Mum's not the word with The Mumlers: Interview with Will Sprott

“Some days I come into class thinking I’m going to really make a difference in these kids’ lives,” says Will Sprott of the San Jose-based indie darlings, The Mumlers. “But that is usually a mistake, because you’re just a sub and the kids are there to do battle with you.”

Sprott works as a substitute teacher when he isn’t re-thinking what contemporary pop music can sound like. He loves the gig, because it allows him to work when he needs to, but gives him the freedom to write music when he isn’t quixotically attempting to get K-12 kids to pay attention to his lesson plans.

The Mumlers fuse folk, bluegrass and indie rock in a style similar to Or, The Whale only with more horns, which can add elements of funk or a pleasantly melancholic The Good, The Bad, The Ugly kind of feel. They also have accordion-fueled waltzes that evoke Tom Waits, only with sweeter vocal inflection.

“Red River Hustle” is a whimsical and mostly autobiographical tale of living in San Jose, where, within one square mile, blocks of high-style posh condominium high-rises are set off by blocks of despairing poverty and half-way houses. Sprott’s observations are at once humorous as well as poignant.

They are playing at The Blank Club in downtown San Jose this Saturday, March 14. See you there!