Meet The Baby Please

Band Name:  The Baby Please

Members and their roles in the band:

Nat Grauman- lead vocals & guitar;

Ian Smit - lead guitar;

Socrates Viegas- bass & vocals;

Steve Meltzer, drums and vocals 

How did your band get started? I (Nat) play regular solo gigs around the area, and in late 2011 I started inviting other musicians to join me on bigger gigs to flesh out the sound. A full band brings so much in the right setting that it was a no-brainer, and the band was formed. Plus, my bandmates are fantastic musicians so I was pretty much begging them to play with me.

Who or what influences your band? Although our set lists include songs from almost every decade of rock, we play a lot of 70s-Southern California rock and pop. We try to avoid the cliche covers and just play songs that we really love. We've got some one-hit-wonders, some Yacht Rock, some alt-country. And we try to get and keep people dancing.

How did you choose your band name? We get this question a lot. The name really means nothing, other than a fun, smooth 70s we-don't-take-ourselves-too-seriously kind of vibe. Like, Baby Please come dance with me.

How does this particular musical experience inform your life here in South Orange and Maplewood? For me personally, it's been huge. I've made a lot of friends in the local music scene, as a result of the band, so I'd say it's really become part of the roots I'm laying down here. I moved here in 2008 and immediately started looking for other musicians to jam with. It turns out these little towns all have pretty nice music scenes and there are a ton of really great, fun musicians living around here, so it didn't take long at all.

 When local folks come to see you play, what should they look or listen for, in particular? Songs they love and can sing along to (and a few they may not have heard in a while).

And….when and where will you be performing next? 

This Friday April 12 at McLynn's in Springfield (250 Morris Avenue  • Springfield, NJ 07081 • 973.258.1600)!

Website or FB page:  www.facebook.com/TheBabyPlease