Modern funk architects Lettuce make music that can shatter worlds and build them anew. Bright and soul-affirming at times and absolutely nasty at others, theirs is the kind of funk that breaks continents apart, shifts tectonic plates into new, never-before-seen masses where life may flourish free and uninhibited. Those who hear, or, better yet, experience it live, understand this, the worlds they once carried within them crushed to dust by the force of Lettuce’s music in order to make way for something new and beautiful.
Just as Lettuce encourages reinvention within their fans, they also seek it within themselves. Drummer Adam Deitch referred to the Lettuce seen today as a “brand new band,” the result of over three decades of building foundations and tearing them down to start all over again. On Sunday, March 2nd, Lettuce will be bringing their storied history as well as glimpses into their future to the Mission Ballroom for a special show with the Colorado Symphony. A screening of a brand new documentary featuring over 90 minutes of Lettuce’s first show with the Symphony — which occurred at Boettcher Hall in 2018 — will take place the previous night at the SIE Theater.
303 Magazine recently spoke with Deitch about the band’s history, preparing for the upcoming show, the evolving nature of influence, musical longevity and much more.
Deitch was born into music, his parents wedding players who had him on a kit as soon as he could hold the sticks. Many of those memories he made playing music as a kid still stick with him and propel him forward to this day. He recalled when he “was about 5,” his school held a show and tell. Deitch brought his kit and played for the class with his father on guitar. The class went crazy, and the principal took notice and offered to cancel class the following day so Deitch and his father could play at an assembly in front of the entire school, roughly 500 kids aged between kindergarten and fourth grade. This was “huge” for Deitch, who described himself as a rather “quiet and withdrawn kid.” Playing this particular assembly helped show Deitch just how powerful playing music in front of people could be, saying the experience “changed his life from that day on.” It was the experience that made playing music “click” for him, the adrenaline associated with playing live something he chases to this day.
Deitch first met his fellow Lettuce members as a teenager in 1992. He described himself as somewhat aimless at the time and as a “rowdy, New York skateboard kid” neglecting the drums in favor of skating and making occasional beats for friends who rapped. At his mother’s suggestion — who told him he “should be around musicians —” Deitch enrolled in a five-week program hosted by Berklee College of Music. He didn’t enjoy the program at first, saying it “bummed [him] out” until he met his future bandmates. “We clicked right away,” Deitch said. “We just started playing incredibly.
The program ended as all things do but the band kept in touch and reconvened at Berklee two years later as undergraduate students. Here, the true Lettuce was born as they played together throughout the four years and four years after that before releasing their first album, Outta Here, in 2002. The album brought Lettuce to the attention of bands Deitch referred to as “the Road Pavers,” many of whom debuted while the Lettuce guys were still in school. These include bands such as Soulive, The Greyboy Allstars, Medeski, Martin and Wood, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. These bands helped develop the modern funk sound as it’s known today by mixing traditional funk inclinations with psychedelia and hip-hop. They also helped Lettuce find their place in the music scene, having previously felt “a little to the left side of things, a little on the outskirts,” as Deitch described it.
Now, Lettuce — whose current lineup consists of Deitch on drums, Erick “Jesus” Coomes on bass, Adam “Schmeeans” Smirnoff on guitar, Ryan Zoidis on the sax, Nigel Hall on vocals and keys and Eric “Benny” Bloom on the trumpet — have become “Road Pavers” in their own right. They and their early contemporaries set the stage for younger bands such as Steady Flow, The Nth Power, and many other funk bands that have established themselves as newer contemporaries in recent years. It points to this idea of “coming full circle” and the evolving nature of influence. Lettuce were once the new kids on the scene, taking guidance from those that have come before. Now, as established pillars of the funk scene, they are the ones guiding, their influence wide reaching and apparent.
However, Deitch said the band doesn’t concern itself much with the idea of legacy. Instead, they are wholly fixated on the new. This applies to finding new music to draw from, with Deitch saying, “Every day you got to search for something and bring it into the band.” But it primarily applies to the band itself. Despite Lettuce’s longevity — which Deitch attributes to their ability to “pick [their] battles” in terms of songwriting and certain decisions — the band feels fresh, the foundations built over the passing years torn apart and rebuilt to pave the way for the next chapter. Deitch said, “We feel brand new. We feel like we just started in the best way possible. We’re fresh. We’re excited. The word ‘jaded’ doesn’t exist in this band. We’re ready to attack the stage every night, as opposed to presenting ourselves as a legacy band that has been around for years, which we are. We definitely feel like a young, hot band that’s on fire right now.“
Deitch himself has become one of the most prolific and influential drummers in any genre. In addition to Lettuce, he is a founding member of electronic group Break Science alongside keys player Borahm Lee, plays in his own group, The Adam Deitch Quintet, and has collaborated with everyone from 50 Cent to Les Claypool. Deitch is chameleonic in his playing, able to adapt to whatever musical situation he finds himself in while also maintaining his distinct voice. He transmutes a wide range of influences and play styles into something wholly his own, original and earth-shaking. To see him play is to watch a master at work, a lifetime on the kit apparent in each snare-roll, each staggered hi-hat rhythm. He plays with such focus and dedication to the craft while clearly displaying the love and joy he gets from doing what he does best.
Deitch believes that creating is what humans are born to do. When speaking about his philosophy on the matter, he said, “We’re born to create. We’re born to let what we have inside our body, our soul and our life experiences come out in our creations. Whether you’re cooking a meal or you’re drawing a picture or whatever you’re doing creatively, it’s life. It allows human beings to express themselves because if human beings don’t express themselves, they could bottle up a lot of stuff. I think creation is a great way to release things and also build on your wildest dreams and turn those into sound and art.“
Deitch and Lettuce are now living their wildest dreams. Following a tour supporting GZA of Wu-Tang Clan and multiple sets on Jam Cruise, they will perform at the Mission Ballroom with the Colorado Symphony on Sunday, March 2nd. It’s the third time they’ve played with the Colorado Symphony, the first being at Boettcher Hall in 2018—the subject of the documentary premiering on March 1st at the SIE Theater—and the second at Red Rocks in 2022. Deitch described those first Symphony shows as “so nerve-wracking.” He said, “We usually open up pretty heavy in the middle of songs. Anything could happen. But, with this, there’s 90 people reading a page and it’s more structured. But luckily, we all take turns conducting each other.” For the upcoming show, they have worked extensively with the conductor, Chris Dragon, and arranger, Tom Hagerman, to ensure the arrangements are perfect. As a result of these preparations and their experiences with the past Symphony shows, Deitch said many of the nerves are gone and he is just excited for the show.
Deitch said that the Symphony shows have been unlike any others, with the crowds fully immersed in the performances, “screaming and crying louder than any crowds [Lettuce has] ever had.” This show at the Mission will surely be something special, a celebration of all that Lettuce is and will be, a foundation-rupturing showcase for a band that has meant so much to so many for so long. Tickets are moving fast so don’t miss out.
Lettuce ultimately is a band that represents hope. They teach us how to tear down our pasts and use the fragments to build something new and alive. There is so much life left ahead for all of us. Who is to say that we cannot move into the future with eyes fixed on the horizon, the Earth itself shaking with each step forward? Though we may stumble or stray, Lettuce is here to show us the way.
Get tickets to Lettuce’s show with the Colorado Symphony at the Mission Ballroom here.
A special premiere event of the concert film will take place at Sie Film Center in Denver, Colorado on March 1st at 3pm that was made available via RSVP to early ticket holders.
All photography courtesy of Peter Wallace