A PIECE OF SHOWPIECE

Alex Berka of Showpiece lets us in on some of the dope bands history, what every musician has and if the group has a motto!

Thank you for taking this interview! You're a dope band! How did you all come together?

Thanks! My friend had heard about Sweet Fever, a band Nick drums in, on Instagram. I’d been following them for a little and enjoyed their sound, so I contacted them to see if Nick would be willing to take on a couple songs I’d written. James I found on a Facebook group where he had posted his vocal reel, a smorgasbord of clear tenor jazz. So it was just the three of us at first, but impressed by what the “demos” had become with Nick and James, I approached them about turning this into Showpiece and recording a few more songs. Nick was unavailable to drum last year due to the pandemic, but he plays in a band called Drumrz with Kirk, who we brought in for the second round of recording. I also was looking for another voice and needed some beyond-my-abilities keyboard work done; Will’s old group Forest Fire Gospel Choir had opened for Sweet Fever at a show I attended, so I tracked him down and invited him on.

Who do you look for advice from when it comes to the music business?

Ahh, anybody with insight. Every musician has some sort of business model, so you pick the brains of the people you meet and learn by inference. Predictably, not my favorite aspect, but I suppose there’s a difference between making music just to make money (don’t do that) and making money with your music (less despicable, still draining).

How much of an effort does it take to be able to produce songs you're working on? Anything you're working on that you can talk about?

If we’re talking blue sky to release, that’s a timeframe that could stretch on infinitely; I’m a meticulous writer and not in a particular hurry. Drains on effort are mostly the result of over-intricate constructions, given we’re writing pop songs, but have you heard the things these guys do? “Over-intricate” isn’t a barrier we’ve hit yet. I don’t know how to gauge the effort we put in, and honestly I don’t really think about it. Just work until it’s done. We’ve got some fun stuff coming, if I do say so myself, more tracks through the year. When we’ve played our hand, then you can judge for yourselves if it was worth it.

What's your motto as a band?

Haha, we have no vision statement to speak of, doesn’t feel necessary to hammer out a loose conglomeration of arbitrary tenets. More or less, the aim is to make music that makes us happy and isn’t... trite. I don’t know if that’s a winning formula, but I suppose that depends on your end goals. As for right now, it’s keeping me satisfied.

Where can we keep up with you and your projects?

Showpiece is on Instagram and Facebook as @showpiece.band - and if you follow us on Spotify, releases will be dropped on your doorstep.

For Press Inquiries: bsquaredmgmt@gmail.com