“I thought it would be cool to do something with Ian [McGuire], who I have known forever and even had jammed with a few times. We approach what we do in a completely different way, so the whole thing just works. Ian’s got ridiculous chops and I am more of a guy to set up a chord progression, make ambient textural sounds, things like that. We both flip roles when we play together, but I would say those are our strengths. He’s a guy who can blow you away with his jazz piano chops, but he’s totally embraced the Danza concept and is using synths exclusively and it’s awesome. We did that first show with Mike Greenfield from Lotus on the kit. He’s been a friend forever and I have so much respect for him as a drummer and it was just great to have him in the mix right off the bat. We are going back and reinterpreting some of the Brothers Past catalog for this sound as well and a lot of it works, so maybe we are onto something.

“In addition to two keyboard players, we’re also unique in that we have a rotating drummer position. Clay and I have both been at this a long time, and we’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible drummers over the years in all kinds of projects and recording sessions. Off the top of my head, guys like Johnny Rabb, Allen Aucoin, Chuck Treece, and KJ Sawka come to mind. Of course there’s Mike Greenfield from Lotus, Kito from Particle and quite a few others as well. The thought was that we knew enough drummers who might be interested in collaborating with us for a show, or a run of shows, that maybe it might actually be cooler to not have a regular drummer. Having that variable from show to show would keep the improv new and fresh as well. We’re playing both of these upcoming NYC shows with Kito from Particle, and I really enjoy playing with him. He has great energy behind the kit, he’s a good listener and really knows how to pace the improvisational stuff.

“I think the goal right now is to create new music. I have a studio space at School of Rock and a pretty crazy assortment of synths and toys there to use. Finding the time to really get into a good creative flow is always the challenge, but there is new music on its way. And there is old music that will be re-interpreted. That’s been an easy starting point for us, but I think you will see some newer material coming at the shows this summer. Maybe an EP…”