Episode 49 of Hooked on Creek features my interview with Julee Avallone from Depth Quartet.
Julee talks about performing in Depth Quartet, recording an album with the band and the joy she gets from performing on stage. Julee also talks about her background in music, her love of Max Creek and her experience performing in the Mike Gordon Band.
This episode features the following songs:
- Concoction performed live by Depth Quartet at StrangeCreek Campout on May 28, 2006, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
- Witchi-Tai-To performed live by Julee Avallone with Rob Fried from Max Creek at Camp Creek at Indian Lookout Country Club on July 26, 2003, in Mariaville, New York.
- Trees performed live by Depth Quartet at StrangeCreek Campout on May 28, 2006, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
- Line performed live by Depth Quartet at Sully’s Pub on January 7, 2005, in Hartford, Connecticut.
- 1021 performed live by Depth Quartet at StrangeCreek Campout on May 26, 2007, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
- Wake performed live by Depth Quartet at StrangeCreek Campout on May 28, 2006, in in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
- Start Over (including Angry Fruit jam) performed live by Depth Quartet at Sully’s Pub on May 14, 2005, in Hartford, Connecticut.
Transcript of episode 49
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 49.
Thank you for joining me on episode 49 of Hooked on Creek. This is a very special episode because it features my interview with Julee Avallone from Depth Quartet. Julee is an accomplished musician. She sings, composes music and plays multiple instruments.
In this episode, Julee talks about performing in Depth Quartet, recording an album with the band and the joy she gets from performing on stage. Julee also talks about her background in music, her love of Max Creek and her experience performing in the Mike Gordon Band. I think you are really going to enjoy learning about Julee’s musical journey, her connection to Max Creek and her passion for creating and performing music.
In the episode show notes, you will find links to the music featured in this episode, and if you head over to hookedoncreek.com you can read a full transcript of my conversation with Julee. Alright, now let’s get started.
Korre: Julee Avallone, welcome to Hooked on Creek.
Julee: Oh, thanks for having me.
Korre: Julee, I want to talk about Depth Quartet and how you got introduced to the Max Creek scene. But before I go into that, I’d like to learn about your background in music and how you got introduced to the lifestyle of music.
Julee: Well, I remember reaching up to the piano when I was like 1 or 2 years old. I would reach up to reach the piano keys, and I remember figuring out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. And my dad, he’s a piano player. I mean, he was a psychiatric social worker, but he also plays piano. So I was really used to hearing music in the house and I don’t remember wanting to do anything else but be a musician my whole life. So, I knew right away.
Korre: And when did you start playing an instrument then?
Julee: Well, I started playing piano, like I said, right away. And then I took lessons when I was a lot younger — like first, second grade. Then when I was in third grade, my dad bought a flute at a garage sale and I walked into his bedroom and the sun was shining in from the window and it was sparkling off the silver keys of the flute as he was playing it. And it was almost like one of those heaven moments where the chorus comes in and they’re like, “Ah”. And it was like “the flute” and I was like, oh my God, I have to play the flute. I have to. And basically, yeah, that’s how it happened.
Korre: Your family is a artistic musical family. Is that sort of the surroundings you had?
Julee: Yeah, my Uncle Vinny was in the Hartford Symphony playing bass and he taught at University of Hartford and my dad plays piano. Apparently — I just found this out — my dad, every time his family would get together, they would sing barbershop quartets. He was Italian and they would just all sing beautiful harmony barbershop quartets, like cousins and relatives and everyone with their 11 kids and their families, and they all knew all the same songs, which I think is kind of cool.
Korre: At a young age, did you see yourself as a musician when you were older or did you not think that was really going to pan out for you?
Julee: Oh no. There was no other option for me at any point. I was like, I’m going to be a musician. That’s the only thing I can do. That’s the only thing I want to do. My path was very clear at an early age.
Korre: Well, one of the things I learned about you when I looked you up online is that you have a master’s degree in contemporary improvisation from the New England Conservatory, and that sounds really cool. What does that mean?
Julee: So cool. Oh my God, you have no idea. It was like the most fun thing ever to get that degree. So basically, I got my undergraduate degree in music from Arizona State University, which is also amazing and I recommend it to every single person in the world. It’s a wonderful school and it’s affordable and they have a great music program. But I got really involved with playing jazz and playing different cultural music — Indian music, African music — and I got really into playing doubling instruments. And so basically I just wanted to do everything that I could do musically.
