The JamBase Podcast: Perpetual Groove’s Brock Butler

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Episode 62 of The JamBase Podcast, a member of the Osiris Media network, features Perpetual Groove frontman Brock Butler. Brock sat for a “The Art Of The Setlist” chat with JamBase’s Scott Bernstein during the latest Jam Cruise in January. The segment follows a recent phone call the pair had in which Brock catches us up on how he’s adapted to life while sheltering-in-place due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

The episode starts with Scotty discussing Section 119 and the JamBase Livestreams Calendar. Bernstein also teases a new feature coming to JamBase soon before detailing the deal from Harry’s. Then, Scotty calls Brock to talk about how much has changed since the pair spoke setlists in January.

Brock was on the road with PGroove on the way to a festival when the event and all of the band’s dates for the foreseeable future were canceled or postponed due to restrictions put in place after COVID-19 began spreading through America. Butler recalls getting a call from Catherine Storm Sisco, organizer of Busking Down The House, to perform livestreams for the Facebook group. The Perpetual Groove guitarist/vocalist plays sets for Busking Down The House every Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Butler tells Scotty about how he puts together setlists for these streams as he hasn’t repeated a song as of the publication of this article. Additionally, PGroove has been digging into their archives for video broadcasts in which band members provide live commentary. Plus, Brock has been giving guitar lessons to musicians ranging from novice to expert. Butler’s phone call with Scotty leads into a brief profile of the non-profit organization Backline and its mission of providing mental health support and resources to musicians and their families.

Brock and ScottyB’s “The Art Of The Setlist” talk came towards the end of the last day of Jam Cruise 18. Butler starts by explaining how he decided what to play during his final set of the trip, which concluded just before the pair’s chat. He only repeated two songs over the course of the five-day musical adventure — his return to Jam Cruise after seven years. The Virgina native explains how much more he enjoyed Jam Cruise after beating back personal demons and how it came through in his music. Brock then shares the process PGroove uses to formulate their setlists each night. He also speaks about how the songs from the quartet’s self-titled 2019 studio album have translated live and a number of additional topics.

Stream Episode 62 of The JamBase Podcast below or via all major podcast services including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Podcast: