Five Questions with… Keith Pray

To celebrate the beginning of Big Soul Ensemble’s summer residency at the Cock ‘n Bull in Galway, Greater Nippertown band leader/multi-instrumentalist Keith Pray was good enough to answer Five Questions.

You’ve been doing shows at the Cock n’ Bull with various groups for a number of years. How did you hook up with the venue, and when did Big Soul come into the conversation? 

I think it was 2018 when I was trying to find a location to bring in Hammond organ great Tony Monaco. I asked Robert Aronstein if he knew of any venues that might work. He suggested the Cock n’ Bull and introduced me to Rick Sleeper, the owner. He was up for it, and it worked great! Rick then asked me to play for the dinner crowd once a month, and I have been doing that since. We joked about the big band a few times (partially seriously, but not knowing how to make it work), then last summer, he expanded his outdoor venue, and the joke became a reality! We played one show, and it was a great fit, and now we will have at least a summer residency going.

It’s hard enough to keep a group together in normal circumstances. With COVID, it’s almost impossible. How were you able to keep Big Soul up and running with all those issues? Is it possible to rehearse a band this size on Zoom? 

The band abruptly stopped as we played our regular gig just before Lockdown. I thought that might be the last of the band, and over the shutdown, some of the members expressed that they missed the gig, so I kept the door open, waiting for the right time, and it worked, and now the band is still together after all that time! There have been no rehearsals, and we have only played one gig, but that still felt good. We never really rehearsed all that much anyway, as logistics are high and pay not so much. It’s a labor of love; if people get worn down by it, they won’t do it anymore.

Will we be seeing new members of Big Soul at the Cock n’ Bull? How hard is it to incorporate new members into the band, given the size of the band’s portfolio? 

The core of the band has always been very consistent, which I am grateful for. There have been musicians who have come and gone as regular members, but they all are a big part of the family. The fact that the band is so consistent means that although substitute musicians come in, it’s not that often or that many. There are a lot of great musicians in the Capital Region, and I am fortunate to be able to utilize a lot of them both as regular members and as substitutes. The difficulty incorporating new musicians is that not many regulars miss many gigs, so I usually don’t have to ask much.

Along with your own material, Big Soul has played & recorded music from band members like Brian Patneaude and contributors like Yuko Kishimoto. Will the crowd hear new music this Tuesday night, and who brought it to the table? 

The band started due to my desire to write big band music. It is not worth the effort without a platform to hear it, so the band started in 2006 when I moved back here from NYC. I love it when others bring music to the band; some of the most fun music has been from those contributors. When the shutdown happened, my desire to write for the band also went on pause. Spoiler alert: I did finish a new tune Friday, and we will try it out on the gig! Put on your seatbelts; we shall see how it goes!

Any chance of a new Big Soul release any time soon? 

Before the pandemic, my goal was to record another album. I started to plan it, and of course, that went out the window. Last year I started to get the itch again and some ideas on how we might be able to do it, and now with a semi-steady gig, I am going to try again, starting with trying to record the band at the Cock n Bull and see how it comes out.

Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble will appear at the Cock n’ Bull on the last Tuesday of every month until August. Seating from 5:30 – 6:30p, with showtime at 6:30p. No Cover. For reservations, please call (518) 882-6962.