Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
An interview with local band Little Raine Band: annual Day After Christmas show at Saturn
Reading time: 9 minutes
Talking (& laughing) with Davis Little and Daniel Raine, two of the founding members of Birmingham’s own Little Raine Band, about the history of the band and their annual Day After Christmas show.
Lemme set the scene: I’m sitting in the green room at Avondale Brewing Company with Davis and Daniel – the last time I saw them both was at Daniel’s wedding back in November, where we were dancing and celebrating love & happiness. This meeting, this interview is different than that. I can easily say that Daniel and Davis are two of the kindest and most talented musicians playing in Birmingham right now, and I am beyond lucky to call them friends. And I’m thankful they had time to sit down and talk with me – here’s what I learned:
How long have you two known each other? When did you meet?Β
Davis: So we’ve known each other for 25 years, shout out to our kindergarten teacher at Oak Mountain Elementary who put us in the reading corner during nap time.
Daniel: But it wasn’t until sixth grade when we reconnected through music. Davis was in a band and he needed a drummer – I played drums at the time – so we got together. Then I started playing guitar because I couldn’t really write my own songs behind a kit. Davis and I came to guitar around the same time, so every day after school, we’d practice and learn together at a very early age.
Davis: In high school, we began playing a weekly gig at a Mexican restaurant – we did that until we graduated. Our senior year, we met Isaiah Smith [bass player] through a mutual friend, and it all clicked into place. We’d jam every single day in the basement at Daniel’s parent’s house.
Besides the obvious fact that your last names are Little and Raine, could you tell me the origin of your band name?
Davis: It was actually a name that was given to us. We were playing gigs, and people were saying “oh that’s the Little Raine Band,” so we rolled with it.
How long has Little Raine Band been performing together?
Daniel: Isaiah, Davis and I have been doing this for 12 years now.
Davis: And Daniel and I have been playing music together since 2006.
When y’all first started playing in sixth grade, did you think that you would still be playing together 15+ years down the road?
Davis: Oh I did. I felt like the musical train had started going, and I knew it was never going to stop. Music is it for me.
Daniel: It is an emotional connection – we will be living through music until the end. We’ve had a lot of time to think about who we are as players, as bandmates and as brothers.
Davis: Having people that I’ve been playing with since before any of us fell in love for the first time. We grew up through improvised music together. It’s a lifelong journey that we’re taking together.
Who makes up the current LRB line-up?
Davis – vocals and guitar
DanielΒ – vocals and keysΒ
Isaiah Smith – bass – founding member (!)
Jordan Stone – drums/percussion
Desmond Sykes – saxophone
Daniel: We’ve had a lot of different players over the years – DeVonte Hutchins, Justin Sledge, Charles Gray to name a few. They’ve all shaped and influenced who we are today and who we are becoming.
What genre does LRB fall into?
Davis: I would say jazz fusion, progressive rock and jam band.
How has Birmingham shaped your sound, your vision, yβall as band?
Davis: It’s the Magic City and the jazz scene is so big here. I’ve been getting into that since high school.
Daniel: We’d also like to give a shout out to Mr. Jim Duren, our high school band director at Oak Mountain, who poured a lot of time and care into shaping us as players and as listeners.
Where do you find inspiration when starting the songwriting process?
Davis: It all starts with some sort of feeling and spending time with my instrument.
Daniel: And then it takes discipline and a different muscle to finish any song. We have tons of half written songs.
How do you get out of a creative block?
Davis: At the Nick late one night, Holley Malone told me to “not wait for inspiration.” If I just hold my guitar that increases my chances of something creative happening.
Daniel: You learn one song and it can evolve into your own new song. If you have writer’s block, go back through old voice memos – maybe look into the past.
Can you tell me the significance of LRBβs Annual Day After Christmas show? Is there anything special in store for the night?
Daniel: We’re thankful for Layne Flournoy [of Zydeco] for believing in us many years ago. Layne gave us some really sweet opening slots for these bigger bands coming through town and eventually originated what has become an annual tradition for us. We’re very excited to be able to say we’re hosting our 10th Annual Day after Christmas show this year.
