Little Feat might have begun life as Frank Zappa?s brainchild, but they moved out from under the shadow of their brilliant benefactor and into a genre all their own.
Just as Deadheads used to follow the Grateful Dead from city to city, Little Feat tours inspire many fans to take to the highways.
But while Dead fans may have traveled in VW vans, Little Feat fans likely arrive at gigs in sporty BMWs.
“There is clearly a cross-demographic and different ages,” Fred Tackett said from his Arkansas home. “But a lot of our fans were into us in college when they were really big radicals. Now they?ve gone on and are successful, but come see us to relive those college years.”
Such a number of the fans travel from show to show that band members have become friends with them, occasionally attending fan parties and often taking fans? business advice. Tackett recalled a time when one fan respectfully suggested the members sign CDs, because they?d sell more copies.
“They?re great like that,” said Tackett, laughing that the members hadn?t realized something so obvious. “They work on finding us places to play, find the cool coffee shops and cafes and put our [promotional] fliers up and communicate with each other about what little bar we should all go to after the show.”
And just what kind of a band prompts this devotion from fans?
The short version is Little Feat started in the late 1960s as a rock band, evolved into jazz-rock fusion, had plenty of member changes, broke up for a while and then reformed into a jam band, reminiscent of the Grateful Dead.
“The band?s fusion of rock, jazz, funk, boogie and whatever else fit in came from someplace else entirely, and to this day, their fans aren?t sure where that place is/was orwhy they should care anyway,” said Jim Caligiuri of the Austin Chronicle.
That suits Tackett fine.
“It?s gotten so that Little Feat is a framework for a whole lot of improvisation,” he said.
IF YOU GO
Little Feat
» Venue: Rams Head Tavern, 33 W. Annapolis St., Annapolis
» Time: 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (two shows)
» Tickets: $54.50; www.ramsheadonstage.com; 410-268-4545
