Adam, who lives in Athens, formed Southeast Engine at Ohio University with fellow Miami Valley native Leo DeLuca (drums). The Americana band was active from 2002 to 2012. Adam released a solo EP, “When I Was a Boy,” in 2016 and the album, “Sourwood,” in 2018. A new EP and new album will be released in 2024. The EP track “Sunrise at the Sunset Motel” was released digitally on Oct. 27.
Jesse, who lives in Dayton, has led the band Human Cannonball since 2009. He self-released his second solo album, “Another Freak of the Flood,” in May. His solo debut, “The Human Cannonball,” was released in 2008. He also released the full-length, “Let’s Be Friends,” with Human Cannonball in 2012 and the 2018 EP, “Barrett School,” from Rex Apple, a one-off side project with Kyle Melton of Smug Brothers.
Joseph, who lives in Los Angeles, was a member of Dayton band Captain of Industry in the early 2000s. He currently isn’t in a band, but the cartoonist and storyboard artist writes and record his own songs. His published works include “Cartoon Clouds” from 2017 and 2012′s “Cleveland,” written by late comic book legend Harvey Pekar.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Brothers in arms
The brothers recently logged onto Zoom to discuss the Remnant Family Jam.
Joseph: “This is the third time doing this at Yellow Cab. I wasn’t a part of the first one, but I did the second one with these guys. This came out of the thing we did at Shelly Hulce’s house for years.”
Jesse: “That was definitely the beginning of it. We did it at Shelly’s five or six times.”
Joseph: “It goes back to 2013. Initially it was a house show with a bunch of Dayton musicians doing it and sometimes Adam, Jesse and I would make it. We started dominating it every year and, eventually, Shelly made it the Remnant Brothers Christmas Show when all of us were in town together. But every time we get together, we end up sitting around playing guitar and singing our favorite songs so this is also an outgrowth of that.”
Going public
Adam: “The first year we did it at Yellow Cab, I was booking shows for my band. Jesse also plays in it too, so we thought let’s have Human Cannonball play and make it a Remnant night. Joseph wasn’t there that year and it wasn’t at Christmas. It was February 2018 and Counterfeit Madison played too.”
Jesse: “Yeah and Blake Skidmore opened the show.”
Adam: “We did it again last year and we did it around Christmas, so we had Joseph. We also had Ryan Stolte-Sawa, who plays in my band. She played with her dad. We try to make it familial so people who play in our bands can do their own thing too. This year we have Heather Redman and the Reputation, which also shares members with Human Cannonball, which seemed like a very organic extension with a familial vibe too. We’ll do some collaborations with Heather too.”
Joseph: “We’ll have the two bands playing and we’re kind of mixing things up. I’m sitting in throughout their sets, and I’ll be doing a couple of my songs throughout the night. We’re doing some moments with the three of us harmonizing together. We’ll have whatever guests we can grab from people we know in Dayton that helped us out in the past.”
Jesse: “We may have a certain Southeast Engine drummer joining us for a song or two.”
Joseph: “We’ll be digging into the back catalog of everyone’s stuff: Southeast Engine; Jesse’s older albums; covers we grew up singing together; and some holiday stuff. The three of us are always working on recordings by ourselves. They’re more like personal art projects and you’re not even thinking about playing this stuff live. You just throw whatever creative idea you have on your recording and never even consider how it will be played live. You have to figure out an arrangement that doesn’t have what’s on the recording but makes sense for a live band to play.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A unique approach
Jesse: “We’re very happy we could secure Yellow Cab Tavern for the show again. Doing it close to Christmas could be a hinderance but it also allows it to be a family reunion, a high school reunion and an everything reunion.”
Joseph: “Playing a lot of shows gets harder the older you get. It’s good to have a big show like this and make it special. We can pack a lot in.”
Adam: “We still have a three-band setup with Heather’s band, my band and Jesse’s band through the night, but we’re breaking up that predictability with this particular show by sprinkling in these little collaborations and (transitions).”
Joseph: “We’re going to have it build up to a big extravaganza where we get everybody on stage like ‘The Last Waltz.’ It will feel more like a variety show than a normal three-band bill.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: Remnant Family Jam with Adam Remnant & the Signs, Human Cannonball, Joseph Remnant, Heather Redman & the Reputation and special guests
Where: Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Cost: $12 in advance, $15 day of show
More info: 937-424-3870 or www.yellowcabtavern.com
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