Staxx Brothers wants you dancing in streets

Published 1:27 pm Thursday, September 18, 2008

Even when you consider that this weekend’s Arts Together festival happens outdoors in downtown Everett, on the Snohomish County plaza, no less, Davin Stedman’s goal still sounds bold.

“I want people to dance in the streets,” the fast-talking frontman for the Staxx Brothers said. “The whole thing we do is like a party on stage. We’re having fun, we’re having a blast.”

Stedman is a good-natured self-promoter, a guy who answers an e-mail about where his band calls home — the answer is Everett — with a 1,375-word response. E-mails like that could be mistaken for ego. They’re not. They’re enthusiasm.

“Not to get hippy-arrogant, but what’s wrong with being in a band?” he asked over coffee. “What’s wrong with making good records?”

Nothing at all, and Stedman intends to prove that this Saturday, during the second day of the Arts Together festival.

The two-day festival, which begins at 10 a.m. today, is a new event that caters to almost every type of artist imaginable: poets, musicians, glassblowers, painters and more. Fifty vendors are expected to set up near the corner of Wall Street and Rockefeller Avenue, showcasing their wares and talents.

The multitude of offerings may help the festival prove its chops in its inaugural year, said Wendy Becker, Snohomish County economic and cultural development officer.

“I didn’t want too many of one type,” she said. “I wanted a diverse lineup.”

Diverse, incidentally, sums up the Staxx Brothers in a couple ways.

For one, the eight-person group seems like a meeting of the United Nations, with a blind, black rapper from Detroit, female back-up singers and Stedman, who is half Puerto Rican.

The group extends a sense of diversity to its music, relying on a variety of influences, including the modern hip-hop of Outkast and classic rock, including the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.” and Otis Redding’s music. The group’s name is an homage to Redding’s home label, Stax Records, the classic soul label.

Stedman, 29, said the group applies a melting pot aesthetic to its sound, trying to find the heart of each track it records.

“All of what we do is our attempt at soul music, but we can take that and apply that to whatever style we feel expresses it best,” he said.

That idea has served the group well over the years. Stedman said he first got interested in music around the age of 15, after having a dream. In it, he was told he would write a hit song called “The 12th Street Blues.” While the song isn’t a hit yet, the group has recorded the track. Fans can download it for free at www.staxxbrothers.com.

And while the group may not be able to make music its sole job — some members teach, others work in public relations — there have been successes, including a set at Bumbershoot 2008 and a recent headlining spot at The Jet Bar and Grill in Mill Creek.

Shows like that already may have introduced some to the band. For the uninitiated, however, simply expect the unexpected from the Staxx Brothers’ 2 p.m. Saturday set. As Stedman said, the group tries to engage the crowd any way it can.

“It’s like pulling the crowd to where you know you’ve got them, and then you throw them a curve ball,” Stedman said. “Sometimes the curve ball’s the best pitch.”

Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.