Drop Trio

Best Keyboardist (Ian Varley); Best Jazz; Best Funk/R&B/Reggae

Among instrumental "improv spaceship prog rock" band Drop Trio's recent feats -- South By Southwest gigs the last two years, landing a cut on The Johnson Family Vacation soundtrack, opening for a who's who of nationally prominent groove/jam bands -- keyboardist Ian Varley seems proudest of surviving riding in a van together to such exotic locales as Tulsa, New Orleans and Abilene with the other members of his trio. He's also pleased with the telepathy he says his band has developed: "We love playing together, communicating on stage. We've been doing it long enough now to where we can really read each other's minds sometimes, go in crazy wild directions that we've never been in before." Muzak John and Two Star Symphony get cheery shout-outs, but Houston's sprawl factor gets the gas face: "Maybe it's because Houston is such a vast sprawl, but it takes a lot of effort to get something to build and roll on its own," Varley says. -- John Nova Lomax