Photo credit: Lyza Renee
The Black Pumas return to Milwaukee for a show at the Pabst Theater on Jan. 17, 2020.
When Austin, Texas-based band Black Pumas made their Milwaukee debut last year at Summerfest, they were only days removed from releasing their self-titled debut album on ATO Records. While the band—led by singer Eric Burton and guitarist-producer Adrian Quesada—had received a considerable amount of lead-up buzz and attention for their music, playing the festival grounds next to Lake Michigan felt monumental.
“We haven’t done a lot of festivals. So anytime we get to play a festival where we see a lot more people than just at a regular venue, it felt really cool,” says Burton. “It felt like a validator for the progress that’s happening for the Black Pumas.”
With a riveting and eclectic mix of funk, soul and R&B, the band quickly seized the moment with an electrifying 8 p.m. show. At one point, Burton leapt over the stage barricade and started rocking out among the throng that was growing.
They’ve never looked back. In November, their momentum hit new heights when they earned a nomination for Best New Artist at the 62nd-annual Grammy Awards. Burton admits he’s still adjusting to all the attention the band’s received of late.
“It’s been amazing, the response that we have attracted. I am, first of all, very grateful for the attention that is being given to the Pumas, because this is what I truly love to do,” he says. “It’s been in my family for a very long, long time, music and entertaining, entertainment, theater.
“As it pertains to the Grammys, I used to watch the Grammys with an uncle whose dream specifically was to be the greatest singer-songwriter in the world,” he continues. “He taught me a lot about songwriting and performing at a younger age that I feel very thankful to be on the stage at the Grammys, because it validates his hard work from trying to make it himself and helping his sister raise three boys to seeing the places that we’ve seen and do what we’re doing right now. It’s nothing short of a blessing, and it feels really cool to kind of make my family proud in that way.”
The Magic of Theater
The band is looking forward to attending the Grammys, which falls in the middle of yet another lengthy U.S. tour. Burton, who has long been inspired by big theaters, is eager to perform at the Pabst Theater.
“I grew up wanting to perform on the stage as an actor and eventually as a singer as well, so any time we get to play a theater, it’s always very, very inspiring, like even before the show starts,” he says. “I’m looking forward to standing on the stage before there’s anyone in the venue to just allow myself to take in the beauty, the magic that is being in a theater… It’s where the best entertainment happens; it’s where families come together; it’s where stories are told. I’ve always dreamt that I’d be the one telling the story, and I’m thankful to be able to do it at the Pabst Theater. It’s a beautiful space.”
Burton and Quesada are excited to keep pushing the boundaries of Black Pumas’ diverse sound. They’ve started writing new material that may make their next album.
“It’s never dull,” Burton says. “I’ll show Adrian something, and his wheels are always turning as far as what to do as far as the dynamic of the arrangements go and the sound… It seems like we’re just becoming friends. We’re becoming better friends every day by way of the creative process. I feel very lucky to have him as a partner.”
“It’s a never-ending journey, as you know. Today’s a new day, and tomorrow will be a new day as we get to see it,” he continues. “So, I think that’s how we’ve been treating the process of collaborating with each other.”
Extended Q&A
How did you met Adrian and form the band?
I was working with a mutual friend of ours, who later on was at a lunch meeting with Adrian. Adrian was searching for a singer to help him finish some songs that he was working on. I guess the story goes is that he looked on YouTube and saw a few videos of some of my performances of original material, and he enjoyed what he saw and what he heard that when we finally connected and I got some of his music, I really enjoyed what I heard so much that I started writing immediately. I was so excited that I had to call him. It was maybe like seven, eight o’clock, nine o’clock at night. He was on his way to a gig and I had to call him because one of the tracks that he had sent me, I had a melody for it that I was really excited about. When I get excited about melodies and songs that I’m writing, I immediately show my friends. That it was his song that I was working on, I had to give him a call and I sang to him over the phone. I had never sung to anyone over the phone, let alone another man, so we kind of laughed about that a little bit.
