Today Bob plays KW Content music — music by musicians from all over Waterloo Region.
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Johnny Keys, Kathryn Scobie, and Peter Morrison of Gaucho
Bob is joined by three members of the Steely Dan tribute band, Gaucho: Johnny Keys, Kathryn Scobie, and Peter Morrison. They talk about the intricacy of Steely Dan music, the musicality, learning the music, the lineup of the band, a bit of musicological comparison for “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, and Gaucho‘s upcoming gigs.
Introducing the members of Gaucho who are in the studio: JT or Johnny Keys, one of the co-founders of the band; Kathryn Scobie, trombone and backing vocals, and the newest member of the band; and Peter Morrison, drummer and the other co-founder of the band. Started the project three years ago, and it was all Johnny’s fault. Although JT was not a Steely Dan fan, he was intrigued by the musicality while in university. Years later they got together, just to play Aja, with Jeff (JD Maas) and other musicians.
9m30s
Steely Dan is old music, is it still popular? Yes! It was popular amongst audiophiles and a “certain” genre of people, but now it’s mainstream. When you’re playing Steely Dan then you’re not only playing, but listening to the music. It was the song Gaucho that was a favourite, they became hyperfocused on it, and is partially responsible for naming the band. JP (John Pagnotta), the sax player, hit the notes perfectly. Other band members came on, everyone feels like they belong. Kathryn thought she was getting spam when JT first asked her to join. The first thing she did was a vocal rehearsal.
17m39s
Talking about the upcoming album! Radio Waterloo has pre-release tracks.
Bob remarks that Gaucho is a tight band. The music isn’t as difficult as people make it out to be, but you have to be very precise. One missed note can throw off the entire band. It’s jazz because of the chord structure, maybe not the rhythms. It’s really hard to pick it up by ear, so jazz is the only genre that fits. But the only improvisation is the endings of the songs.
27m35s
Where do they get the music? Making charts by listening to the music; someone in England had transcribed the music. Hal Leonard, a music publisher, has a series called Note For Note which is how JT learned the music. Even Steely Dan stayed faithful to the score. Talking about using technology like Amazing Slow Downer to analyze the music.
32m23s
Bob wants to do some side-by-side comparison musicology. Peter picks “Rikki”, JT is surprised by this twist in the interview.
Talking about the differences: The biggest difference is Jeff, the singer. Steely Dan was all male vocals, but Gaucho has female backing vocals. Bob finds that Gaucho is a lot more “guitar prominent” than Steely Dan, JT attributes that to the Brian, the guitar player. But early Steely Dan was a lot more rock-oriented.
42m22s
Are there critics who don’t like Gaucho‘s interpretations? Not really, everyone seems to like Gaucho. It’s because of the members of the band, the stage setup, and the quality of the sound. The Jazz Room is known to have good sound. Talking about the Jazz Room gig on Thursday 24 July 2025. JT is always looking for new musicians to join the band, which Becker and Fagen of Steely Dan did too.
44m40s
Introducing Peg. JT says they still haven’t perfected it, but since Kathryn came on board it’s closer.
Bob notes that all the Steely Dan songs are long, over four minutes. JT runs down the line-up of the eight-member band. Will they all fit in the Jazz Room? Kathryn has performed with 20 musicians. JT hopes his keyboards will fit, Peter may bring only his bongos. Discussing the different instrumentation on Steely Dan numbers.
55m35m
Talking about some other performances: Meaford on 22 August 2025, and Cobourg on 26 September 2025, and Penetang on 13 December 2025. More event listings at https://gaucholive.com/events/. How JT made a cold-call to the studio to book the interview.
57m40s
Bob gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
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Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
