer. There was something electrifying about watching musicians indulge in extended musical improvisational sections over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, often times blending genre after genre till you couldn't tell what was what anymore.

The genre is broad, spanning from the more contemporary takes on the concept such as (prepare for a spoon-full of nostalgia) Dispatch, O.A.R., Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and the Dave Matthews Band (whom I once skipped school on the spur of the moment to see, jumping on a train from New Haven to see them in Central Park, New York – which goes to show where my head was at in junior high), through to the headier, more ambitious bands like The Disco Biscuits and Umphrey’s McGee. And of course, the giants on both sides of the timeline: The Grateful Dead and Phish, whose many followers make up a special subsection of American post-hippie culture at this point.

If you couldn't tell, Americans love their jam bands. So I was curious when I caught wind of a ragtag team of musicians called Lips McKenzie jamming out down in Shenzhen, sharing the spirit of these bands with audiences across China. Led by the excitable Curt Zimpfer on guitar and vocals, alongside Eric Archer (bass), Matt Meloy (drums), and Jacob (keyboards), Lips are a band that’s not afraid to toss in hip-hop breakdowns in the middle of a psychedelic swirl of guitar solos and funk, all the while keeping the atmosphere lively and unpredictable.

I talked with Zimpfer about his love for jam bands, the band’s upbringing, and the "incestuous" music scene in Shenzhen. Catch them at Modernista this Friday, May 17 and at DDC on Saturday, May 18. 

The jam band is a concept that’s both admired and despised – why do you think people have such strong reactions to jam bands? What is it about the style that’s alluring to you? 
Jam music is definitely an acquired taste, and if you’ve never seen a live show you just won’t get it. I was dragged kicking and screaming to my first Phish show and within the first five minutes of the show, I was completely hooked. I think for a lot of people when they first listen to any jam music, it comes across as just kind of boring and noodly. But, once you’re there, and you experience the community, and hang out in the lot before the show, and slam a couple of free beers and a heady vegan falafel from some guy that looks like Jerry [Garcia], you start to get it. It’s not all about the music, that’s not the centerpiece of the experience. It’s all about the community, the companionship, and I think that’s what keeps people coming back. 

I grew up in a time when Dave Matthews Band concerts were a rite of passage, and still have friends who plan their year around Phish tours, or head to Camp Bisco each and every year. What's your personal history with jam bands? 
Much like little brothers everywhere, my musical tastes were largely influenced by my older siblings. My brother would always come home from college with a slew of new music that we would drive around and rock out to. Right around the time I started playing the guitar he took me to my first Umphrey’s McGee show, and again within the first couple notes, I was hooked. I remember watching Jake Cinninger absolutely destroy a solo in the middle of “Dear Prudence” and thinking “I want to be able to do that!” That show was absolutely a defining moment in my life because after that the flood gates were opened. My brother and I were a little bit Jam “bro-ish” and would always start debates with people about how Umphrey’s was so much better than Phish. (One time this culminated in my brother finding himself in the middle of slap boxing match defending Umphrey’s honor ha!) Well, that shit was just dumb. After I was taken to my first Phish show about a year later, I got that, and I’ve been absolutely obsessed with all things jam ever since.

Shenzhen seems to be getting a lot more attention these days thanks in part to its accessibility (making it a prime spot to kick off a China tour) and its increasingly active scene.  What does Shenzhen have to offer these days? 
Truthfully, I feel like the Shenzhen scene was at its peak about three years ago. The days when the Friendly Cannons, Colin Phils, Pokemon Dad, and Spacefolk were all thriving. I mean, we put on a rock show in a literal underground tunnel! Doesn’t get much cooler than that. Back then there was a way better mix of Chinese and foreign bands all playing together. Nowadays you rarely see that unless you’re Thin City and constantly playing with Atta Girl and Die Chiwawa Die. As of recently all the bands that take it seriously have now kind of flown the coop. Everyone is consistently touring and only hits Shenzhen once in a blue moon nowadays, and unfortunately, there hasn’t really been any new blood keeping the hometown underground raging. However, there are still some extremely prime venues fighting to keep it alive. There’s B10 of course, but that’s the “big time” for internationally touring foreign acts and they very rarely make the strides to support lower level, local musicians. Brown Sugar Jar/Public in Futian is a hot spot and a great place to catch some great original live music. Also, The Brew in Futian has a real local watering hole vibe. The house band there is easily the best in the city, and they occasionally have special events with original touring bands coming through. 