Davis: No matter what, we know we’re working toward this Day After Christmas show. It’s a good way to check and make sure the wheels are still on our musical bus. And we have some special things in store for the show this year – there’s going to be a theme with the songs and covers and possibly a few sit ins.
You mentioned y’all aren’t touring as much and LRB releases an album every four years, how do you engage with your audiences in between shows or the time in between releasing music?Β
Davis: We donβtΒ really engage directly with fans during the in-between. We stay connected to our community through playing in side projects like our Steely Dan project called the Major Dudes.
Daniel: And I play with the Stepdads with Zach Austin and some other projects. And Davis plays and tours with his girlfriend Haleigh Black – they have a duo together. We’re always playing – it’s how we keep the magic alive.
How does LRB measure success?
Davis: We can be playing music to no one and be having the time of our lives. We are not crowd pleasers. We tend to play songs that fill us up which in turn fuels the energy of the audience. Β
Daniel: Success is more about creating, building and putting out the art that we want to put out.Β It’s challenging ourselves to write incredible music.
Over the years, what would you say your most transformative performance was?
Davis: I remember one show at WorkPlay with DeVonte playing drums – it was a big show, and it felt right. It felt like the band was hitting 100% – all of our ideas seemed to come out effortlessly.
Daniel: I think about Acoustic Cafe, and that first festival that Steve Masterson invited us to play. It was incredible – it was one of our first major festivals.
Davis: We played the first Acoustic Cafe AND the last one, which was an honor. Those festivals were where we learned who we were as people.
Daniel: We have so many memories in Birmingham venues – like Avondale Brewing – and we’re very thankful for all the venue managers and booking agents who have given us the opportunity to play our music in their spaces.
What do you want your audiences to takeaway from your live shows/performances?
Daniel: We want our audiences to enjoy the show as much as we do on stage. It’s definitely a symbiotic relationship, and we hope to leave the people wanting to come to the next show.
Davis: We hope they have the time of their daggum lives.
What do you believe keeps people coming to LRB shows or streaming your music?
Daniel: Part of it is family, the community of people who come back and love the music together. We wouldn’t be able to do this without them.
Davis: After 10 years, there are some people who really enjoy what we have to say. Itβs really cool to look out in the crowd and see people who have been to all 10 of these Day after Christmas shows.
Is there any big news to share with your fans? Any upcoming releases?
Daniel: Weβre in the early stages of the writing process for our next album, so be on the lookout!
Do you have any current, local artists youβve been listening to?
Davis: Choko Aiken & Gary Wheat – some of the best jazz musicians Iβve had the privilege of hearing and playing with. They are inspiring. Daniel and I just played on Ian Cuthbertsonβs new record – it came out recently!
Daniel: Our involvement with Winston Ramble is obvious – theyβre brothers to us. And Oxmoor – theyβre young and hitting the ground running – watch out for them!
Davis: Queen City Avenue – instrumental, jazz fusion & funk. Oh and we love The Yellow Dandies too! I wish we could plug everyone we’ve ever played with. Birmingham has a lot of talent.
Do you have anything you’d like to say to the musicians of Birmingham?
Daniel: Never stop playing. Stay with it. Figure out ways to keep yourself motivated and never stop playing.
Davis: If a musician is actually reading this, being a musician is hard. Playing good music, playing music that you’re proud of is success.
Do you have any words you’d like to leave BhamNow readers with?
Davis: If you made it this far, thank you for reading.
Daniel: And we hope you make to Saturn on the day after Christmas. If you’re not able to be there, then give us a listen!
Give yourself the gift of hearing live, local music the day after Christmas by grabbing a ticket to see LRB at Saturn on 12/26. I hope to see you in the crowd.
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If you dig stories like this, please let us know @bhamnow or leave us a comment. If you’re not able to attend Little Raine Band’s December 26th show and you’d like to know about future LRB shows and upcoming releases, give @littleraineband a follow on your preferred social media platform.