Say the word “provel,” and it’s an easy guess as to what you’re talking about: that odd conglomeration of dairy and processed oil that comes together to make a white “cheese” that is iconic to St. Louis. Sometimes it’s used to cover pizzas from Imo’s; sometimes it’s rolled and fried into bite-sized pieces; and from time to time, you can even find it lurking in the occasional sandwich. But for drummer Jonathan “JT” Taylor, it’s a word that, in plural form, serves as the perfect name for his four-piece band.
“The band name is not just a reference to our hometown; it’s also a nod to groups you would have heard on Stax or Motown records, like The Bar-Kays or The Miracles,” says Taylor, who, along with bassist Bill Newmann, guitarist Jim Peters, and keyboardist Phillip “Spanky” Manaois, make up the band. “I’ve never heard a St. Louisan have trouble with [pronouncing] it. It happens occasionally, but usually just out-of-towners,” Taylor says. The recipients of the best R&B Band from the 2016 Riverfront Times Music Awards released Greatest Hits last month, and will be playing at Halo Bar on May 22. In this interview, Taylor talks about being working musicians, defining their sound, and, beyond the name, what makes their identity authentically St. Louis.
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You’ve been a band for six years. Have you always played soul/funk/R&B as a band or is that the evolution your sound has taken?
The terms “funk, soul, and R&B” are mostly accurate, but they really just serve to get the conversation started. Our sound is built on the basic guitar, organ, bass, and drums quartet, and there’s an obvious starting point with that instrumentation. Initially, artists like The Meters, Booker T. and the MG’s, and Curtis Mayfield were our touchstones. We quickly left that material behind to explore our own compositions and arrangements of songs from other genres, but we haven’t abandoned that particular approach to composition and improvisation. We could have gone the route of more improvisational bands with 10-minute instrumentals, but we wanted to play songs with melodic hooks and occasionally lyrics as well, so we incorporate a sort of popular songwriting sensibility into our material. The band will evolve and explore, but we’ll continue to have a pocket and a flavor to our sound that will associate us with funk, soul, and early R&B influences.
Congratulations on your newest album, Greatest Hits. You had a “triple-release party” for it at Atomic Cowboy last month on the same night with the bands Bockman and The Best Cat Memes. How did you hold your own?
We go back a ways with the members of those bands. Jim knows Sean Canan (of Bockman, guitar) from their Mizzou days in the ’90s, and the four of us have been playing shows with Sean and Andrew Weir (of Bockman, keyboards) for a few years as various incarnations of the Voodoo Players. As a result, we have overlapping local fan bases despite our disparate styles. When we realized that both bands had albums in the can, the decision to book a show together was easy. Alex Baisch (The Best Cat Memes) is an old friend as well, and he, too, had a new album coming out—thus, the “triple throwdown” was born. We also added a horn section and an extra percussionist for the show, which amped up the energy. So it was really a big celebration with some our favorite St. Louis musicians and music fans. It’s a testament to the deep talent and tight-knit musical community in this town that we could pull off a show like that.
It seems that all the members of the band have additional side gigs and other music commitments outside of The Provels. How does being in this group help everyone find their balance, musically?
The reality of being a working musician is that you most likely cobble together a bunch of different gigs to make a career for yourself, and you might not have creative control over every gig. So, The Provels is a significant creative outlet for each of us. And the material is challenging enough that you have to bring your A-game every time. As a result, we push each other to play better, which is a valuable thing to have.
Aside from the name, what other parts of the band do you feel make it uniquely St. Louis?
We’re definitely invoking sounds and musical ideas with geographic roots in St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and everything in between along the Mississippi River. I’ve lived here for almost 14 years, and the other guys were born and raised here. So, the city—its music, food, architecture, humidity, etc.—is pretty much part of our DNA.
What’s next for the band? What can we look forward to this summer/fall from you?
More shows! We’ve been picking up events like Schlafly Art Outside, the Maplewood Concert Series, and Summer Gras (at Old Rock House), and we were fortunate to play at Delmar Hall recently, so hopefully more of that. We’ve all traveled with bands before, but not much together as a group. So we’re planning a run out west to test the waters. In meantime, the new EP is out, and we’re already writing new material for another album down the road.
What is a Provels show like, and why should someone take the time to attend?
If you like good, soulful music played well by artists who love what they do, you’re going to have a good time.
The Provels play The Halo Bar (6161 Delmar) immediately following the Government Mule show at The Pageant on Monday, May 22. Admission is free. For more info, go to thepageant.com.
