Moorestown resident Abe Speller and Sundad will perform at the Community House of Moorestown Monday.
Speller will be on drums and percussion, John Eurell senior and junior will play acoustic guitars and Kendall Buchanan will be on bass. Sundad’s original repertoire consists of finger-style acoustic guitar instrumentals that have been described as world fusion, new age and jam-band music.
Speller and Eurell Sr. have known each other for 40 years.
“The group started as a duo, with John and his son, both guitarists, and they did a CD together as a duo,” Speller recalled. “Then, when they did the second CD, John (Sr.) … asked me to come in and play on a couple of songs. So that’s how I got really in with them.”
“They needed a bass player and I brought Kendall in the group,” he added, “and that’s how it was formed probably eight to 10 years ago with this lineup.”
Speller was approached by Moorestown’s rec department to perform at the community house with Sundad.
“It sounded like a good opportunity to play in Moorestown and what I enjoy … it’s a different type of music,” he said. “ … This kind of has an Afro-celtic vibe to it, with the acoustic guitars and the African percussion aspect.”
Speller, Eurell Sr and Buchanan grew up together in the same New York town.
“The four of us go back,” Speller recounted. “ … John Sr. and I played in a band … He was (really) out of high school, but I think I was a senior in high school, so we’ve known each other that long. His son (John Jr.) I knew when he was born, so we go back that far. Kendall, the bass player, we went to the same church as young kids and our families knew each other in New York …
“It’s very easy to play together because we have this hometown connection.”
Speller described the type of sound he and Sundad produce as a “musical conversation.”
“The sound is two acoustic guitars, and then you add the bass for the bottom, it holds the bottom together,” he noted, “and then I’m playing drums and percussion just as a type of coding, if you will, a percussive … like sprinkles on a cake.”
“It’s what I call conversation; it’s musical conversation,” Speller continued. “With these guys, it’s the sound. It’s a very uplifting sound. It’s just very pleasurable to listen to. It’s very soothing, and so for us to make the music, it’s all about using your ears to listen to what the other person is doing.”
The musicians look forward to playing in front of friends in the township.
“We’ve been down here for 30 years and some people, (they) know that I play music, but they’ve never heard me play …” Speller said. “We’re looking forward to seeing friends at the event.”
Speller and Sundad’s performance kicks off at 7:15 p.m. For additional updates, visit https://sundad.com or Speller and the community house’s official Facebook pages.
