“We have enough material to play a three-hour show,” says guitarist Aaron de la Rosa of Science Fiction Jazz, who as of 2014 had only released one self-titled EP. “It’s just a matter of getting into a studio and actually recording it.”
The EP, with tracks such as “Swampfoot” and “Mt. Scurvy,” is a mix of competent, clean jazz progressions and funky, meandering vamps. The band’s name is an ode to their self-confessed geekery and Star Wars fandom more than anything else, although the drummer reportedly grabbed the phrase “science fiction” off of a poster when the group needed a name.
They try to play a show every other weekend so band members can take some time to work on side projects. Aaron’s alter-ego plays guitar in a Euro-Gypsy foot-stomping outfit called Quel Bordel, while his brother Allen strays more toward indie rock in his band Porn Film.
One of the biggest things that complicates the group’s desire to record is the improvisational nature of their shows.
“An eight-minute song might be ten minutes long the next time we play it,” explains de la Rosa. “Trying to figure out just how to record something we play so differently live is tricky. I mean, you want the album to make people say, ‘Wow. Cool. I like these guys!’ But, then it has to be an even better experience live. That’s a hard thing to bottle and make digestible.”