Speak Easy showcases the lively creativity of Tampa Bay’s indie music community

st. St. Petersburg — Beige-paneled house in St. Petersburg’s historic Kenwood district, with music leaking through the cracks and lots of cars parked in the yard.

“That belongs to band members. That too. It belongs to people who actually live here,” said Brendon Porter, bassist and vocalist for local band Speak Easy. He wears aviator sunglasses with tinted lenses and points to cars around the house.

Preparing for Speak Easy’s next show on Wednesday in February in progress. In the narrow living room where the early afternoon light shines, another band member Jack Clements sitting in front of his drum set. Keyboards, guitars, bass, bongo drums with chimes, and saxophone fill the practice space, with wires and amplifiers woven in between.

separate rooms In the back half of the house by two mismatched sofas Random items: medieval knight armor, mattress, vacuum cleaner, cluttered desk. The band began playing its own shows at the house, called Historic Jack’s House, in 2020, inviting other bands from the area and around Florida. Guitarist and vocalist Eric Yoder said the name was a nod to the band’s sense of humor and was partly inspired by an episode of “South Park.”

The band sits on a long couch, with Porter, Clements and Yoder, plus keyboardist and vocalist K Sahagian. Yoder talks about how they got started from 2014-2015, when he met at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and opened his mic at a bar on campus.

Each member’s musical influences overlap and complement each other, including The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Marvin Gaye, and Pink Floyd.

“Many of us have great love and respect for the ’70s and late ’60s,” said Clements.

their own sound? It’s a little difficult to define.

“We’ve been called indie funk,” said Porter. “Soul. Something like that. Indie. Indie indie indie.

“Well, as long as we’re independent artists, we’re definitely indie,” added Clements. It’s more like hard rock. ”

The band’s esoteric sound is part of a larger music industry trend of merging styles and crossing genres. Their music reflects the creative freedom of a group that is always trying new things.

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The band’s first release on Spotify is a 2018 EP called “Living Room.” Listening to it, I can imagine a living room with mismatched furniture and my head bent over notes and lyrics. Groovy basslines and Sahagian’s unmistakable vocals continue her style on her 2019 EP, Bloom, which adds maturity and storytelling (especially “Cecilia”).

The band took a giant leap forward with their 2020 single, “Grapefruit.” The single is the most listened track on Spotify with nearly 200,000 streams. If you’re not careful, the words “can you tell the difference between drugs like mine and cheap wine” will be running through your mind for days. Speak Easy’s latest release, her 2022 single called “Moving Up/Breaking Through,” is equally catchy with its well-paired falsetto and foot-thumping melody.

A few days after that practice session, on a night of perfect Florida weather, the band drove about 150 people in and out. Spacious backyard of a house illuminated with blue and pink lights. Set on a makeshift floor, Gainesville-based band MADWOMAN kicked off the night with their own jazzy vibe. Lakeland alternative rock band Glass House Point wrapped up the night after a set of Speak Easy.

At $5 a head, the show portrayed a range of hip-dressed 20-somethings, and even the older residents of St. Pete were connected to different roots. This was the first house show Speak Easy claimed a cover for (usually they solicit donations), and with enough attendance, they could pay other bands and secure their own future acts. Porter said he still has money to help.

This is Tommy Smith’s fourth show at the Historic Jack’s House. His girlfriend, who knows Speak Easy, attracted him to their music about a year ago, and he’s been coming ever since. Smith is a musician who lives in Tampa and often comes to St. Pete’s shows.

“It brings in the right kind of people and the type of music,” he said. “Musicians appreciate good music, [Speak Easy is] very talented. They know good music and are very humble. ”

For a band with no self-proclaimed sound, their discography is a fitting map of work that tells the story of a musician whose only skill grows.

“I just want to make music that feels good,” Porter said.

The band has worked hard over the last few years to spread its music through live shows. They have performed at nearly every venue in town, including starring at the Gasparilla Music Festival. Porter estimates that over the past five years he has performed over 400 shows at over 50 venues. They started putting shows at Historic Jack’s House when they wanted more control over the process.

But bands like Tampa Bay’s Speak Easy have their limits, and it feels like they’ve reached them.

“There’s a lot of growth right now and a lot of really exciting genre mixing,” Porter said.

“We can try to get more audiences at these same venues, but at the same time we have to start branching out,” Yoder added.

For Speak Easy, that means playing on the East Coast. This year she will begin her two tours in April and May, hoping to reach new audiences in cities such as Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte, Charleston and Nashville. That also means seeking out new cities that may have music infrastructure that Tampa Bay does not have, including labels and managers. Another perk of the tour: meeting new people who will help you reach greater heights.

“The more friends you make in these places, the better,” Yoder said.

Yoder explains that part of the strategy is meeting other people, greater than A band that invites them on tour, introduces Speak Easy to even more people, and continues to grow its fan base in discreet and influential ways.

“We feel that there are certain barriers here and even if we are successful, we cannot easily expand into other parts of Florida,” Clements said.

But with a debut album hovering over the horizon, they’re definitely making new music.

“I think the whole project is more fun than a lot of what we’ve done in the past. The songs are much more upbeat,” said Sahagian. “There’s a theme song on there, and some of the other tracks are a little silly.”

Their plan is to release a single within the next month or so and host another house show later this month or in April.

When Speak Easy hit the ‘stage’ for their recent show at Historic Jack’s House, there was a noticeable shift. The people who were chatting in the store appear on the wooden porch. Hood has a dwindling line of vendors selling bagged nachos. Applause scattered around the crowd, now alarmed and mesmerized. When the band starts playing, people instantly jive.

They weave famous covers between new songs and some of their most popular originals. Their rendition of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” is a particular favorite. The power flashes poetically at the end of the song, and the band rushes to reset the breakers as the audience lights up the space with their cell phone flashlights and cheers. Yoder says it happens at least once per show.

They finish their set and bow to hoops and yells for much longer than the band playing the show at the venue.

Keep up with Speak Easy Instagram and Spotify Find next show dates at speakeasyofficial.com.