ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Steely Dan was a staple rock-and-roll group in the 1970s, releasing critically-acclaimed hits like “Reelin’ in the Years” and the 1977 album “Aja” to commercial success.

This January, Steely Dan is coming to Asheville. Sort of.

“Dirty Logic was a bunch of folks who were getting into the hired gun world. You know, playing wedding gigs, corporate things,” said bassist Jake Wolf. “After a gig one night, everyone was sitting around talking about stuff and somebody had the idea of, like, you know what would be really fun? To do this Steely Dan tribute band.”

Dirty Logic was formed. The band played their first show in 2018 and has been getting together for sporadic concerts since. They will be taking to the stage for the first time since Hurricane Helene struck the region at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Asheville.

While other tribute bands may dress as their idols or attempt to replicate performances exactly, the members of Dirty Logic merely try to play Steely Dan music as honestly as they can. It’s as much about enjoying playing the songs as musicians as putting on a Steely Dan show.

“It’s been a sort of threading the needle,” Wolf said. “Like really play the music authentically as an actual tribute to the band. But also be ourselves, look like ourselves.”

The members of Dirty Logic are all in their own respective bands around town. There are also a lot of them: 11 regular members, with several substitutes whenever a bandmate can’t make it to a show.

“We have 11 people, which is a big band like Steely Dan. But it’s because it requires three vocalists and four horn players, plus a rhythm section to really make that music sound correct,” said Wolf.

The band is comprised of the following core members:

  • Patrick Armitage – Drums
  • Jonathan Cole – Tenor Sax
  • Pam Jones – Vocals
  • Jonathan Lloyd – Trombone & Percussion
  • Debrissa McKinney – Vocals
  • Tim Morgan – Trumpet
  • Duane Simpson – Guitar
  • Garrick Smith – Baritone Sax
  • Alex Taub – Keys
  • Jeff Thompson – Lead Vocals
  • Jake Wolf – Bass

Saxophonist Ben Colvin and Vocalists Josh Clark and Tracey Wolf are also regular Dirty Logic contributors.

They are “very much in the band and super involved, but maybe don’t play every show,” Wolf wrote in an email. “They sub out for the other folks as needed.”

Dirty Logic is looking for a new concert venue to perform in every few months or so and hopes that Wortham will be that spot. For their show on Jan. 11, they already have their Steely Dan selections in mind.

“One of the ways we’re trying to commemorate the show was by doing these album themes,” Wolf said. “We’re going to play these two albums in their entirety. It’s two of the band’s favorite albums, a lot of people’s favorite albums and then we’ll do a couple of greatest hits as well from other things.”

Those two albums are “Aja” and its preceding record, the 1976 album “The Royal Scam.”

For Wolf’s part, his favorite Steely Dan song is off of the band’s 1980 album, “Gaucho.”

“They’ve had a lot of good bass players over the years and the one who’s my favorite is Anthony Jackson, who played just a couple of, not a ton of the songs but some of my favorite songs,” Wolf said. “My favorite tune probably to play is called ‘Glamour Profession’ and that’s an Anthony Jackson tune on bass.”

For more information about Dirty Logic, visit their website, dirtylogic.band. For tickets to their show, visit the Wortham Arts website.