Performing Thursday at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, St. Paul & the Broken Bones is a powerhouse rhythm \u2018n\u2019 blues revue out of Birmingham, Alabama.<\/p>\n
The band, complete with punchy horns, pulls the deeply-felt feels from vintage Stax, Muscle Shoals and Motown and applies it to inspired original songs. This band has appeared at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Carnegie Hall. In 2015, they were invited to open shows for the Rolling Stones.<\/p>\n
The not-so-secret weapon here is singer Paul Janeway, who formed the Broken Bones with bassist Jesse Phillips. Janeway grew up in a devout Pentecostal home, and church \u2013 the expressive, southern variety known as Charismatic Church \u2013 was his bread, his butter and his toast in the machine.<\/p>\n
Early on, Janeway intended to go the distance and get ordained as a minister (hence the name of the band).<\/p>\n
But the call of secular soul music was simply too great, and after more than a dozen years St. Paul & the Broken Bones continue to spread its gospel around the world.<\/p>\n
NPR calls them \u201cone of the nation\u2019s best live bands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
St. Pete Catalyst: It\u2019s been 12 years since we last spoke. I thought that you would pretty soon be the biggest band in the world. That hasn\u2019t exactly happened, but here you are \u2013 how are things going? You good with where the band is?<\/p>\n
Paul Janeway: I think it\u2019s going well \u2026 I mean, I\u2019m not unhappy. I have a happy life, I get to play shows and create \u2026 it\u2019s a career, which is something to be really happy about.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve had success on our terms, and I think that\u2019s a big deal. We\u2019re doing well, and I will take that any day of the week.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Can you tell the story about how your church-going parents were secret rock and soul fans?<\/p>\n
My mom especially \u2013 my dad just kind of did what my mom did \u2013 she was very adamant about me not listening to soul. Or anything! It was all religious, gospel, that kind of stuff. But they would tell little stories every so often, like \u201cOh yeah, we saw the Commodores,\u201d and I was like, what?! You know what I mean? They saw the Stylistics, and the Temptations. What?!<\/p>\n
We would listen to Marvin Gaye, but it was always pre-\u201cLet\u2019s Get it On\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d Marvin Gaye. It was all \u201cHeard it Through the Grapevine\u201d and Motown, early stuff.<\/p>\n
I talked to them about all this not too long ago. Because I have a little girl now who\u2019s 5. And obviously she\u2019s going to grow up completely different than I did.<\/p>\n
My mom was like \u201cWell, I was just trying to protect you.\u201d And I was like \u201cFrom WHAT?\u201d<\/p>\n
I always tell this story: My cousin gave me a Nirvana CD, and she threw it away. She says \u201cIf you listened to Nirvana, you probably wouldn\u2019t sing the way you did. So, you\u2019re welcome.\u201d I said, I guess you\u2019re right.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
You said somewhere that the Stylistics is where you got your falsetto from. Is that something you aspired to: I want to sing this kind of music, and tear the roof off?<\/p>\n
All I knew was that I could typically sing the female part, and the male part of the duet. I just knew I could do that. Do both parts.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
You could be Marvin AND Tammy.<\/p>\n
Exactly! And I didn\u2019t think that was that big a deal. I thought anybody could do that.<\/p>\n
I never thought I was much of a singer. I didn\u2019t know that anyone can\u2019t. I mean, I sang in church, but it was a small church. And I had a pastor who, for better or worse, was really big about humility. He obviously knew I liked singing in front of people, but he wouldn\u2019t let me sing a lot of solos. I had to sing in the back. It worked, because it\u2019s taken me a long time to think that I\u2019m not a bad singer.<\/p>\n
But that was never my goal. My goal was to have a church, be the pastor of a church.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So what changed? Did some girl say \u201cYou have an incredible voice?\u201d<\/p>\n
My parents got divorced when I was like 16. Small town, small church, it changed everything. And they shoulda got divorced, don\u2019t get me wrong, but that changed a lot and it made them more worldly, right? Some people go a little bit wild.<\/p>\n
You start falling out of love with some of the stuff you hear from the pulpit. I was about 19 or so, and I was like \u201cI love writing music and I can play guitar a little bit.\u201d I didn\u2019t care about learning anybody\u2019s song. So I went to an open mic one time, and it got a reaction. That\u2019s when I was like \u201cOh! OK,\u201d and it kinda snowballed from there.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve heard this before: The world associates this kind of R&B with African American singers. Do people turn up at your shows, or they see the band on TV, and they\u2019re surprised \u2026 it\u2019s a white guy?<\/p>\n
For me, growing up you don\u2019t really think about that. Because if you think about Charismatic Church, they\u2019re very similar in Black and white culture. So you don\u2019t really think in that way. Now, you\u2019re like, obviously. I get it.<\/p>\n
I think the thing for us \u2013 you get that one time, and then people are over it. You get that surprise that first time, maybe, where somebody\u2019s like \u201cI didn\u2019t expect him to look like that,\u201d but then the kind of novelty wears off. Then you\u2019ve got to be \u201cAll right, are the songs any good?\u201d [laughing] \u201cAre THEY any good?\u201d You gotta prove it.<\/p>\n
So I think that happens, but like I said it\u2019s nothing I ever thought about until we had an audience.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hear a lot of Al Green in your voice \u2026<\/p>\n
Yeah, but once again, I didn\u2019t grow up listening to Al Green. I heard some Sam Cooke, I heard Marvin and I heard the Stylistics.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a large band. When you and Jesse put it together, was having a horn section always an important factor?<\/p>\n
God knows it\u2019s not financially beneficial! Especially in these times. But it was always part of the plan. I always wanted a horn section just because I love that style, obviously. And I also thought it was something you didn\u2019t see a ton of people doing. And you still don\u2019t!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s expensive, but it became so much the fabric of what we do, it\u2019s like \u201cOK, that\u2019s just the way it goes. That\u2019s just part of the package.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny, we had a management change, and someone mentioned \u201cCould you just fly in the horns, where you don\u2019t actually have to have the players?\u201d And I was like, \u201cNO! Absolutely not. That\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That would kill the vibe. Live horns is a part of our thing, so we make it work. You make it work.<\/p>\n