The Big Dirty to jam at Kimball’s

The Big Dirty, based out of Shamokin, will perform at 10 p.m. April 16 at Kimball's Pub, 972 Second St.

The band consists of Mike Barata from Freeland on drums; Nick Merena from Shamokin on saxophone and vocals; Russ Nahodil from Shamokin on bass and vocals; and Todd Troutman from Lancaster on guitar and vocals.

The Big Dirty's Web site says that it has "performed from the Canadian border deep into the Blue Ridge Mountains, spanning from the Atlantic shore to the Midwest."

The band specializes in jamming but is quick to sidestep the label "jam band." Barata said, "We look at it more as improv-ing [as in improvisational playing]. To me, it seems like there's a structure embedded in jamming. We don't know where a song will go. Note for note, beat for beat it's different."

As with most experimental bands and artists, The Big Dirty is enthusiastic about bringing music lovers along for an uncertain ride. "The improv part, when it works, is as exciting for the listener as it is for us," Barata said.

In the studio, songs evolve from one member's inspiration and then are fleshed out by the rest of the group. "What it comes down to is the freedom that we all have in the writing process. Somebody will have a groove and we all will play it, but everyone else puts their musical two cents in."

Many of The Big Dirty's songs are instrumentals, but when vocals are a part of the mix, like in the stunning song "Lawnmower," they're well-considered. "When we wrote that, there was some discussion about the lyrics," Barata said. "The more we played it, the more we felt our way through it, the more it made sense to us."

And even though most of the music-making process is democratic, when lyrics are involved, they come from a very specific place. "The vocals and lyrics came from Nick Merena, the sax player," Barata said. "He's the one who pens the lyrical content. It all came out of his brain, which can be an exciting place."

When asked about whether The Big Dirty's music was a philosophy of life, Barata drove home the idea of artistic searching. "I'm not gonna speak for everyone, but if I had to pin point a philosophy for the band, it would be 'exploration.' Musically, we're about going in a direction unsure of the outcome," he said.

Music isn't the only arena where the band is experimental, though.

The posters it uses to promote shows are often striking and memorable, many times using a modern, pop-collage aesthetic. "[The posters are] the brainchild of our guitarist, Todd Troutman. We are just as blown away when Todd comes up with the posters. He's the one who arranges them and gets them out there."

The band isn't new to Williamsport, they've played at the Bullfrog Brewery, 229 W. Fourth St., before and a few times at Kimball's. "Kimball's is a great time. It's a really nice place to play," Barata said.

In a thoroughly contemporary move, The Big Dirty's album, "On the Prime," is available for free by download on its Web site, www.thebigdirty.com. "That's something we're stoked about," Barata said. "Our approach to our music is: 'Take it and share it with everyone.' That's what we're all about."