14K performs Saturday for Carson City Flatbed series

With society divided on many topics, guitarist and songwriter Dave Berry hopes music can be a force to unite people in rough times.

“It will be nice to get back and play music and have that be a thing that is uniting and hopefully bringing people together,” he said.

It’s been months since Berry performed live, and he can’t wait to get back in the groove Saturday as part of the Brewery Art Center’s Flatbed Series. He and bandmate drummer/vocalist Cliff Porter have not had a show since February.

“It’s been a while. I’m super excited,” Berry said. “My fingers might be a little sore afterward, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Berry and Porter are locally known as part of their larger national touring funk, rock and soul band Jellybread. They’ve had 14K as a project since the beginning, playing at ski resorts, casinos and other gigs. The Reno-based musicians have been part of the local music scene for about 14 years with many performances in Carson City.

“We get a great reception and we love going down there and playing,” he said. “We know a lot of folks down there, so it’s a good time.”

Their last time in Carson City was January at the Loud As Folk Songwriter Showcase hosted by the BAC.

“We had a blast,” he said.

14K’s music incorporates Jelly Bread into the mix, but the sound is different without the full band. Dave plays acoustic guitar and Cliff plays the cajon, which is an acoustic drum. Dave has a couple of solo albums he pulls some songs from, and they’ll do covers too. He said they add slower, singer-songwriter types of songs into the mix with the smaller show, and they focus on harmony.

The band describes themselves as: A duo that takes you on a singer/songwriter journey about life and the struggles of a musician, all while making you laugh at some of the stories they tell.

STRUGGLING MUSICIANS

The pandemic hit Jelly Bread hard, Berry said. With most of their summer shows canceled, the band took a big loss in revenue. Berry lived on the road playing music full time for 12 years. Without any shows, he needed to restart his business as a painting contractor to pay the bills.

“It will be nice to get off a ladder and sit down with a guitar,” he said. “And do what we feel like we were born to do.”

Berry said Porter has been struggling to make ends meet. Once Jelly Bread lost all their live shows, two members of the band moved back to their hometowns.

“It’s a really weird time for us,” Berry said. “Especially with half of our band moving back home. It’s questionable what will happen and if we make it through this and come back.”

Playing on Saturday will make things feel a bit more normal for Berry, and he hopes music can bring the community together.

“It’s going to be nice to get back to what we do and the communal thing and everyone is there for one thing – music – instead of spouting their beliefs and negativity.”