There seems to be a lot of ‘sharing’ among musicians in Shenzhen. How many other bands are you guys apart of? Is it difficult to maintain a band when there’s always the possibility of someone dipping out indefinitely? 
Haha yeah man, the Shenzhen scene has the reputation of being a little “incestuous.” Years ago I was playing in three different bands that were all the same musicians, but with different frontmen. Now I try to stay primarily with Lips and I’m the reserve fill-in guitar player at The Brew when they need me. I learned my lesson from spreading myself a little too thin. People coming and going is definitely a concern and is really detrimental to the longevity of some great bands here. That’s why Pokemon Dad ended, same with Spacefolk. I’m actually incredibly surprised that Colin Phils has kept their main core line up for so long. They’ve stayed together through three different countries. 

How did Lips Mckenzie come together? did it take a while for you to find a group of folks who were willing to take this journey with you? What elements would you say your band members add to your sound? Any wild cards in your outfit? 
Lips McKenzie was born out of the ashes of a former project. At that point, I had two musical projects that completely imploded and fell flat on their face due to my own stupidity (broke my arm skateboarding a week before a tour, causing my drummer to quit). So when I formed Lips I really wanted to commit and start taking my music seriously. So I met our drummer, Matt, through a mutual friend. Matt was new in town, wasn’t playing with anyone, and wanted to dust off the old skins. So he and I started jamming and said, “hey, we really have something here.” Eric was playing bass in Spacefolk at the time and was willing to split double duty, so he came aboard shortly after. Jacob was just the icing on the cake and came on board about a year into our existence and really completed the sound. So it all just kind of happened naturally and organically, it was a pretty easy formation. What I love about this band and the people in it is that we all have four very different, very big personalities and it really comes out in our music. Eric is MC extraordinaire and will bust into a fat freestyle at any moment in a jam. Some of our songs have hip-hop elements too and it’s really really cool. So in terms of Wild Cards in the project, yeah it’s definitely Eric. People expect me to play raging guitar solos. No one expects the bassist to rap.

Last time you came through Beijing, it was with legendary guitarist Tom Frost. What was that experience like? What did you take away from Beijing as a whole?
The Beijing scene is an actual scene. Jon from Colin Phils did a great job describing this saying, “Shenzhen is like 10 bands and 200 friends. Beijing is like 200 bands and actual music lovers.” Beijing is absolute the cultural hub of the People’s Republic, the scene feels a little more legitimate, a little more real. It’s really a scene where anyone up and coming has to cut their teeth. 

Tom was a great guy. We had a lot of fun hanging out with him in the green room at DDC. He’s a great performer. Emotional blues really tugging on your heart strings, mixed with some goofy humor and stage antics really made for a fun show. Actually, the next week after that I had the privilege of sitting in with him at his Shenzhen gig and it was a blast! Although, it was quite apparent that I cannot play the blues to save my life… I guess I’m just too happy.

Modernista is definitely a crowd that’ll be ready to bring their dance shoes – what tricks do you have up your sleeve for the show?
I am so unbelievably pumped to play Modernista. That room is so awesome. Yeah, we definitely have a few special antics up our sleeves for both shows that weekend. Expect sit-ins, expect the unexpected, expect mayhem. Audience members: stay hydrated, it’s gonna be a funkadelic dance party like no other.

Catch Lips McKenzie at Modernista this Friday, May 17 and at DDC, Saturday, May 18. 

Never miss a gig: click here for a huge list of live shows in the city, updated daily.

Images courtesy of Lips McKenzie