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PHOTO COURTESY OF BAND

LET US SWAY. From left to right, the members of Sway are Stephanie Smith, E, James “Jam-A-Little” Little, Pete Johnston and Liz Aday.

Sway to the music

By John Larson

Five musicians from fairly diverse musical backgrounds have joined together in a band focused on high-energy R&B covers.

Local band Sway consists of James “Jam-A-Little” Little on vocals and keyboards, Liz Aday on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Stephanie Smith on vocals and guitars, E on bass and Pete Johnston on drums.

The group played their first gig in September.

Aday and Smith spent the last few years in Aqua Vinyl, a band that covered both pop and hard rock songs. While battling a respiratory infection, Aday asked Little to help her sing during a gig.

The two knew each other from the local music scene. In fact, Aday once did photography and the website for one of Little’s former bands. “He is one of the best around, five star,” Aday said of Little.

She and Smith were intrigued by forming a new group that would go in more of an R&B direction, and soon Sway was born. In fact the name came from a dream Aday had. She wanted a one-syllable word for a new band name, something that would signify motion. “I woke up with that in my head and wrote it down right away,” she recalled.

E moved up here from Las Vegas four years ago. He met Aday when she sang two songs with his old band at the Swiss.

Johnston plays in local heavy-metal band Charlie Drown, whose material is quite different from Sway. E said that is an indication of his talent as a drummer, being comfortable with such different styles. “He can find the groove and hit it,” E said. “He has a built-in pocket meter.”

Aday is quite thrilled with the lineup. “I am still in la la land. Pinch me,” she said. “I am having a lot of fun.”

Little describes their sets as based on “old-school R&B and good dance tunes.” Their material ranges from the 1970s to the present. “I like to sing good, fast tunes.” They play an average of 60 songs per gig.

“James’ goal is to have no throwaway songs,” Aday remarked.

E noted that in some bands if one person is opposed to playing a song the other members want to cover, that person might pull a power play and veto the selection. That does not happen in Sway, he noted.

Aqua Vinyl did not have a keyboard player, and thus relied on sequencers on songs with keyboards. This tactic is common for cover bands, especially when four or five people are trying to recreate keyboards and horns in addition to guitar, drums and bass. Little said in general he is not a big fan of sequencers, but Sway does use them in a limited fashion. “It augments the sound,” he noted.

Aday is happy to be playing some keys as well. Piano was her first instrument as a little girl, “when my brothers would not let me play their guitars,” she said with a laugh.

The group changes outfits between sets. They also work on the choreography of their stage moves.

Little is even teaching Aday and Smith some dance steps. “I am not the greatest dancer, that is James’ strong suit,” Aday said. “He has been very patient.”

“We have it together,” E said. “You can tell when we are on stage.”

Sway plays Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma at 9 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15.

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