Hybrid birdhouse to rock at Grand

Bands often fuse musical genres to prevent being pigeonholed into a certain category.

Birdhouse does it because the band has too many influences to ignore.

“It’s a combination of jazz, funk, Afro, Cuban bop and samba,” bassist Jason Fifield says, smiling about the band’s style amalgamation.

Birdhouse will release its first full-length CD, “Stumped,” at a 7:30 p.m. performance on Friday at the Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth.

“We’re trying to go beyond the realm of jazz or funk music – to do unique music,” Fifield said.

But the coalescent properties of the quartet don’t stop there. Birdhouse is actually the hybrid of two similar multi-influence ensembles: Colorado’s From Cosmos to Chaos and Down East Maine’s fairly well-known Beatroots.

“There’s also a lot of world music influence in the band,” Fifield said, referring to members’ backgrounds. “Mark Hanson [drummer] spends part of each year in South Africa studying their music, and Miriama Broady [guitarist and vocalist] takes a lot from Indian music.”

Recorded last summer, “Stumped” features seven original cuts, a jazzy reworking of a traditional Romanian lullaby and a new cover of the Neil Young classic “On the Beach.”

Sharing the stage with birdhouse is the all-female percussive and vocal sextet, Inanna – Sisters in Rhythm, whose latest CD, “Skin and Bones,” mixes traditional African music styling with creative innovations.

“They’re one of the few predominantly original bands in the area,” Fifield said of the co-headliners.

Those in attendance also can expect to see supplementary appearances by members of The Beatroots and other players to be named later.

After the release, birdhouse won’t sit idle for long. The group will share the stage with George Clinton’s band of funksters, Parliament, and groove-jazz-trip trio, Zyrah’s Orange, on June 22 and 23 at the annual Puffin Festival at Squaw Mountain in Greenville.

Tickets for the show on June 15 are $15 with the CD or $12 without the CD and are available at the Grasshopper Shops in Bangor, Ellsworth and Rockland, The Music Bar in Bar Harbor, Mr. Paperback in Belfast and Wild Rufus in Camden. For more information, call 667-3618.