Musical Landscapes

The Crooked Vines take risks and detours while remaining cohesive.

- Rory Callais

Mikayla Braun is beaming.It is not because her band, local funk-pop group the Crooked Vines, is playing to a large and enthralled crowd at Tipitina’s (which they are). Nor is it because the singer/keyboardist clearly has the audience on a string, captivating them with her smoky, soulful voice (she does). No, she is watching her bandmates with genuine pride as keyboardist/saxophonist Stephen Schwartz, saxophonist Lori LaPatka, trombonist James Keene and drummer Woody Hill take solos throughout the set, each getting his or her moment to shine.

Considering the Crooked Vines’ gigging history, Braun has a lot of experience seeing her bandmates hone their craft on stage. “I had never played with any of these guys before, and being onstage for three-hour gigs multiple times a month lets you hear different nuances in ideas and different sounds,” says Braun, “especially when it comes to improvisation and solos. We all have completely different musical influences, and I think it’s really cool to be able to understand and then play off of it.”