Episode 30 - Jeff Spero

Contra Pulse

The intro and interstitial tracks from today’s episode are Julia Delaney/Farewell to Chernobyl from the Syncopaths’ first album Rough Around the Edges, Waves and Smiles performed by Audrey Knuth and Jeff, the Fifth Gear set from the second Syncopath album Five Gears, and Waltz for Ann Marie from Michael Mendelson’s album A Fiddler’s Notebook.

See the Contra Pulse website for transcripts and more.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

See and hear Jeff Spero in action:

• One of Jeff Spero’s main musical projects over the years has been The Syncopaths:
  • Hear them in concert at Echo Summit dance camp in 2017
  • And here they are rocking the dance hall at Balance the Bay in 2015
• Jeff also plays with the Rhythm Raptors
  • Here they play at Fiddling Frog in 2015
  • And at Labor Day Dance Away in 2017
• In 2013 videographer Doug Plummer captured this video of Jeff expounding on his “boom chuck” piano accompaniment style at BACDS AmWeek
• AND he writes dances! Check out some of Jeff’s contra choreography here on his website
  • Jeff has also co-written a book with James Hutson titled “(Southern) California Twirls: A Collection of Contradances and Three Community Histories.”

Some other people and topics mentioned in this interview:

• Jeff mentions pianist Kate Barnes as a major influence—Kate has been interviewed on this podcast!
• He also plays with another Contra Pulse favorite, Rodney Miller, interviewed in Episode 24 of this podcast.
• Another west coast band, Hillbillies from Mars, has had bearing on Jeff’s style