It’s like he never left. When Calhoun co-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and all around bon vivant Jordan Roberts decamped for San Francisco in September to follow his heart, you had to wonder how much longer his band, the brainchild of co-songwriter and frontman Tim Locke, would be of this world. But the quintet is still playing shows at its regular relaxed pace. There are two this weekend: Friday with Dove Hunter at Shipping & Receiving (201 S. Calhoun St., 817-343-6393) and Saturday with The Orbans and Oil Boom at The Kessler Theater (1230 W. Davis St., Dallas, 214-272-8346).
“We have the luxury now of taking really good shows that make the most sense for us as opposed to just grabbing up every offer that’s out there,” Roberts said. “We all stay in pretty constant contact, so it’s just been a matter of [me] physically not being there.”
Roberts and Locke are also still writing at their usual brisk clip. Along with drummer Josh Hoover, bassist Danny Balis, and keyboardist Toby Pipes, who lives in Baton Rouge, Roberts and Locke will start “piecing together [the new material] in a studio” near the end of the year, Roberts said.
The new music will resemble Paperweights, Calhoun’s recently released last album, but be “more on the chiller side of things,” Roberts said. “There’s definitely a different mood and atmosphere of inspiration out here that I look forward to exploring more.”
Roberts, from a personal standpoint, said being away from home is full of advantages and disadvantages. “I miss my friends and family the most,” he said. “Getting together with buddies on a Friday night and shooting the bull over music, our week, et cetera, is something I don’t have here yet, but it’s forced me to be far more productive and creative in other areas of my life. Not that anyone was ever holding me back by any means. I just have a whole lot more me time to focus and get shit done. I think ultimately I am doing a lot of growing up, with shedding the comfortable blanket that Fort Worth is and always will be to me.”
So, Jordan, now that you’re living in a hot-shit big-time city, can people speak to you when they see you out, or should they wait for you to speak to them first?
“Speak when spoken to. God help you if you make eye contact with me.”
Cover to the S&R show is only $2, to the Kessler gig $17.50.
