Surprise Me Mr. Davis: Casual supergroup endures

Surprise Me Mr. Davis never had a plan, no goals, no dreams of conquering the rock world. Truth be told, more than six years into the band's life, there still isn't any plan. Nor an official debut album for that matter. But this is what makes it work.

"There is a fear that if we ever took it more seriously, all of the things we love about it would get swallowed up by the business and the drive and having to really deal with each other" says front man/singer/guitarist/magician Nathan Moore. "There's been a genuine reluctance to put that kind of pressure on Davis because it's a vacation spot for us - we don't want to move there."

Officially formed in 2004 as a quartet featuring Moore and avant-rock trio the Slip (guitarist/vocalist Brad Barr, drummer Andrew Barr, bassist Marc Friedman), they would eventually add keyboard player - and frequent Davis collaborator - Marco Benevento of the Benevento-Russo Duo, making them somewhat of a post-jam-band supergroup.

The story goes that Surprise Me Mr. Davis was conceived when Moore took a gig as the Slip's merch guy in 2001. And that tale is not untrue, but it downplays the history and mutual admiration shared by these artists. Long before Moore jumped in a van with the Slip, he was the leader of indie folk band ThaMuseMeant, and the two acts would cross paths as they toured the festival circuit. Benevento's tie goes back even further, to the mid-'90s when he met the Slip at the esteemed Berklee College of Music.

In 2003, a massive blizzard galvanized the group. Snowed in during a visit to the Barrs' home in Boston, Moore and the brothers started messing around with newly purchased recording gear. Having just launched Frogville Records, Moore suggested they let him release it.

"I was like, 'We should just give it as an anonymous gift to my label as one of the first releases,' " Moore says. "So we put it out without any track listing or info on who was on it, and just called it 'Surprise Me Mr. Davis.' "

Then a funny thing happened. After a few rootsy, psychedelic Americana rock shows in support of the cryptic release and a couple of well-received stops at the High Sierra Music Festival, a community took shape. Pockets of passionate fans have fueled sporadic tours and a couple more EPs and generally kept the band alive ever since. The secret to their success might just be that they've refused the urge to quit their day jobs.