Alaina Burnham photo
Ryan Devlin performs with a few other musicians at his studio concert.
Under The Studio’s warm lights in Downtown Troy, an eclectic touring trio had audience members entranced with their improvisational mixes of rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll and jazz music.
Coming off of a seven-hour drive from Florida, a touring musical trio comprised of three close friends, saxophonist Ryan Devlin, bassist Thomas Milovac and drummer Caleb Montague, arrived at The Studio on Tuesday.
There, within the brick walls and industrial chic of the venue, the three seemingly unassuming musicians quickly had their audience spellbound with their red-hot tempos and burning solos. When the three were on fire, audience members’ eyes were locked and when they cooled down to more tender moments, members remained enraptured.
Montague, sitting behind a simple drum set, was married to the rhythm all night. He was totally immersed in the pocket – his drums were like Cupid mixing, matching and creating chemistry for the three instruments to mingle.
Devlin played his saxophone with a blazing ferocity, clacking all its bits and bobs while his face grew more and more red with the tunes’ quickening speed. He was also soaking with charm at one point, pausing his solo to acknowledge and jokingly nod toward a passing fire truck sounding its alarm.
Milovac did seemingly everything someone could possibly do with a bass guitar. With a favor for flair and oddity, he walked a simple bassline then bent and plucked strings into chords and then practically shredded like a guitarist.
During his solos, Devlin would step aside for him and watch as he practically dripped confidence onto the bass pedals at his feet.
“I knew it was going to be a good show, but I think the bass player really stole the show because you don’t really get to hear bass played like that,” said Lecturer of Music Carlton Copeland.
The chemistry between the trio on the small stage was clear to see. It was as though they compacted into one on stage, all bouncing skills off one another playfully.
“I liked watching the relationship between all of the musicians – you can tell they have a very special bond, which is important in an art form like this,” Copeland said. The three musicians agreed that the backbone of their ability as a group is their chemistry and trust in one another.
“I’ve been playing with Thomas since we were in high school, and I’ve been playing with Caleb now for a couple years, and as a group – going consistently on the road together – playing every day for like fourteen days in a row multiple times a year – you really start to get to know the person on and off the stage,” said Devlin. “That synergy is definitely felt.
“I feel like we can all finish each other’s –”
“Sentences,” Montague said. “Also, we trust each other on and off the stage so if there’s stuff that we want to talk about or change, it’s never a personal attack.”
“Playing this music, you need to like to trust your fellow player – fellow friend – because it’s all very out in the open, and we’re kind of just deciding as we go,” Milovac said. “We’re all kind of collectively making that decision together.”
Another big part of the trio’s performances involves the bits of them that are expressed in their music, including both their humor and sincerity with bits of tongue-in-cheek friendliness.
“We don’t try to be specifically like comedians, but I think our music is just an extension of our personalities,” Montague said. “Sometimes our banter on the stage is very, very similar to what we do in the car on the road to the gig.
“It’s a lot of playful conversations, and then there’s also moments of seriousness in there. It’s a balance we don’t really think about, it just naturally kind of comes out that way.”
After the three had played their final song, the crowd stood and clapped until Milovac whispered something in Devlin’s ear suggesting an encore. Devlin offered and the crowd immediately sat back down.
After the trio’s official final song, everyone got on their feet once again to give a second standing ovation.
“I just loved hearing everything – I’m a big fan of jazz music, and to just have players of this caliber here, the whole thing was incredible,” said Austin Horne, a sophomore music industry major from Daleville, Alabama. “I had heard from some people I was talking
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