GRACE BOWERS & THE HODGE PODGE - TELL ME WHY U DO THAT?
Kenzie Gay - @kenzwrites
This article that you are currently reading is so much more than a run-of-the-mill song review.
It is so much more than just me discussing what I loved and hated about a new piece of music.
It is so much more than me trying to get someone’s name out there to more potential listeners.
No.
This feature symbolizes the years and years of patience and fan-girling I’ve been subjected to as I’ve watched Grace Bowers grow and develop into a fated guitar legend.
It stands for the constant posts I’ve made asking for her to release original music.
It stands for the hours of interviews, live streams, and poorly taped performances I’ve absorbed like a sponge.
The wait is over after what’s felt like my whole life and now I can present to you for the very first time: a review for Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge and their debut single Tell Me Why U Do That.
Grace Bowers is just seventeen but she’s been in and around the guitar community for at least three years, slowly but steadily rising as a budding musician with endless potential. The Tennessee-Native first got her start on guitar through youtube tutorials and those alike from content creators such as Marty Music and she rose to popularity for her Reddit streams where she’d play covers on her guitar for whoever was watching. With time, Bowers built an audience and has been able to play with prominent musicians such as Myron Elkins, Hannah Wicklund, and even Dolly Parton as of recent but this single may be her biggest accomplishment yet.
Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge (from left to right) Eric, Prince, Joshua, Grace, Brandon, and Esi. Photo via Cedrick Jones @cedrickphotoOn April 22nd, Grace Bowers and her band, a group that refers to themselves as The Hodge Podge, released Tell Me Why U Do That, their very first original single as a unit. This single has been one of high anticipation for a few months now due to the fact that Bowers was notably in the studio alongside The Hodge Podge earlier this year so stakes were high but the group did the furthest thing from disappoint: in fact, they exceeded any expectations I had within the first measure of the song.
A large part of music and its enjoyment is founded on personal tastes but as far as sound and style goes, there are concrete facts to be found and one of those is that in the last twenty years, funk has taken a massive step back from music. I’m not just saying it’s become less popular like what happened to rock, but funk quite literally evaporated into (seemingly) thin air. The only artists we have left are Earth, Wind, & Fire and George Clinton if you really think about it (and maybe some little guys if there are any out there).
Most funk music dissolved in with r&b and the blues crowds by the time the 90s came around and it seemed like that was its destiny. This new wave of experimental music, though, could lead to something super promising for genres as we know it.
Tell Me Why U Do That is as funk-delic as it gets and I mean that with my whole chest.
Produced by John Osborne (Brothers Osborne), the song takes you on a groovy but intentional trip that revolves around the age old theme: love.
Well, love might be a stretch but it’s definitely founded on the idea(s) of having a crush and the frustrations it may entail for someone.
Vocalist Esi, notorious for bending genres and writing killer songs, sings “Tell me why you do that. Why you do that. You’re just my cup of tea. I just can’t help myself, it’s my chemistry. Tell me why you do that when you know what that do to me”. This lyrical snippet is the perfect example of the song’s general emotional vibe and the instrumentals fuse with it in a way I’ve never seen before: it is upbeat and a little contrasting like you’d assume to find in pop genres but it’s also cohesive in a way if you really pay attention to the frustrated-yet-humorous nature of the words.
The instrumental work of Tell Me Why U Do That certainly serves as the star (This does NOT mean that Esi’s vocals aren’t absolutely phenomenal and rich, however!) due to the intense amalgamation of Bowers and The Hodge Podge, though.
Bowers and her fellow bandmate Prince steer the song in a powerful direction with their guitars meanwhile bassist Eric Fortaleza pulls out every stop to give the piece that 1970s atmosphere of fun and singularity.
The other contributions such as the trumpet (Nigel Cathey) and saxophone (Jack Warren) allow for the song to feel like one big party as well and it’s all wrapped up by the inventiveness of drummer Brandon Combs and organist Joshua Blaylock, making Tell Me Why U Do That a phenomenal work with an undeniable groove to it.
After April 22nd’s release of Tell Me Why U Do That, Grace Bowers is only speeding things up. More music from her and The Hodge Podge is expected by devout listeners such as myself but Bowers alone is also projected to perform in cities such as Knoxville, San Francisco, Napa, Des Moines, and several more with artists Elle King, Chris Shiflett, and The Dirty Guv’nahs in the oncoming months.
This first single is a gigantic monument for the wunderkind and the entire guitar community stands behind her with large hopes for what’s to come out of her career and brilliant mind.
For all we know, Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge could be what funk and blues needs to be revived in the masses, but only time will tell.
