I think local neo-soul quartet The Secret B-Sides take their name a little too seriously, playing seldom and when they do play it’s an unpublicized show in a tiny venue. There were rumors over the summer that the group had parted ways, citing travel plans, changes in living arrangements and other issues that plague artistic twenty-somethings.
Luckily, those rumors seem to be unfounded as the group has not one but two upcoming shows listed on their MySpace page. The soonest: This Saturday, Sept. 1 at Bobo Gallery (22 Lexington Ave., 254-3426). The following week they’re slated to play Eaties Cereal Bar (48 Commerce St., 505-1851).
The Secret B-Sides are Dan Rousseau on trumpet, Woody on bass, Caleb Sherrod playing saxophone, and Juan Holladay on guitar and vocals. Their sound is vintage ‘70s smooth jazz and soul, really more old-school than neo, but there’s also a twist of post-modern sci-fi that renders their sound if not wholly new, at least not derivative.
Check out this group (do it quick before they go underground again): The Secret B-Sides shouldn’t remain a secret.
— Alli Marshall, A&E reporter
