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Yacht Club to host Euforquestra’s farewell gig

By Steven Horowitz

Iowa City’s seven-member world beat ensemble Euforquestra is moving to Colorado next week but is having one final blowout at the Yacht Club Saturday night before they leave.

“Be prepared for surprises,” says Eric Quiner, the band’s keyboard player. Though tight-lipped as to what those surprises might be, he promises the audience will have a good time.

Percussionist Matt Grundstad was only a little more forthcoming about the show. “We are going to try and do things we haven’t done before, and we are going to bring back old songs we haven’t done in a while,” he says. “That’s all I am going to say.”

Both men clearly want their fans to be treated to something unexpected and do not want to give away secrets.

Being unpredictable has always been part of Euforquestra’s charm. The band plays in a variety of styles including Cuban, Brazilian, African, reggae, salsa, soca and calypso— and combines them in a variety of astonishing ways.

“We want it to be an enjoyable learning experience every time we play,” Grunstad says, “for the audience and for the band.”

Quiner agrees: “Musical exploration is the whole point.”

That’s one of the reasons Euforquestra is moving to Ft. Collins on the front range of the Rocky Mountains. “There are a lot of bands in Colorado we want to collaborate with on stage and in the studio.” Grunstad says. “There’s a real open and receptive community of musicians from all over the world out there.”

Both Grunstad and Quiner agree that Iowa City has been a great incubator for the band.

“Iowa City is the perfect place to get started a musician,” Grunstad says. “There are a lot of talented people here and it’s easy to get a band together and find venues and get experience.”

But the band clearly wants to continue its development and the smaller size of Iowa City confining.

“We plan to continue doing what we did in Iowa when we are in Colorado, by on a much bigger scale,” Quiner says. “We love Iowa; we just want to take our music and our careers to another level.”

Euforquestra first gigged in Colorado more than two years ago and has since performed there about every two months since. Grunstad and Quiner say they’ve found audiences in Colorado receptive to the group’s exploratory style of performing. They’ve played at big festivals and celebrations and smaller concerts and parties, but they have always felt comfortable with the vibe out there.

But that doesn’t mean the band will completely abandon the Hawkeye State.

“We will be moving right off Route 80 because this will enable us to easily travel both east and west,” Quiner says.

Adds Grunstad: “We plan on coming back to the Midwest on a regular basis. Iowa City will always be the home in which we were born.”