The Suffers’ brassy, big sound is finally being heard

Even those who’ve never heard of the Suffers may be familiar with them. They’ve probably seen them in a TV commercial for the Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, dancing, playing and singing along the streets of their hometown like life is one big party in the Bayou City.

Leading them is singer Kam Franklin, whose big voice can make walls tremble and who is becoming the face of the H-town indie music scene.

Certainly, the 10-piece band — whose brassy sound has been labeled “Gulf Coast Soul” — has a lot to celebrate these days.

They’ve finally released their long-awaited full-length debut album, simply called The Suffers, and they’re getting ready for their first overseas dates in France and Japan.

This comes after a year of notable appearances — playing The Late Show With David Letterman and the Austin City Limits musical festival and touring with Lake Street Dive among them — and the Make Some Room EP.

They got an especially solid back slap from Letterman, who exclaimed to his audience after their performance, “If you can’t do this, get out of the business!”

The group has taped upcoming TV slots for the PBS shows Live at 9:30 Hosted by Squarespace and Bluegrass Underground. This weekend, they make the trek up I-45 for a Friday show at Dallas’ Kessler Theater.

Classic style

As the Suffers have sometimes seemed like a well-kept secret over the last five years, this visibility is welcome.

“We’ve been sitting on these songs for a long time. It’s time to go to that next level,” Franklin said in a phone interview. “We’ve been in artist purgatory of not having the proper funding or label backing. But, after our Kickstarter [campaign], it’s been great.”

The band started in 2011 when bassist Adam Castaneda and keyboardist/singer Pat Kelly decided to launch a soul/jazz/reggae project with an old-school sensibility. The group grew to include drummer Nick Zamora, his brother guitarist Alex Zamora, guitarist Kevin Bernier, trumpeter Jon Durbin, saxophonist Cory Wilson, percussionist Jose “Chapy” Luna, and trombonist Michael Razo.

But it’s Franklin who provides the group’s soulful center with her brick wall of a voice that has little in common with current pop queens.

Instead, it harks back to an older, earthier incarnation of R&B that includes the likes of Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples. Her showcase ballad, Giver, is always a show-stopper.

“What appeals [to audiences] is that full-band sound a lot are familiar with but haven’t heard in awhile,” Franklin said. “So many popular bands on the radio don’t perform that way. It’s electronically produced and, nothing against that, but there’s something authentic from having a real horn on a record as opposed to a synthesized horn.”

Because of that, as well as the Texas roots, it might be tempting to put the Suffers in the same stylistic box as Fort Worth’s Leon Bridges, who also had a breakout year in 2015. But Franklin says that wouldn’t be quite right.

“People are excited to hear that classic soul sound,” she acknowledged. “Leon is more of a traditional, vintage soul thing. We’re doing soul, gospel, Latin, jazz and reggae.

“Drawing the comparison is natural because there’s not too many bands out there [playing] all the instruments. But as far as content is concerned, I don’t see the comparison.”

Playing North Texas

Franklin says there are certain parts of the country — New York, L.A., Chicago and even Boise, Idaho — where the fandom for the Suffers is “almost as strong as Houston.” Considering that DFW is just up the road from H-Town, the Suffers should — and deserve — to be better-known in North Texas.

She remembers the time the Suffers — along with another worthy Houston band, the Tontons — played to a far-from-full house in Deep Ellum on a rainy night.

“Sometimes people don’t [care] when you’re first coming out. Your biggest export is Leon Bridges. We met him at [Dallas music festival] Homegrown and he was still working at the restaurant and no one really cared,” she said.

“If it’s just me and the bartenders or if it’s packed out, I’m going to do the same show.”

Of course, it’s not the same in Houston, where the Suffers can headline a New Year’s Eve show for 1,400 at the House of Blues or sell out the Continental Club two nights running as they did in February. That’s why the city of Houston approached them about doing a commercial.

“They were looking to change up what they were doing as far as the campaign was concerned,” Franklin said. “We jumped at the opportunity because we are proud Houstonians.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 8:46 AM with the headline "The Suffers’ brassy, big sound is finally being heard."