And so when I wanted to go back to get my master’s degree, I wanted to get better at playing saxophone and clarinet and I wanted to study other cultural music and New England Conservatory has always been my dream school. Of course, that was my first pick and luckily I got in and they gave me a scholarship and I was very excited about that.
Korre: What types of music were you listening to at that time? What was inspiring you to be on this journey?
Julee: I definitely have a wide range of music I like to listen to. When I graduated from Arizona State, I traveled around the country with a guitar player. We had a duo called Grape Ape. We just sort of traveled around the United States for six months and just played in coffee shops for tips and somehow we survived. We just had a really good time staying at friend’s houses and traveling around the United States. And then we were going to go to Europe, but it didn’t pan out. And I stayed in Connecticut.
I got two jobs right away teaching at University of Connecticut and University of Hartford, and then also working at Lasalle Music in West Hartford where I got to meet The Allman Brothers guys and Living Colour people — the people in that band. And that’s where I met Toni Fishman, too, from TELEFUNKEN. That was really fun.
And that’s when I went out to the bars and I met Dr. Juice. Now Dr. Juice was the first band I played in in Connecticut and they were connected to Max Creek because Joe O’Brien, who is the lead singer in Dr. Juice, played in a different band with Rob Fried, the guy who passed away that played percussion at Max Creek. And that’s my connection to them musically, although I’ve been going to see them since I was 13.
Korre: How did you find yourself going to Max Creek shows or listening to that music?
Julee: Well, like I said, when I was 13 years old, I don’t want to say I was a bad kid, but I was definitely sort of — everyone thought I was a hippie and I kind of didn’t fit in until I got to hang out with the Max Creek people. And I started going to see them and I went to every Camp Creek all the way through high school. It was so fun and I loved the music. And then all the guys in the band, they’re just so nice. All of them are just so nice. And everybody that goes to see the band is really nice. So it’s just felt very comfortable.
Korre: How did you then take it from being a fan of Max Creek to get to know the band and end up playing with them and ultimately getting into Depth Quartet?
Julee: Well, that was definitely because of Rob Fried, the percussionist, because we played in our band, Dr. Juice — which is another awesome band you should definitely check out. We have stuff online. So he played in Dr. Juice and he was really fun in our band. We loved having him. And I hung out with him. And I’d met all the guys in Max Creek a few times, and I would sit in with them at Camp Creek and stuff like that.
Rob would be like, “Oh yeah, have Julee sit in.” And Scott [Murawski] and all those guys, they always let everybody sit in. They’re so nice about that. They try to be fair, which I think is really sweet, too. They give everybody a chance and they give everybody multiple chances and they’re really fair about it. So if you asked to sit in, they would always include you. Unless you hogged up the stage, they would always ask you back.
And so they’re always happy to have people sit in. And so that’s how I met Scott, by sitting in with their band. And one year me and Rob Fried did this really cool thing where I played Native American flute and he played this Native American drum thing behind me. I wore this really sparkly outfit and it was all very magical. We got a lot of good feedback about that.
And after that point, that’s when I started talking to Scott as a friend and everything. I was like, “Oh, Mr. Murawski, thank you so much for letting me sit in.” And he’s like, “Oh, come on with the Mr. Murawski.” He’s like, “I’m Scott and you’re in my family, so don’t worry about it.” And I’m like, “Oh, that’s so nice.”
Korre: Where did the idea of Depth Quartet start?
Julee: Well, actually, Depth Quartet started before me. The keyboard player from Max Creek was in it before I was as the quartet person.
Korre: So, Mark Mercier.
Julee: Mark Mercier was in it. I was at Sully’s one night, which was like that club we used to play so much — all our bands, everyone’s band. I had a regular gig there, the whole thing. And, I was there and I saw them play and I was like, “Oh my God. This is the only band I want to be in.” I have had a series of these soulmate moments in my life, and that was definitely one. I was like, “This is the band I want to be in. I don’t want to be in any other band. This is it.” And so then I sort of put it out there, too. I’m like, “This is the band. This is the band.”
