Philadelphia, PA (Top40 Charts/ Drew Nugent & The Midnight Society) Louis Armstrong once said, when asked what Jazz is, "If you have to ask, you'll never know." Few musicians still carry that saying close to their heart, and one of them is Drew Nugent, leader of the band The Midnight Society. Like Mr. Armstrong, and because of him, for that matter, Nugent enjoys being a trumpeter and a vocalist. Drew also plays the piano and a few novelty instruments including a tea kettle.
In 2008, after finishing his college education, Drew Nugent began putting the pieces together for a new band. He had been leading bands since he was teenager, and all in the same genre: HOT music, also known as Jazz. Now this is not to be confused with Jazz as we know it today, which can be downright confusing as a musical idiom at times. This is the music in its purest essence, spanning from the late 1890s to the mid 1930s by everyone from Manuel Perez and
Lorenzo Tio, Jr. up to Red Nichols and Fats Waller. Nugent took great inspiration from the records of these innovators, and ran with it, creating an ensemble to 'beat the band'.
The band in question is The Midnight Society. In the last 4 years, these gentlemen have been refining their sound, a sound which has set them apart in the genre known in some circles as "Traditional Jazz" or "Vintage Jazz." To Drew Nugent, this music needs no fancy titles. "People want to classify what we do as some sort of sub genre, or even sub culture. It's Jazz. Plain and simple. It's Jazz music in its purest element," he says. It is that element that his band strives to keep alive. The Midnight Society's sound is one that is becoming known very quickly up and down the East Coast. In Pennsylvania, the band plays regularly at night spots like The Farmers' Cabinet in Center City Philadelphia, and The
Liberty Tap Room in Reading. Up in the Big Apple, NYC, The Midnight Society plays such prestigious venues and events as Duane Park, Shanghai Mermaid, Dances of Vice, Wit's End, the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors' Island and many more. The band also finds themselves in great demand for private bookings as well, and takes them on gladly. "From weddings to wakes. We'll play them all," says Drew Nugent, with a smile.
Nugent doesn't see an end of the road for his vision. Why should there be? His passion for this music is a deep one. Drew has been mesmerized by this almost lost art form for well over a decade now, and has been playing musical instruments since the age of seven. His initial introduction into Jazz music was through its father, Ragtime. This affection began at the age of 10, and by age 13, Nugent was proficiently practicing the works of the greats like Scott Joplin and Louis Chauvin, as well as writing his own piano Rags. At age 14, after seeing the Ken
Burns Jazz Series, Drew found himself under the spell of greats like Louis Armstrong,
Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, along with the general aura of what was known as the Jazz Age. It wasn't long before he went out and bought a trumpet, and began attempting to play what he heard on the old 78 RPM recordings both on the horn and on the piano. You can see that it didn't take too long to get the musical ball rolling for Drew Nugent. He made his first big debut on radio for Garrison Keillor's program "A Prairie Home Companion" in '05 at the age of 19. Then in the summer of '06 he spent a summer playing music up and down the Mississippi River aboard the paddlewheel steamers Delta
Queen and Mississippi Queen. "I have the honor and privilege of being one of the last steamboat Jazz musicians," Drew shared. Here we are six years later, and Drew Nugent is going stronger than ever, leading bands in two major East Coast cities, and touring to others. He says, "To be quite frank I really just want to go anywhere and everywhere with my music. I want to see the world, and doing it through music doesn't seem half bad."
Be sure you check out the Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society on their website, which is listed below. The band can also be found on Facebook. Just type in "Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society" in your search box and you will be able to follow their activity there as well.
