Artist Of The Week - The Square Egg

What the heck is a square egg? I know a lot of you may be thinking that right now and the answer is: one of the hottest up and coming musical groups in the country. The Square Egg is a 10 piece band that was formed in Miami in 1999 and now resides in New York City. Loosely defined as a Hip-Hop band, they’ve opened for Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross and Jahiem and have made not one but TWO appearances on Mun2’s The Roof. The Square Egg has performed everywhere from The Blue Note and The Knitting Factory in NYC to American Airlines Arena and Dolphin Stadium in Miami. They’ve earned a reputation for tearing the house down with their intricate mixture of musical stylings and have a way of making instant fans out of everyone who sees them. Three albums, and one greatest hits album, deep, The Square Egg is a group people need to stop sleeping on which is why I sat down with LEE, the lead vocalist of the group (pictured with hat), for this week’s Artist Of The Week feature.

Adam Bernard: The Square Egg is a 10 piece band. I almost said Hip-Hop band but rather than label you I'm going to ask you to label yourself. How would you describe your music and your vibe?
LEE: We really don't give much thought to a categorical description because we focus so much on music and artistic content rather than genre. We really enjoy all types of music and believe it comes across in our performance. We respect our musical past and can acknowledge the present so that it all finds its way into what we do as a band. It's our own unique expression of music that is filtered through so many of our influences and our personal experiences. It's hard to describe that using modern language and expectation or any contemporary frame of reference. So we just are. I recently had someone on MySpace tell me that they only liked Hip Hop and R&B so they didn't think that they would like The Square Egg. What do you say to something like that, right? So we don't bother. We just let our music speak for itself and connect to those who can get what we are about.

Adam Bernard: With a 10-person group how do you make sure no one gets lost on stage?
LEE: We are able to make sure that our efforts are inclusive simply because we respect each other as musicians and artists in our own right. We all bring something to The Square Egg that lends a unique voice that's ultimately able to meld into own entity. On stage we are all having a good time and it’s infectious. Everyone gets in where they fit in, so to speak, so we actually all DO get lost in the moment of having a good time sharing our music.

Adam Bernard: The concept of a square egg is an interesting one (and a fairly painful one for the bird involved). What drew you to using such an image for your group's name?
LEE: We decided on the name for our band because it best personifies that unique sound that we look to relay our music. We wanted a name to represent something unique that was still able to be appreciated. It's our creation; hard to peg, but beautiful. If you were to try to imagine a square egg it would be impossible based on what we know. So you would have to experience it to understand it. That is how we feel about our music. We just want it to be listened to without prejudice.

Adam Bernard: In your lyrics you are unafraid to voice your opinion on where music is going, the song "Pardon Me" being a great example of this. What do you feel you and other artists can do to improve the climate of the music industry?
LEE: I think the most important thing that any artist can do to improve any art form is be true to themselves and their inner voice. You are going to have failures, but it's those failures that will lead to something beautiful in your following efforts. Sometimes in creative fields people get comfortable, safe and afraid to challenge themselves. It happens to us all. That's how we end up with movies, music and other art forms all basically repeating themselves or being carbon copies. We are all safe and just churning out predictable materials for consumption. The first album sounds like the third. If we all followed suit and went with the status quo there would be no one pushing the envelope and giving life to something fresh and artistically challenging. The same can be said in any forward thinking. Had someone not stood up and said that any number of inventions, philosophies, etc were not worth trying we would not be here today. We would all still be in caves or walking on our knuckles. We would have segregation, no lights, no phones, computers, medicine, etc. Someone we have arrived at this information crossroads where we are all complacent at content with our current positions. No one challenges. Change and growth are very important in a society. We are now mass consumers of crap and ideas and few if any of us push the boundaries of new thinking. We would like to think that inserting a square egg into that mix is a start.

Adam Bernard: Finally, what do you feel is the most important part of your job as a musician?
LEE: Music should move people to think, or act, or feel. Reaching people through your labors is important. Even the most base emotion can be felt in a song. You either fight or fuck to music according to Rasheed (also of the group). A musician's job should be to insight people in ways that move them. Even if it's to love in a way or live in a way that they had never thought to. In short we should inspire. Life should inspire and music should just be an expression of life in all its grace and beauty.

Websites: thesquareegg.com & sonicbids.com/TheSquareEgg

MySpace: myspace.com/thesquareegg

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