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Are you a funkster?

Danno3000Danno3000 2,851 Posts
edited September 2006 in Strut Central
Having never heard their music, I can't comment on its quality. However, I recently had the pleasure of seeing this band perform:I have never seen "Supersition" butchered so brutally. Bands like this toss around the word "funk" like it means adding an MC to some jam band abomination. It takes some chutzpah to call yourself "God Made Me Funky" when you've clearly never listened to the Meters or James Brown when he's not singing "sex machine".

  Comments

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    I'm mostly into Dutch Jazz these days, but thanks for asking.
  • choleracholera 101 Posts
    The problem with bands like this, is that many times they got into 'funk' (whatever the hell that means nowadays) through the early 90's 'acid jazz' scene and never seemed to get past groups like Jamaroqui (really, I was about to look up the proper spelling, but then I realized that I didn't give a shit). Sure, that acid jazz stuff turned a lot of people onto other/deeper music, but many people never got past it, imho.

    I actually dj'ed a gig a while back where I was spinning before that same band, God Made Me Funky, and while a couple of those guys are actually alright musicians (and a couple of nice guys that I spoke to after), the music came off crazy jam bandy to me (read: corny), and really, that's never a good thing. BUT, the crowd of predominately unknowledged (new word!) party goers ate it up (I don't want to even try to explain the reaction they got with a cover of 'Jump Around' got. My girl was crazy happy that we were hanging in the back at the bar). I chalk it up to the simple fact that some people just don't care about quality, and just want a reason to jump around (no pun intended). That's cool. I will give them this... even though I was not feeling their music, they worked hard and pretty much played non-stop... mind you, that's what most jam bands do anyways.

    My biggest beef is when words like 'funk-a-licious' or 'funkdified' are thrown around. Who the fuck talks like this? Please leave the afro wig at home. Thanks.
  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,851 Posts


    My biggest beef is when words like 'funk-a-licious' or 'funkdified' are thrown around. Who the fuck talks like this? Please leave the afro wig at home. Thanks.

    Yeah, you make a good point. People here in Fredericton were loving the band, but my suspicion is that Fredericton loves anything that plays in the beer tent.

    I swear to you that someone standing beside me was yelling "funkalicious". Where does this come from? Fredericton is an overwhelmingly white, fiddle music and bar band sort of place. I think this "funkalicious" business is on some weird blackface trip.
  • choleracholera 101 Posts


    My biggest beef is when words like 'funk-a-licious' or 'funkdified' are thrown around. Who the fuck talks like this? Please leave the afro wig at home. Thanks.

    Yeah, you make a good point. People here in Fredericton were loving the band, but my suspicion is that Fredericton loves anything that plays in the beer tent.

    I swear to you that someone standing beside me was yelling "funkalicious". Where does this come from? Fredericton is an overwhelmingly white, fiddle music and bar band sort of place. I think this "funkalicious" business is on some weird blackface trip.

    Exactly! Man, I don't get it. It's as if they assume this is what you're supposed to say when you hear a bad rendition of 'Everyday People'. Oh, and pretty much any band that plays in the beer tent gets props from the drunken crowd.

    I remember I was playing one time and some dude came up to me after and told me (I'm black btw, just to put this into context) 'Groove set, brother!'. I was like

    'Brother'. One of the most abused terms, along with 'old school'. So lame.
  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts
    Honestly, I've always considered myself more of a "funkateer". But that's just me.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    things like this are related to the inexperience in music like you guys are saying

    some poseur bands of the past at least grew up in therea of...

    I imagine this phenomenon will grow in 10 years..like old school nights featuring 1996 hits
  • choleracholera 101 Posts
    A friend of mine works for a big online media company here in Toronto, and got a big promotion a while back. They were having this big company celebration for employees and clients at this bougie club here called This Is London. Really, not a place I would ever find myself going to, but this is my best friend, it was all free food (hello smoked duck!) and booze (hello free booze!) and free cab chip (hello $20 tip on a $10 cab ride) and he really wanted me and the missus to be there for support. We hit this thing, blah blah blah, time for the live music. The band that came on were all wearing big ass afro wigs and wore flames on their clothing.They were called something like the 'Funk Fucks', or at least that's how I remember it. Anyways, they break into 'Car Wash', then break into this breakdown with the girl screaming about being 'funktastic'. Right at that moment my girl looked at me and asked if I wanted to go for a smoke outside. Great timing.

    Really, I can't stand these type of cash grab bands. The types where they just play corporate events, when the CFO happens to be on the social committee and gives the suggestion of having a 'pimps and hoes' themed party to celebrate the end of the fiscal year, and they get this type of band. Meh, I mean, everyone's gotta eat... but these particular type of bands that do songs like 'Staying Alive' and spit out lines like 'Keep the groove groovin' need to be stopped.

    End of rant.
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