But Mark was in the band at that time. Then he ended up not being able to do it because everyone else lived in Boston and he lives in Connecticut. And, they really like rehearsing. We used to rehearse so much. So, after I did the Mike Gordon Band with Scott and got to know him better. Then they called me up right afterward to audition for Depth Quartet, and I was just like, “Oh my God. I’m geeking out. This is it.” This was the only band I want to be in. And I was so excited for that. They had me do the tune Trees, which is really hard. I did a pretty good job on it. And they’re like, “OK, you’re in the band.”
Korre: I heard you talk about Mike Gordon. So let’s just take a little detour over there. You got a chance to play with Mike Gordon. When was that?
Julee: So that was in 2003 — yeah, 2003 to 2005-ish I would say. It was his first iteration of the Mike Gordon Band. And I’ll never forget, I was at Camp Creek and our friend Eric Freitas, who used to manage Max Creek, was like, “Look, you’re going to get a phone call from a bass player who’s really famous. He’s going to ask you to play in his band or audition for his band.” And I’m like, “Who is it?” He’s like, “I’m not telling you.” And I was thinking either it’s Mike Gordon or Sting. And it was Mike Gordon.
And Mike Gordon invited me up to his house for dinner. I love Mike. He’s wonderful. His mom’s really great and his wife is super, super awesome and she’s really easy to talk to. So yeah, I mean it was great. And then I played for him and he was like, “Oh, yeah.” It kind of clicked right into what he was looking for.
Korre: That’s really cool. Now back to the Depth Quartet story, then you audition, you’re expressing your love of this music and your desire to be in the band, you’re accepted into Depth Quartet. Where does it go from there? Were you in the band thinking this was going to be mainly a live performance group? Were you thinking about recording an album, writing songs? What were the thoughts behind what Depth Quartet was going to do when you joined?
Julee: Well, when I joined Depth Quartet, it was right after I got out of the Mike Gordon Band. So we were all sailing from that, like, “Oh, we’re big time now.” It was right in the middle of getting my master’s degree, and I had that big recital where I had everybody in the world play in it. So we were rehearsing once a week and we would rehearse for five hours, and it was serious.
Everyone in the band is super nerd. Sometimes we’d play the same lick over and over again for an hour, or we play the same song all night just to get it perfect because we were really into it. And I took all the compositional techniques I was learning from school and put them into our songs. We created these really amazing tunes that were very complicated and really fun to play.
I think we always kind of looked at the band as being our dream band and not really necessarily caring what other people thought about it. I think we just did it because we really enjoyed it. Like all those guys in that band are just the sweetest, most wonderful people on the planet, and we’re all very close. We just have a good time. There’s no drama, which is very nice.
Korre: The band members include you and Scott Murawski, but then Greg Vasso on drums and he comes from Creek history, too, and Justin Kolack on bass. Is that right?
Julee: Yep, that’s correct.
Korre: I kind of get a sense of your relationship with Scott. What was your relationship like with the other band members?
Julee: Greg was a superstar. I mean, he’s my favorite drummer in the whole world. He’s just amazing. He has so much personality. He can make any sound come out of the drum. He’s really listening when people are playing, like he plays with you at all times. He’s never ignoring anybody in the band. He’s on top of it. He’s just so superior to other drummers. I can’t even explain it. And he’s got a beautiful singing voice. I wish he’d sing more. He has this really low bass voice when he sings. And, he’s great. He’s smart. He’s funny. He’s super.
I started seeing Greg Vasso play when I was like 15. He used to play in Jiggle the Handle, and then Scott would always sit in with him. And then, he also played in Max Creek, too. But, I started liking his playing way before I knew that I was going to be playing in a band with him. And, Justin’s been on the scene for a long time, but I didn’t know him until I got into the band. I just knew him from being the band play. That’s it.
Korre: In case there’s somebody listening to this podcast who’s never heard Depth Quartet, how would you — with all of your musical background and training — describe the music of Depth Quartet?
Julee: I would say it’s definitely fusiony. Sometimes we dip into a punk rock sound or even a heavy metal sound or jazzy. It definitely comes from a hippie jam band perspective in the sense that we stretch out and sometimes the songs last for a really long time.
