Retrospective Episode 4: Van Powell from Vanimal Kingdom and Joslyn Hampton from Joslyn and the Sweet Compression (Plus Updates on Front Range Fires)

Before the episode starts, the host takes a minute to address the various fires that have started in the Front Range, including his personal experience, and reminds everyone to stay safe and follow the fire restriction guidelines.

Vanimal Kingdom started as a writing project by bass player Van Powell during his time at the University of Arkansas. Drummer Aaron Sandry, who has known Van for about ten years, helped him compile the original lineup of the band by finding members online and compiling them from other groups. While the lineup has changed since its founding, Powell believes that the group is now mostly set, which allows for more time for everyone to work on new material together.

The current line-up consists of Powell, Sandry, guitarist Saar Schnitman, trombone player Jon Gauer Jr., and alto saxist Casey Wilkes. The members of the band take from various influences from jazz to rock. While Schnitman takes from influences such as Prague rock and bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Gauer is more into jazz influences and even has his own fusion group, the Jon Gauer Octet.

Joslyn Hampton and her stepfather, Marty Charters, had played in cover bands for years before Joslyn and the Sweet Compression was formed. Eventually, they decided to come together and create a band to perform their original music, making an album before gathering the other band members that make up the current roster. These band members include Robert Frahm on the guitar, Steve Holloman on the keyboard, Smith Donaldson on the bass, Rashawn Fleming on the drums, Trevin Little on the saxophone, and Chase Fleming on the trombone and trumpet.

Hampton cites Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Khan as personal influences and James Brown, Prince, and blues artists as influences for Charters. Hampton was not fulfilled by the typical 9 to 5 jobs that she worked in, recognizing that despite how difficult making a career in music can be that it was the career for her. Her band aims to recreate an “old-school, kind of nostalgic funk and soul” vibe in their music.

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