Making waves
By Jon Busdeker on May. 10, 2007
When Ryan Helm listens to his own band, Circles and Waves, he can’t help but laugh out loud. The music is so good it’s funny.
One track is a 10-minute jazz experiment that was recorded in one take. That’s hilarious to Helm because the chemistry between him, bassist Zac Cox and drummer Paul Brunett, is so unbelievable.
“We’re like brothers,” Helm said.
From his basement — nicknamed “The Dungeon” and filled with enough gear to make any audiophile salivate — Helm plays the tune. It’s not a typical song with A and B parts. It goes from A to Z hitting all the letters in between.
The bass guitar of Cox is like a funk explosion.
The drums of Brunett make you wonder: “How many arms does that guy have?”
And Helm on guitar is a musician’s musician — technical and flawless.
“We usually open up with that song,” Helm said about the track. “Wham! Hits you in the face.”
Circles and Waves came together about a year ago, but the guys have been in Lynchburg’s music scene for years.
Helm jokes about all the failed bands in his “career” as a musician. The funniest is his punk band Anti-Ewe.
“We were against people that flocked,” Helm said.
Helm and Cox met at Lynchburg Music Center after Helm “begged” for a job.
“I didn’t like him at first,” Cox said.
Cox said he thought Helm was “cocky.”
At the time, Helm played in a six-piece, horn-filled funk-fusion band call D.I.Y. The band played around central and southwest Virginia for more than five years.
“I fell into funk,” Helm said.
In the 1970s, his dad played in a funk band called McMillan and Life. Helm has a recording of the band on CD that was taken from a cassette that was taken from a 2-inch reel. He’s proud to play it for anyone willing to listen.
When D.I.Y. broke up, Helm didn’t want to stop making music.
Enter Circles and Waves.
Helm asked Cox (who no longer thought of Helm as “cocky” ) to play. Helm knew Brunett could play drums, although Brunett is usually seen around town playing acoustic guitar.
When the three got together, it was pure musical chemistry. The guys jammed and, for fun, recorded a combination of improv jazz and Helm’s old stuff from D.I.Y.
“It came out sounding so good,” Helm said, despite the lack of horns from the old band.
“(Brunett’s) just so good on drums, he fills in all the holes,” Cox said.
The three went from messing around to a full-fledged band. Brunett came up with the name. He said some people go in circles and some people ride the wave.
At one of its first shows, the band only had seven songs, and at the end of the set, the crowd wanted more. They played the seven songs again.
“We try to get a more thought-provoking sound,” Cox said. “… Sometimes it’s a little too avant-garde for the common listener.”
Helm couldn’t give a straight answer regarding the genre of music. They’ve been told their music sounds like The Police, Pink Floyd, The Cure and Modest Mouse. There are also bits of Gang of Four and Minus the Bear in there, too.
“It’s indie-funk fusion rock,” Helm said. “It’s jazz-funk fusion.”
Within the next two months, Circles and Waves plans to record an album.
“I’d say I have almost two albums in my head, just hanging out,” Helm said.
In July, Helm is leaving Lynchburg to study at The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Arizona.
After recording the album, the band plans to “put it out there” and hope “to make more than a ripple” so others can hear the band’s talent.
“Part of your talent is sharing it with people,” Cox said.
If You’re Going
Catch Circles and Waves between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday at Lynchburg Music Center, 6006 Fort Ave. The band will be part of a benefit show for the families of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Other bands on the bill will be For Crying out Loud, That Band with the Fat Kids, 4th Card Social, Groova Scape, Electric Chameleon, Novembers Requim, 5 Finger Tragedy, 1218 and Frotter. Tickets are $7; ages 10 and under free. For more information, call 237-0073 or visit http://www.lynchburgmusic.com.
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