But we also have songs that are very short and we like to choose really, really random surprising cover tunes that people aren’t expecting like Morphine or we do some Jane’s Addiction, some Beastie Boys. We do some Rage against the Machine. We did a Billy Joel song at our last Camp Creek that we played, which was freaking awesome.
We like to keep people guessing what we’re going to do, and we try to keep everything really fresh. But mostly, I’d like to say it’s kind of like conservatory music in the sense that it’s all complex written music that’s thought out a lot, and we try to be very experimental and have a good time.
Korre: As a musician, do you enjoy being on stage and performing to an audience? What is that dimension of it like? Because I could imagine you could be a great musician and maybe write music, but is there something else about being on stage, too?
Julee: I was born to be on the stage. I feel the most comfortable when I’m on stage. I love it. I feel like this is home and I feel right. I have always had an extraordinarily loud speaking voice. I hear about it all the time. I got voted loudest person in school. They had made that category up for me. I’m a naturally amplified human being who if I’m on stage, I’m happy. I love it. It
Korre: And you guys released an album in 2006. Was it hard to decide to make an album? Was it difficult to find the time to do the recording? What was it like putting that album together?
Julee: Oh, it was so fun. We did it at this guy, his name is Ducky [Carlisle]. He has a couple gold records, and he’s just an incredible engineer and a wonderful sound person and is really great at what he does. We just recorded it in his house and we did it over about, I think it was a week long period. It was just super fun. I don’t think we did more than two takes on anything. We just had a good time and we just pretended like we were on stage having a good time. It was great.
Korre: The album is incredible, and I encourage anybody listening right now to go check it out. It’s available online and almost all the streaming services. It’s really, really cool. So thank you for doing that.
Julee: Thank you. Thank you so much for noticing it. We had a really good time and we love playing our music. It’s really fun when other people know about it because we’re not striving to get it out there and be popular, but it’s really lovely when people like it.
Korre: Well, let’s transition a bit more towards the Max Creek side of this. How would you describe what Max Creek has been to you as either a musical influence or a community? What role has Max Creek had on you as a musician?
Julee: They’ve been my family forever. I mean, I don’t know if you know Stretchy and Deb or SK or Ryan Suess or Randi Schwartz, Brian Freeman. I mean all those people, they’re my family. They’re those longtime, dedicated Creekers, like the Baker, Shaky Pete. All those guys, they’ve been going to see Creek longer than me and I’ve been going to see Creek for like 35 years. It’s an incredible organization — it’s not an organization, it’s a family is what it is. And you feel so loved and people take care of each other.
Honestly, when I’m at shows, all I do is dance the whole time. I’m one of the spinners. You ever go to a show and you see the spinners with the long skirts that are just like God knows what they’re doing with their hands and they’re just freaking out. I still have such a good time dancing to their music. It feels really good and it’s always really fun.
Korre: Well, what are some of your favorite Max Creek songs?
Julee: I like Just a Rose. That’s one of Scott’s song. It’s about his daughter, Asia. Asia, she’s 10 years younger than me, but still I kind of felt like we grew up together. So Scott has the twins. He has two boys, Ian and Jordan and then Asia. And when I would go to shows or play shows, a lot of times I’d hang out with them. They’re great. They’re great. I love them. And a lot of the songs that Scott’s written are about his kids, so that’s kind of special, too. But I love that song. I think that one’s really, really cool.
Korre: Do you have a favorite venue where you’ve seen Max Creek over the years?
Julee: I have to say the place that I saw the most shows at would be the Living Room, which couldn’t possibly be anybody’s favorite venue because it was the most disgusting place. It is the only place you could go to where someone could throw up in the corner and no one would notice. It’s so gross, but you kind of liked it anyway. I don’t know, maybe it was just because they played there all the time. But, it was in Rhode Island a long time ago. That’s definitely where I saw them the most. I would say definitely my favorite shows are their Camp Creeks where you go camp out and just have the time of your life.
I don’t know if you know this about Scott, but here’s a fun fact. That fucking guy can party. He will play all night long, and if you ask him to sit in with your band, he’ll play the whole time with your band, too. I’ve seen him do days where he played probably 12 hours in a row and then partied all night long and then got up and did it again. I don’t know how old he is. He’s pretty old now, but he keeps going. He’s like the Energizer Bunny.
Korre: Can I ask you a tough question?