When we first got together in the studio, we recorded that song that I sang over the phone, which was “Fire.” We also recorded our first single, “Black Moon Rising,” the first day we met in person. To me, it felt like an enchanting experience, because I had been working in Austin as a solo performer and I was in search for someone to help me produce sounds that I wasn’t getting on my own, so it felt like the stars kind of aligned in a really nice way when we first got together.
When I first got with Adrian, it was to kind of help him complete songs for his own sake. It didn’t turn into the Black Pumas until I started showing Adrian my songs. We were enjoying recording together and we decided to make an album as opposed to just doing a producer’s album where all the songs or the music is like majorly produced material, but from my song to kind of humanize, if I may, our collaboration to the degree that we’re both at the helm of the ship, I guess.
So, the songwriting process is pretty equal between the two of you?
Yeah, always equal, man, whether I’m bringing in a song, I’m showing Adrian an idea or he’s showing me an idea. I think the coolest thing that’s happening for us right now is time. When you spend time with people, you start to learn your position on the team, so it’s always team first. But I love that we’re both kind of settling in positions that we’re just the best as it pertains to being a part of this team. I think the music, this upcoming album, is going to be reflective of that. I hope so.
What else can you say about the new music?
This is like our first break in a little while that we’ve done a few things promo-wise. We haven’t really hit the studio quite yet, but we have seen the studio together a little bit this month for Fender. Fender came and we did a promo for them. Recently, we’ve gotten to an efficient pace of work in the studio that at the end of a workday for Fender or whatever, then we can try to flush out a new idea or just jam something during our soundcheck. I record demos in my phone all the time and I’m always kind of plugged in to remind Adrian like, “Oh, remember when we did this in the soundcheck?” Pretty much all we have are like soundcheck demos and some recorded. We have like maybe four or five songs that are at various stages of completion that we’re entertaining putting on the next record as well as like a lot of demos in my phone and whatnot.
You’ve said that “Oct 33” is one of the most personal songs you wrote. What’s the story behind that one?
I remember going to Chuck E. Cheese as a younger person with a cousin who was just like so good at kind of cheating the system, if you will, to the degree that we were able to win a lot of tickets and kind of have fun thereof. I started trying to emulate their approach to doing the Chuck E. Cheese thing, the experience that at a younger age I realized that I can’t do what someone else does. I only win when I stay true to myself in hopes that people won’t laugh at my naked body when I show them the songs or when we take to the stage. I only know how to be me. “Oct 33” is a personal song. It’s reflective of a time where I was learning how to do shadow work and kind of tend to my myself, tend to my mental health, just creating a sense of fluidity of my own life, that “Oct 33” kind of helped me along in that process.
Has your background in acting helped with your stage presence and performing songs?
Oh, most definitely. I think that not only the stage presence, but from the stage presence to writing the song or coming up with ways to sing the song ideas that Adrian has as well. I’m always looking to paint the picture with sound the best way that I can with the facilities that I have at hand. I don’t necessarily see myself as the greatest, greater than anyone, or super-comparing myself to other people. I’ve been trying to take what I have and paint that picture as well as I can. I think the theater has helped me to have an imagination and to allow me to kind of have the confidence that I need to bring a song to completion because of the fact that the ideas are limitless. You can do anything if you feel it. If you feel it, then you can do it.
What are some of your future goals?
I look forward to learning from my counterparts on how to do what they do a little bit better than how I can do it. I am looking forward to just continuing to blossom as a songwriter while being surrounded by so many amazing musicians. The songwriting process for me, it has moved to a different level of productivity because of the fact that I’m surrounded by so many amazing people who know how to interpret the idea that I bring to a table in their own special way for whatever they specialize in, whether it’s bassist or backup singer.
Black Pumas perform at the Pabst Theater on Friday, Jan.17, at 8 p.m.
