Connective Tissue: Woodland Ave. is getting the band back together

By The Pitch Staff

Woodland Ave. isn’t just a band, they’re a collective.

Not simply made of members bringing sounds to the table, this lifelong group of friends works to achieve a shared vision, whether the contributors play an instrument or not. The concept of working together to give life and weight to something bigger than oneself can certainly require more skillsets than a single artist can hope to achieve. As a united set of diverse talents, Woodland Ave. promises KC a project grander in scope and scale than your average five-piece plugging into amps and putting on a show.

Having all played music together in various configurations since childhood, these friends have united again in their 30s to form an outlet perhaps best described as a “supergroup.”

The best-known name to readers of The Pitch is probably Flare Tha Rebel, who exists offstage as Jeff Shafer. The frontman rapper is married to Lauren Williams, the bassist providing low-end to the project’s inventive tracks. Williams is also the only member involved to have not met through a childhood spent at local middle school, Lincoln College Prep. If you know the area, you know that Lincoln sits on Woodland Ave. and is what ties this extended family together.

Production coordinator Daniel Edwards owns Eastside Lumber, which serves as the group’s rehearsal space. As the only non-musical member of the band, Edwards brings more than just a convenient and personal venue for honing the group’s sound by developing media to extend the creative breadth of W.A. and helping to establish just how a collective with embedded artists in other mediums can contribute to a grander concept.

Matt Phoenix serves as guitarist. His father, Steven Peters, famously played double bass in the Kansas City Symphony from 1986 until he was fatally shot in his home during a botched burglary in 2005. Drummer Bob Pulliam III licenses music at The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. And then there is keyboardist virtuoso Ryan Marquez.

Their recent submission to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series is called “Child’s Play”—a track addressing gun violence, which is a deeply personal topic for the group who knows about the direct human toll, especially in a city plagued by years of such losses.

Woodland Ave. rehearses at Eastside Lumber. Photos by Chris Ortiz