Julee: Sure.
Korre: What does the future hold for Depth Quartet?
Julee: Gosh, I hope we’re going to still do it. I don’t know if you know this, but Greg’s in Texas right now, but I don’t see that as a barrier. I know he’ll be back around because he can’t help himself. He just belongs here. And I know that our band will play again. I’m so sure of that. For me, right now, I’m super busy with my family. Before I had kids, I knew kids were a big deal, but I didn’t really know how big a deal. I love it, but it’s really a lot of work and very time consuming.
I am just trying to enjoy that as much as possible. And COVID kind of killed music, and so everybody’s been not playing and now things are starting to pick up again. I play in musicals. I’m just about to start a musical next week called Big Fish, which I’ve never even heard of. So, I’ve been getting gigs here and there. And, I play with the New England Film Orchestra right now, which is really fun. And, I’ll start a little side project here and there. Well, when I say side project, I mean like Renaissance recorders or a flute duet or something like that.
Korre: What is it like to perform in an orchestra setting versus a band setting? Is that a jarring difference between the two?
Julee: Well, here’s my philosophy and I really feel like my whole life, I felt like this. I will do anything for money musically. So, if you want to pay me to play music, I will be so happy. I don’t care what it is or what instrument I’m playing. I love getting paid to play music. And I will always come at it with a very professional attitude and take it seriously and get as much from it that I can and try to perform as best as I can for the situation. I don’t have any gigs that I won’t do. I love playing music and I’m always happy to do it, but that’s always sort of been my philosophy.
But yeah, playing an orchestra is definitely different. It makes you feel like you’re riding a 50-foot horse — like the wind is in your hair and you’re just flying on this giant horse that’s just seems so powerful and so secure and wonderful at the same time. It’s wonderful. I love playing in orchestras. And, I love playing Renaissance music on recorders. And, I love playing with Death Quartet. And I’ll tell you, I don’t want to play with any other band ever. I just like Depth Quartet. I really like them.
Korre: Julee, is there anything that we didn’t cover that you’re like, “Oh, I think those Creek Freaks would love to hear this story,” or “You didn’t ask me this question, I thought you were going to ask.” Anything like that?
Julee: I’d love to mention the D-Qrew. So the D-Qrew were this unbelievable group of about 25 people that used to support me. When I was living in Hartford, I had a gig weekly at Sully’s. I would come and I would teach a class, and then I would make CDs and they would buy them or invent an instrument and they would buy it. And then I’d play my solo act and they were always there supporting me. And then afterwards, we’d have a little meeting about how to make the music world better or maybe make Grapeland happen or brainstorm ideas about music. That was really cool. There’s a bunch of Max Creek people in that, too.
Korre: Julee Avallone, it was so much fun talking with you. Thank you for joining me on Hooked on Creek.
Julee: Oh, I’m so honored to be here. Thank you for having me.
Big thanks to Julee Avallone for joining me on the podcast. But stay with me, because now I am going to play a couple incredible live performances by Depth Quartet. Coming up later, you are going to hear the song Start Over performed live at Sully’s Pub on May 14, 2005. But first, this is Depth Quartet performing Wake live at StrangeCreek Campout on May 28, 2006, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
And now, this is Depth Quartet performing Start Over, including their Angry Fruit jam, live at Sully’s Pub on May 14, 2005, in Hartford, Connecticut.
That concludes episode 49 of Hooked on Creek. Again, huge thanks to Julee Avallone for joining me on the podcast. She is a lot of fun to talk to and I hope you enjoyed our conversation.
If you are curious, earlier in this episode I featured a clip of Julee Avallone with Rob Fried from Max Creek performing Witchi-Tai-To during Camp Creek on July 26, 2003. I also included clips of Depth Quartet performing their songs Concoction and Trees live at StrangeCreek Campout on May 28, 2006. I played a portion of Depth Quartet performing their song Line live at Sully’s Pub on January 7, 2005, and I also played a clip of Depth Quartet performing 1021 live at StrangeCreek Campout on May 26, 2007.
You can find links to stream or download all the music featured in this episode in the show notes or on the Hooked on Creek website at hookedoncreek.com. And while you’re on the website, go ahead and click the contact link and let me know what you think of this episode. I would love to hear from you. Thanks for tuning in!