The six University of Oregon students who comprise The Nouns have only been a unit for three months. But in that time, they’ve acquired an enviable following for any student band. They’ve played in Portland, but they’re focused on Eugene at the moment, gigging at house shows as well as bigger venues like Cozmic Pizza, where they won $200 in cash after competing in the Phi Psi Battle of the Bands.
The money’s going towards recording, and at the time I spoke to them, they were about to head into Sprout City Studios to record their new album. They don’t have a title yet, but they have a tracklist in mind and a solid idea of how the album will sound.
“A lot of our shows are structured improv,” said saxophonist Lee Burlingame. “We’re trying to get in there and keep it as structured as possible but keep that live vibe.”
Musically, The Nouns play a fusion of hip hop and jazz, largely based around the lyricism of rapper-songwriter BigMo and singer Shenea Davis. Numerous members of the band are in other projects. BigMo has released five rap albums on his own, while bassist Ian Lindsay plays in numerous bands, including Burlingame’s jazz quartet and a band called the Leafs with drummer Adam Hendey.
The group formed when Hendey’s girlfriend met BigMo through Rideshare.
“Mo took a ride with her up to Portland by coincidence,” said Hendey. “A day or two before that, I was telling her it would be a good idea to have a band with a rapper, so she hooked the two of us up.”
The rest of the band met through the music school at UO, which the entire band except for BigMo attends. Davis and keyboardist Daniel Surprenant were the last to join, and the sextet made its debut at Black Forest, opening for the Leafs.
Though their style is unusual, audiences react very positively to their music.
“It was crazy seeing the way people reacted to listening to straight jazz,” said Burlingame. “They were doing all the same stuff they would do if we played rock or hip-hop, just dancing and grinding.”
Though the members of The Nouns have a lot of clout from their prior bands, they attribute the amount of success they’ve enjoyed to their performing style.
“We have a lot of fun playing with each other,” said Surprenant. “Anyone who watches us can see that. And we’re doing something with music a lot of people in Eugene haven’t been exposed to, so there’s definitely an interest factor.”