John Kongos has Greek ancestry. So
he and his missus explored a novel idea
upon their Johannesburg arrival – how
would his sons feel about attending a
Greek school, kindergarten through
senior year in high school, with a comfortable student body of only about 800?
Surprisingly, they loved it. "It was a really nice environment, a great place to
go to school," Jesse swears. "All the
classes were small and everybody knew
everybody's family. And the Greeks are
really into food, so a lot of the school
functions would have amazing Greek
food and Greek music and Greek culture. And we had to learn Greek dancing, too. So a lot of that culture got into
our blood as we experienced that side
of it."
Greek rhythms began to influence
Jesse's approach. But the brothers lis-
tened to such a wide variety of music
growing up, he believes his sound was
influenced by everything from intricate
jazz patterns to tribal, North African,
and even Middle Eastern motifs. "So
I've basically delved into all these crazy
rhythms, but not mastered any of
them," he sheepishly admits. "So they
all kind of bleed together a little bit.
And I'm a big fan of Bob Marley's band,
too – I practice to a lot of his records,
just because the groove is so perfect and
deep. So that kind of bleeds in a little, as
well. We've gotten to see the few members of The Wailers that are still touring,
and they nailed it – seeing them live is
like a master class in rhythm sections,
because they just sit perfectly in that
pocket and are a joy to watch."
It all melds into a seamless, undulating flow on "Lunatic," which was produced by the band and engineered by
Jesse, who also wrote five tracks himself, including the sinister clicketyclacker "I'm Only Joking" (Danny
penned one, the spider-walking tonguein-cheek generational indictment "Kids
These Days"; Dylan added two, the for-
24 illinoisentertainer.com june 2014
lorn finger-picker "Traveling On" and
the R&B-funky, handclap-accented "Sex
On the Radio"; and Johnny (billed as
John J. Kongos) whipped up four – "As
We Are," "Take Me Back," "This Time I
Won't Forget," and the irresistible, accordion-underpinned chant "Come
With Me Now"). John, Senior, however,
acted as executive producer, and he also
contributed backup vocals. The album
was recorded at Kongos' new Phoenix
facility, dubbed – of course – Tokoloshe
Studios. "Phoenix is quiet, it's a nice
place to chill out," says Jesse of their
new HQ. "And we have an amazing
recording studio, so when we come off
the road, or we've just been traveling for
months and months, it's nice to go back
there and decompress and get in the
studio. And our dad has been very supportive, and he even comes down to the
studio every so often and gives us his
feedback and opinion. He's kind of been
a general guiding force."
But Arizona is right-wing-repressive,
Jan Brewer/Tent City territory. Doesn't
that clash with the band's more worldly,
left-leaning sensibilities? Jesse Kongos
chuckles softly to himself. "Well, yeah,
there is a lot of that," he cedes. "But
overall, when we're there – at least in
the circles we run in – we're not really
exposed to it that much." His attitude?
Live and let live. The Kongos clan isn't
out to light any political fires, per se, although Jesse has some astute end-ofthe-world lyrical observations in "I
Want To Know": "And if that cloud
forms up above/ No sign anywhere of a
dove/ There'll be no reason left to stay/
We'll try and live another day….when
the time comes, we'll escape."
Examine the Kongos concept closely,
and it becomes even more magical – the
idea that four brothers of varying ages
all chose to form a touring and recording unit (they even issued a 2007 "Kongos" debut, long before "Lunatic" kicked
in). Any number of things along the
path could have derailed this train, like
one member deciding that he preferred
college – or a 9-5 career – over playing
music. Jesses agrees – things might have
gone haywire. "But we dealt with that
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