Vessel may have a lot of different elements to its sound, but when it comes to the seven-piece band’s overall mission, everybody seems to be on the same page.
“You know that feeling (artists) get when you are being creative,” guitarist Daniel “Dula” Botula says. “You get this trance-like energy. That’s when the magic happens.”
Slide guitarist and banjo player Jonathan Bramel adds, “We are the conduits of that energy.”
The makings of what has become one of Louisville’s most popular and formidable roots-based jam bands began back in 2007, when the founding members — Bramel, Isaac Raymond (bass) and Josh Blaire (acoustic guitar) — met up and talked music at a Widespread Panic show afterparty in downtown Louisville. They began auditioning members, and some musicians from some heavy hitters in the city’s music scene showed up to jam.
“It’s kind of like all these talents merged from different bands,” Botula said.
“I don’t want to call it a supergroup,” Bramel adds, “but for a local Louisville entourage, everyone knows their instrument so well.”
Vessel began playing clubs around Louisville, but where the band really gained traction was at the music festivals at Terrapin Hill Farm in Harrodsburg. The band first started just jamming around campfires in 2008 and eventually worked its way up to becoming one of the most popular headliners and biggest draws. The group also won the Hard Rock Cafe’s 2012 Battle Royale, giving it the chance to headline Louisville’s highly popular Waterfront Wednesdays concert festival.
With Vessel’s current lineup — including Botula, Myron Koch (saxophone), Josh Collins (keyboards) and Harry Ennis Jr. (drums) — the band honed in on a sound that has a foundation in American roots music, but its varying musical backgrounds give it a few different shades, incorporating aching ballads, bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies, or bluesy funk riffage.
“I kind of like to put a spin on roots music,” Botula says.
Bramel adds, “If you could mix The Band and Parliament Funkadelic (laughs) … maybe not that far.”
Because Vessel is comprised of seven talented musicians and songwriters, it decided to take a democratic approach to its first official album. Its first LP, released in 2013, was a double-album, with 17 tracks that feature nearly equal songwriting contributions from each member while giving the listener a pretty accurate representation of everything they could hear live.
“We thought about doing a regular-sized CD, but we had a lot of songs we wanted to put on this album,” Botula says. “I think we all try to support each other as songwriters.”
“And, honestly, everybody writes so many songs,” Bramel adds. “I know every day, we’re all working on a tune we’ve been writing.”
The energy Vessel has been trying to spread with its music has certainly found traction outside the Bluegrass State, with the band making frequent stops in clubs in Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana and West Virginia throughout the year. They once again venture to Lexington to perform at Cosmic Charlie’s Saturday.
(See its YouTube performances here)
The people who are familiar faces in the crowd at Vessel shows know they’re not going to get the same show — or even the same song — twice. But whether you’re a follower or first-timer, Bramel says, the music and the atmosphere will be welcoming to just about anyone.
“We try to put out positive energy,” Bramel says. “We feed off the crowd and the crowd feeds off us. We definitely attract like-minded souls. It’s definitely like a family when we get together for a show.”