Implementing banjo, harmonica, and mandolin among other instruments allows Chicago based band Pete Jive & Juice Digits to bring out all the foot stomping feel good vibes of bluegrass while being fronted by a man with the right kind of rollicking ‘rough around the edges’ voice to showcase a sound of soulful folksiness. Add in a little a bass and you end up with a pinch of reggae, a dash of soul, and a whole lot of Mid-western charm to fill your ears with.
More recently, this three-piece band has been hard at work playing across Chicago-land, and finishing up the work for their debut full-length, No Sign of Regret, which they expect to release this May.
Currently a few tracks from the upcoming release are available to hear online, such as the December released single, ‘Little Red Cardinal’.
With a sound much akin to cited favorites such as Hank Williams, Pete Jive & Juice Digits are a band worth taking a second look at. The combination of bluegrass and reggae may seem next to impossible to pull off, but this trio manages to do so, and quite well at that. ‘Little Red Cardinal’ fuses these two via a jumpy harmonic rhythm, and a sweetly soulful croon from front man Peter Herbert.
Pete Jive & Juice Digits is a unique group to say the least, and we look forward to seeing what this upcoming full-length brings. Keep an eye and an ear out for the new record come May, and visit the band online to see where you can catch them next.
Band namesake Peter Herbert was kind enough to talk shop with us this weekend and divulge a few details about his musical influences, the first show he ever saw, as well as a little band history.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Pete Herbert: Hm…Old and in the way, The Stanley Brothers and String Bean….it would be an honor to open for the founders of bluegrass and an unfathomable good time!
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Pete Herbet: God (Love), The morning time & Bumps in the road
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Pete Herbert: Someday I WILL play the fiddle!
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Pete Herbert: Steel Train: Trampoline / Hank Williams: You win again / Brian Wilson: Imagination
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Pete Herbert: Alison Krauss : writing or just singing with Her would make my day, simple as that!
Reviewsic: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Pete Herbert: The Beach Boys, it was Carl Wilson’s last show actually..very glad I got to see that one.
Reviewsic: Who are three of your favorite local bands?
Pete Herbert: Cornmeal, The Reggie, The Bluefish Fellows
Reviewsic: What’s the backstory on how the band came to be what it is today?
Pete Herbert: I have been playing as Pete Jive for around 5 years (first group was Pete Jive and the Midnight Riders). I met Juice 2 years an ½ back, we started growin as musicians together, pickin around. I also convinced my good buddy Marc Lamkin, (who had no past musical experience) to start playing Harmonica. He started playin, it was all good… It took an entire year before we realized we should do somethin with the sound we’d created… So here ya go! Pete Jive and Juice Digits
Reviewsic: Tell us about the music people can hear at your live shows- is there a particular concept or creative behind it?
Pete Herbert: We aim to make Every one who hears /sees our music feel a little better about themselves, where they are in Life and where they are going. We play a lot of upbeat bluegrass type numbers and like to pull out some reggae to get em dancin’. Roots music. Every set is different!
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourselves as musicians at the point in your careers as opposed to when you first began playing?
Pete Herbert: Well our Harmonica/Banjo player (Marc) started as the group began.. so he is worlds away from his first note! Juice and I have fallen into a nice groove, we can play off of each other a lot quicker than we used to.. all good things with time.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite venues to play?
Pete Herbert: The House Café in Dekalb Illinois is our home away from home, great food, people and vibrations. We realy enjoyed playing this place, Doc’s on Dill Street, it was in Munci Indiana. The stage was below the bar, there was this hole in the floor with the crowd all lookin down, an people on our level dancin n such, GREAT TIME! I think they tore it down tho… so I suppose we won’t be goin back..
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst music moments so far in your career?
Pete Herbert: Best: I really got a kick out of playin with OG from Slightly Stoopid and all the Musicians we’ve been surprised and stoked to meet let alone play with. Worst: Every time I break a string live (happens almost everynight) I gotta play softer!
Reviewsic: How did you get your starts in music?
Pete Herbert: Learning, then teaching guitar lessons & listening..I realized nothing will happen for me unless I make it happen, a hard lesson to learn.
Reviewsic: What are three words you’d use to describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Pete Herbert: Fast / Folk / Love
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
Pete Herbert: We will release the new album on Itunes & Cdbaby in May.. the Hard copies will come soon after with a release party. & a midwest tour in late summer to spread the word.
Tags: Interview, Local Music, Upcoming Release, Upcoming Shows
