All About the O

The quaint Bourbon Street restaurant and nightclub on South Main Street has an inviting, casual, charming appeal. There are festive Mardi Gras masks decorating the chalk-smeared brick walls, lined by small booths and during the week, various entertainers can be heard bringing the bar to life. One might expect a jazz saxophonist to keep in the same vein as the New Orleans style décor and menu. However, walk in on a Thursday night between 8 and 10pm and you may be greeted by a cover of anything from Snoop Dogg and Doctor Dre to Incubus, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead or the Beatles.
It may sound like an unlikely combination, but one night of listening to the Super Octavius at Bourbon Street is like the start of an addiction: it might not make sense, but you can’t help but want more.
Though the band performs both electric and acoustically, Bourbon Street Thursdays are always acoustic sets, featuring JMU senior, Nick Pascarella on guitar, junior, Caleb Spaulding on D’jembe, a traditional African drum, and senior, Chris Gesualdi’s vocals.
Perhaps part of what makes the atmosphere so appealing is the relaxed, front-porch jam feeling the trio gives to the restaurant. They play either on a slightly raised stage or directly on the floor, giving the performance an intimate vibe conducive to a chill Thursday night un-wind after a long week and before a big weekend. The band interacts with the audience and often honors song requests, which included a Dr. Dre request last Thursday.
Though the band is known for their unique interpretation of “Forgot About Dre” where singer, Gesualdi nearly passes out after delivering the rapid-fire lyrics, this week they burst into a new cover, “The Next Episode” by Dr. Dre, featuring Snoop Dogg.
“Bet you weren’t expecting that one,” joked Gesualdi. “You didn’t even know we could do that, did you,” he directed towards the band’s manager, senior Greg DiVittorio, who laughed and shook his head.
“They are much more talented than so many bands,” explained DiVittorio. “Chris can sing well, Nick can play anything on guitar and Caleb is one of the better drummers out of any I’ve ever seen. And beyond that, lots of bands say they will do whatever it takes, but this band actually will. They are always willing to play.”
Though the band is fairly young and originally began as a Dangus Kahn and the Tornadoes cover band, though they currently do not perform any Dangus Kahn, they began writing originals six months ago and Caleb only recently joined in July. Acoustic sets at Bourbon Street are generally composed of covers, but the band’s electric set, includes nine originals with several more anticipated to be completed soon.
“The acoustic sets are fun, but we prefer the electric,” explained Spaulding. “In the acoustic set, there are more subtle nuances and it gives a feeling of intimacy, but with electric, there are more sounds available to us with the bass and drums and it makes for a different, more liberating feel.”
The band can be seen playing acoustically every Thursday at Bourbon Street, but for those who prefer their electric sound, they are set to perform with Carbon Leaf at Rocktown on October 28 and potentially at Jamnesty on October 30, impressive additions to their already long list of bands they have played with. In the last six months, The Super O has performed alongside acts including, The Avenue, Thomas Leahy, Skies Over Saturn, Blatant Vibe, The Beatniks, DJ XSV, Aesthetics, The Lyrical Collective, 89 Visions and others, though Carbon Leaf may be their biggest stage-partner to date.
“Right now we’re just trying to get out and hopefully signed,” said Pascarella. “We want people to hear us, recognize our name and our music and we want to make labels jump for us by creating our own buzz here in Harrisonburg.”
So far, the band is succeeding, gaining recognition around the area and growing audiences at Bourbon Street though they just changed their weekly appearances from Tuesday to Thursday nights.
“The band brings good business and is really helping us here,” said Bourbon Street General Manager Celia Perla. “They are really fun, really nice and we love having them.”
“There is never anyone bickering over solos or anything like that,” said DiVittorio concerning the bands likeability. “They play such a wide array of material and play whenever they have the chance to do something.”
However, perhaps the most endearing quality of the band is their energy and excitement for what they do every week. Regardless of the size of the crowd, or the venue they are at, the Super O always manages to deliver an entertaining show and good conversation.
In fact, for an especially interesting conversation, all that needs to be asked is where the unusual name choice for the band developed. Pascarella lit up and spilled into a lengthy conversation about Dangus Kahn and their most popular song, “The Super Octavius” and nearly repeated every lyric and piece of imagery in the song, explaining the idea of sitting on top of the world, the reoccurring riff and the huge mushroom-like figure that follows the singer around in a dream. It was the impact of this song and the meaning behind it that inspired The Super O to adopt the name, though they have yet to cover it.
The Super Octavius has been described as many things: a structured jam band, an eclectic mix of scat, rap and soaring melodies or Incubus on crack, but perhaps the best way to understand the trio is to see them, or rather experience them, live.
“There are so many bands out right now, and so many good ones, but there is also a lot of garbage out there,” said Gesuladi. “Writing-wise, we’ve got a lot to offer and I think playing at Bourbon Street every week really gives us a chance to show people what we’re capable of.”
From the perspective of an avid concert attendant, it is clear that The Super O is capable of a great variety of styles and genres and at making them seem easy. The three JMU students never loose their relaxed, comfortable feel despite fumbled lyrics or a thin crowd. The Super O is the kind of band you would want to hang out with, have at a house party and invite to come back. Their resilience and consistently good music and positive, feel-good vibe make them an instantly likeable band and one you’ll be running back to every Thursday for your fix. Rocktown might be the late-night spot, but from 8-10pm, it’s all about the O.