The Joyous Reunion of Custard Pie at Fox Fam Jam
OK, to be fair, this was actually Custard Pie’s second show back after a six-year hiatus. Irrelevant. This trio came roaring back with a joyous 100-minute performance on the second day of the inaugural Fox Fam Jam in Brooksville, Florida.
Rory Joseph, Aaron Webb, and Brandon Howell created Custard Pie long about 2017, and they hit the road hard with their cosmic gypsy jam band based out of Jacksonville. They earned great festival slots in addition to their full calendar of shows through early 2020 with a set at Swamptown Getdown during the soft close before Covid shut down everything. Joseph and family moved to Asheville, where he tucked right into the groovalicous vibes of Dr. Bacon. Meanwhile, Webb, bass, and Howell, drums, were — and are — in constant demand in the Jacksonville area, separately and together as a brilliant rhythm section.
Hurricane Helene wiped out much of the Asheville area in September of 2024, and that included Joseph’s home. He recently moved back near family in Valdosta, Georgia.
Joseph will firmly avow that he has played with many great musicians but that his very best experience has been working with Webb and Howell, and he is thrilled that they have reunited. They played a small festival earlier this year, but Saturday’s set at Fox Fam Jam was their first real opportunity to dive back into the scene, and it’s clear the scene is ready for their high-powered Southern-tinged rock.
The trio crushed their opening instrumental tune “Diminished Love,” and it was GAME ON! However great I thought Webb and Howell were, they blew past those memories with ease. Howell’s superb polyrhythms and Webb’s huge fat bass tones enriched every song in the set. Joseph handles lots of the vocals with his chameleon-like voice, and I forgot how much I love Howell’s vocals and raps. Somewhere in there he also had a truly engaging drum solo.
Joseph introduced us to “So Brand New,” a tune by singer/songwriter Jason Chancey. They followed that up with a superb cover of my favorite Moonshine Still song, “Barely Alive.” WOW! Along the way, they also tossed out Keller Williams’ “Hey Ho Jorge.” they were firing on all cylinders as they took the blues route through “Howlin’ (At the Moon).”
How much time left? 30 minutes? It seemed appropriate given the six-year hiatus that they closed with a half-hour romp through a song titled “Where You Been?” Joseph pulled out all the stops on guitar. Everybody had plenty of space to stretch out and show us that Custard Pie are indeed back and ready to roar.
Welcome back, Rory, Aaron, and Brandon. I suspect we will be seeing a lot more of each other!
[CP: Diminished Love, Spending My Time, Stone Cold Fool, Zendavesta, So Brand New, Barely Alive, Moondark, Hey Ho Jorge, Howlin’ (At the Moon), Where You Been?]
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