AfterShow: The Filthy Six & Chad Fisher

You may have heard that Mumford & Sons are playing at the BJCC this Sunday. Yes, It’s true, and Blake Mills will be there too. The music doesn’t end after the inevitable encore, though. Members of each outfit will converge at The Syndicate Lounge for a soul & jazz after party, courtesy of Chad Fisher and The Filthy Six.

Hailing from the UK, The Filthy Six is an eclectic and experienced assembly of jazz and soul musicians. Members have performed with Amy Winehouse, Tom Jones, and Jack White to name a few. Together, band is both tightly coordinated, but loose enough to improvise.  They combine the discipline of a backing band with the gusto of the headlining act.

The horns are right up front, accompanied by the smooth bass grooves one should expect. The Hammond organ features prominently in their sound, laying a foundation of soul on which intricate guitar and horn melodies can build and interact.

The Filthy Six are no strangers to Birmingham, having performed at Parkside and recording for the Spectra Sonic Sound Sessions. Fortunately, they found the Magic City copacetic. “It’s a healthy scene, that’s for sure,” says Filthy/Mumford trumpeter Nick Etwell. “We met Chad Fisher that first night and he came and sat in with us both times we played (hence the double bill on Sunday) – as well as Brad Guin and Holly Malone. Lovely people and great musicians all.”

The collaboration of The Filthy Six’s aftershows began in 2014, when the band toured the U.S. with a local rhythm section. “We got on like a house on fire both on and off the stage and the band sounded fantastic,” says Etwell. The following year, Mumford & Sons asked the band to arrange after shows for their tour, leading to the incorporation of Mumford’s trombone player Dave Williamson, as well as Mumford and Blake Mills drummers Chris Maas and Stuart Johnson.

Following the success of the aftershow gigs, Etwell and company decided to keep the party going on the new tour. “I looked at the Mumford schedule for this tour and saw a great bunch of cities in the middle there, including Birmingham, and thought I had to try and work in some Filthy shows around it,” says Etwell. “It worked so well before we had to do it again!”

Long before The Filthy Six, Etwell spend his formative years steeped in blues and jazz classics. “I started on Piano and grew up listening to old blues pianists such as Albert Ammons and Memphis Slim, and loved the bare emotion conveyed through a solitary instrument,” he says. “I used to come home from school every day and head straight to the piano to try and work out what they were doing. This led to discovering the world of jazz and the power of instrumental music while sitting alongside the pop music coming out the radio at home.”

The trumpet was a natural choice for Etwell. As his father’s instrument of choice, there was always a horn around the house. “It’s a magical thing to blow down a piece of metal and have this beautiful music come out the other end,” he says. “At least that’s the plan anyway!”

Etwell has worked with Mumford & Sons since their first EP, although his history with the musicians reaches far beyond their initial recording sessions. He taught Ben Lovett piano when the Mumford keyboardist was in high school.

As we in Birmingham know full-well, horns have become an invaluable part of some of the best live acts today. While a mainstay in jazz music, horn sections have drifted in and out of pop music prominence over the last few decades. However, Etwell has seen a positive trend develop in recent years. “For a while in the ‘90s, it was all string sections and no horns, and in the past 10 years, horn sections have been back in the fold,” he says. “You had acts like Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson featuring the Dap Tone guys, which led to more awareness of their work with Sharon Jones and Dap Kings and Charles Bradley and the like.”

Last month, The Filthy Six released their latest album, More Filth. Between some infections rhythms and a sharply re-imagine Michael Jackson tune, the record is above all-else dance friendly. “We wanted to focus on the ‘Soul’ aspect of the soul jazz moniker and get really low down and dirty with it,” says Etwell. “There’s some grooves on here we’re very happy with so I think we got pretty close!”

While he’s lately been globetrotting as a member of St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Birmingham’s own trombonist Chad Fisher will assemble his band to join The Filthy Six.

The Syndicate Lounge is located at 4036 5th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35222. The Show starts at 10 p.m. You can get your tickets right here.

The Filthy Six can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

If you can’t make it tonight, tune in to Birmingham Mountain Radio at 10 p.m. Lee Shook of The Audiovore will broadcast the show live!