"It was a dark and stormy night," begins Peter Lane when telling the origin story of Time for Three. When a storm knocked out the power ahead of a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center in Philadelphia, the self-described "classically trained garage band" amazed the audience of more than 13,000 people and launched their career.
Ranaan Meyer, who plays double bass and sings for the trio that includes Charles Yang and Nick Kendall on violins and vocals, says that they were unknown outside of the orchestra before that performance.
"They all knew who Time for Three was after that," he says. "In the industry, they say if you convert 5-10% of an audience to like your band or like your music, that's a big win. I think that night it may have been more like an 80 to 90% conversion rate. It couldn't have been a more perfect setting for us to get a boost. The next day, the phone was just ringing, and all of a sudden we had offers. We just hadn't had that until that moment in time."
That evening also led to a genuine friendship between the trio and Lane, who is now president and CEO of the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.
"He became such an advocate for us, such a cheerleader, such a supporter," Meyer adds. "To this day, the biggest advice that I give to up-and-coming people, not just musicians, is: If you admire somebody, if you respect somebody, if you want to get to know that person, the biggest compliment is to ask them for their opinions, their thoughts, experiential knowledge, basic advice. Because there's going to be a connection there that is really strong as a result of that.
"I'm not saying that this should ever be superficial or just done because there's an advantage to it. It always should be authentic. With [Lane] we still have so much respect for him to this day. I actually use him as a thought leader," Meyer goes on. "I'm really happy for your community that you have him as a leader because I think he just does amazing things."
Since their storm-darkened performance on July 31, 2003 -- Meyer says he remembers the date because his niece was born that evening -- the trio has spent the last two decades blurring the lines between classical, Americana, pop and the many styles in between. They have played at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and The Royal Albert Hall and have earned praise from NPR, NBC and The Wall Street Journal. In 2021 they partnered with cellist Ben Sollee to write and compose music for Robin Wright's film, "Land," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Their most recent album, "Letters for the Future," was nominated for a Grammy and includes concertos composed for the trio.
"What I hoped the listener gets out of it, and what our goals were, is that there's a sense of hopefulness and a feeling that not only are things going to be OK, but they're going to be just extraordinary. There's a lot of promise in music."
For their concert at the Walton Arts Center, Meyer says they plan to take the listeners "on a journey."
"If you're a Time for Three fan, you're going to hear a lot of new stuff," Meyer says, adding that about a third of the show will be brand new material. "They're going to hear some ear candy arrangements, very recognizable pieces, that stood the test of popular time. We'll most likely play 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen and 'Desperado' by the Eagles, and 'Like a Rolling Stone,' by Bob Dylan ... and very familiar arrangements, but in our own way.
"I think it's sort of a jukebox," he says of Time for Three's performance. "There's going to be a really big range of music that goes into it, but it's bouncy, it's fresh. [The audience will] listen and probably will feel a lot of emotions when they come to a show."
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FAQ
Time For Three
WHEN -- 7 p.m. Jan. 24
WHERE -- Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST -- $18 & up
INFO -- 443-5600 or waltonartscenter.org