Coffee Project

By Chelsea Hetelson

Powering through with Gainesville’s new folk-ska-punk band

The acoustic guitar and trombone may seem like an unlikely pairing for a band, but the combination is somewhat organic, mixing Gainesville ska and Gainesville punk to create Coffee Project’s unique sound. And though the two-piece outfit didn’t plan on becoming a band, let alone staying a two-piece line-up, it turns out that a trombone and a guitar were all they needed.

In yet another Gainesville homage, where so many great things begin and end, Coffee Project began on a back porch at a house party.

“There were a bunch of people over there [at the party], and we just nerded out,” guitarist Jake Crown said. “We wrote a song in his little room, which we call a studio, which is as big as a closet… and that was really fun.”

Jake Crown, of punk bands Rehasher and Hometeam, and trombonist Buddy Schaub, of PB&J, Black Ice and most notably Less Than Jake, originally met in the late ’90s when Jake was recording in Roger Manganelli’s, also of Less Than Jake, studio with Hometeam. A few years later, Roger’s side punk band, Rehasher, formed with Jake as the drummer. But it wasn’t until almost a decade after their first meeting that Jake would get together with another Less Than Jake member, Buddy, to form their punk ska duo.

Although they didn’t consider themselves an official put-together band just yet, their unique sound of acoustic guitar, folk punk lyrics and vocals on top of trombone melodies certainly sets them apart from other Gainesville-based bands. Jake’s lyrics describing heartbreak, growing up and moving on, and the general hopes and disappointments of life, are cleverly written and catchy. But the lyrics about ungrateful cats, the abundance of 21st birthdays every time you go out and living in a small town with a main street are especially entertaining to Gainesville locals, as well as the direct invocation of Gainesville itself several times in different songs.

“My songs are honest,” Jake said. “I don’t know how to write fairy tales…There have been times when it’s hard to live in this small, little town and find work. I’ve left a few times and come back, and that’s just what it is.”

But it took Vinnie Fiorello, drummer of Less Than Jake, for Buddy and Jake to realize this was more than just their own pet side project. Vinnie wanted to put the first Coffee Project record out on his new vinyl-and-art-based label, Paper + Plastick.

“That made it easier to have someone say, well, I like your band, and I want to put it out on vinyl, [and we said] OK, we’re going to do it for real,” Jake said.

Finding the time to practice and record the songs wasn’t as easy, however. Jake works full time as a sous chef in a fine dining restaurant, while Buddy keeps infinitely busy with his full-time commitment to Less Than Jake, as well as with various video editing projects.

It was in the early mornings when Jake and Buddy found themselves together, downing coffee, writing, practicing, recording and just “powering through” together in Buddy’s home studio where they recorded the first 10″ and EP. From those sunrises and pots of coffee is where the name “Coffee Project” was first conceived.

“Buddy laughs at me because [coffee] is like my nemesis,” Jake said. “If it were a real thing, we would be called Beer Project because I love beer more than coffee.”

Jake wrote enough material for their first eight-song 10″ vinyl record titled “Easy Does It,” released in January 2009. They followed up in June 2009 with their two-song EP simply called “Pickle.” Both were released on the art-focused label Paper + Plastick.

Since forming in 2007, Coffee Project have performed at Fest 7 and 8, as well as this year’s Harvest of Hope Fest. Jake became involved with the Harvest of Hope Fest last year when he volunteered his time to manage a stage and do some sound work, in addition to performing with bands Hometeam and Rehasher. Buddy also performed in last year’s Fest with Less Than Jake. This year, Coffee Project played a set on the Paper + Plastick stage the last day of the festival.

This spring, Coffee Project are releasing their first full-length album titled “Moved On.” Once again, “Moved On” will be released by Paper + Plastick, a label founded with an appreciation for the physical qualities of art, like vinyl, CDs, and liner art. The album art for “Moved On” was done by Peter Wonsowski, who also did their previous album art for “Easy Does It.”

“He is a good friend of ours, which makes him really understand what we are looking for,” said Jake of his relationship with Peter.

The physical CD for “Moved On” will include an art spread by Peter, which is previewed as a banner on the Coffee Project MySpace page.

To promote their new release, Coffee Project will be going on an East Coast tour with labelmates Blacklist Royals and Greenland is Melting, who also just debuted their first Paper + Plastick release. As outlined on the Coffee Project MySpace page, a few of the venues aren’t really venues at all, but houses or warehouse spaces, not for lack of available space to play, but more for the all-ages shows, an accessible intimate space and a BYOB atmosphere that can’t be offered by any bar or traditional venue.

“It’s really hard to find all ages venues in big cities,” Jake said. “So for example, instead of playing Pittsburgh, we’re playing in a little town right outside of Pittsburgh where we have an art space and so we’ll play there…and one thing you know is great people and a full house are fun to do.”

The spring tour kicks off on May 12 at the 1982 bar with NoMore, Lindsey Mills and Greenland is Melting.