The Jobe Woosley & Co. band plays a blend of original music and classics from the ’60s and ’70s. Woosley (right) is joined by Kate Kisselburgh and Justin Schepige. BRADLEY COOK/THE CHRONICLE
COTTAGE GROVE – In so many different ways, the Jobe Woosley & Co. band is a good mix.
First and foremost, they blend well together. Their music flows through each other, creating the kind of groove you can hop on and ride for a while.
They play a cool mix of songs, too. As Woosley says, ”We love the music from the ’60s and early ’70s, so we’ll always play some of that stuff.” True to his word, they played Neil Young’s ”Old Man” (1972), The Doors’ ”Back Door Man” (1967), the Grateful Dead’s ”Truckin’” (1970) and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s ”Heart of Gold” (1972) among their covers.
Perhaps most important, though, is the mixing and moving parts of the band.
Let’s take their show Friday night, Jan. 17, at the Brewstation for an example. Bass player Justin Schepige has his own band, called DTW (”There’s a lot of name gags,” Schepige said. ”Everybody has their own version of what DTW means”) and several members of that jazz-oriented group sit in with Jobe’s band from time to time.
In fact, the DTW horn section has been recruited for Woosley’s first full-length album, ”Saturn Return,” which is due out this summer.
”I’m glad to be working with Jobe. We’ve been doing a lot of Americana,” Schepige said. ”I come from a jazz background, so it’s normal for me to have moving parts all over the place.”
Woosley and his keyboardist, Kate Kisselburgh, knew each other from Sweet Home High School, but they had never played music together.
”Three years ago (Jobe) reached out,” Kisselburgh said. ”I had been home-schooling my two kids, and I was at the end of my marriage. So the timing worked out well.”
Woosley & Co’s original music, including ”Long Ear,” ”Honestly,” ”28” and ”Stop Moving To Oregon,” is imaginative, vibrant and highly entertaining.
So yes, this is a band you really should consider following … and by that I mean literally follow them around. Who knows if ”Judith” – their van’s nickname – will make it to the next show?
Judith is a red and white 1969 Ford Econoline van that hauled all the equipment and band members to all 52 shows is 2019. She’s not much to look at on the outside, but she’s fully decked out inside.
”We had one breakdown in Bend – a broken transmission line,” Woosley said.
Fortunately, help was close by and Judith kept rolling.
”Judith is kind of like our mascot now,” Woosley said. ”I went through a lot to get her. So we’re gonna keep rolling with her as long as we can.”
They play in this area quite often. Their next show is Saturday at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene.
Wonder who’s going to show up with Judith?
