Funk Is......... Abstract

Description:

Name:

Funk Is......... Abstract

Screen Name:

Ailadad

Years Together:

1

Level Of Commitment:

Committed

Gigs Played:

10 to 50

Tend to Practice:

1 time per week

Available to Gig:

1 time(s) per week

I am a trombone player looking for a bass, keys, guitar, drums, flute and a tenor/alto sax player to start up a group with. I envision it being very rhythm section/groove orientated, while sax, flute and trombone are not front men, but rather, a component of the whole, where each player is as valuable and as dominant as the rest.

I’m thinking of something that incorporates elements from sounds such as the The Meters, Yesterdays New Quintet, The Greyboy Allstars, Bonerama, Herbie Hancock, Medeski Martin & Wood, Papa Grows Funk, Parliment, Funkadelic, J.J. Johnson, Steve Turre, Coltrane, Miles, (all the old school Bebop greats), etc. Of course I have many other influences (and would be open to hearing about more, possibly fusion influences), but I think these are some bands that can sum up the sound I'm thinking about.

I think the key words would be groove, melody, and harmony. Each person should feel like his or her capabilities are being stretched out, so that no one gets bored. Yet the focus is to play groovy, very melodic, and harmonic sounds that the crowd can get into and jive with. I just want to groove mostly blues and funk vamps that don’t lose sight of a jazz influence. I see something where we play in an open, improvising form where ideas can flow.

With that said, I also want to leave room for, to whatever extent, an electronic/hip-hop/atmospheric sound. When I say hip-hop I mean the production sound behind great hip-hop (think Ant from Atmosphere, DJ Logic, DJ Shadow, old school Tribe/De La, RJD2 or Gorillaz, etc). I dream of a sound where the horn players are not always dominant and can contribute in other ways besides just playing their horns. I can play keys bringing in other sounds/layers/effects to compliment what the “main” keys player is doing to add the electronic/atmospheric sound.

I use a harmony pedal, a wah pedal and distortions that really give me a unique and different sound on the bone. I want to play with a group where integrating this sound in the right way would be cool. I can stir it up and use different variations of that sound, with mutes, etc, to create a multitude of different options to create different moods. I guess I should also say that I have been playing the trombone for over 15 years, I have played in different bands in that time, and I was a music major at a university for a stint. I have since moved into a different profession, have a beautiful little girl, and am busy, but am trying to keep the music alive in my life.

I live on the East Side of St. Paul and own a home with a nice carpeted, finished basement where we could jam, but would be open to playing other places as well. I have a Yamaha Clavinova keyboard, an E-Mu Proteus 2000 sound module, and Centuar Acoustic monitor, as well as an old Wurlitzer Organ, that could get us started. I use the key acoustic monitor and a tube preamp with a condenser mic for my pedal effects stuff, and the sound module for performing live, where I can add a key part here and there, if we think its needed.

So hit me back if you are at all interested or if you have any questions about anything. Of course I am open to all ideas, and types of sounds. I understand that these are just my ideas and I am completely open to what could be done as a whole. Of course, everything takes shape once you get together and just start playing. I do want to share this project with others and am totally welcome to different ideas. I think that it should be “owned” by each person, and we should all feel that way.

I want to get a group together and start something from scratch and work with good people, to make truly hip music in the right vein, and have a lot of fun in the process, but nothing to over the top. No pressure, we all have other things going on in our lives. Let’s just have fun, make genuinely hip music and get out there and play when and as much as we all think we can.

Peace! Hope to hear from you!

Anson
Trombone

Email - ailadad@live.com

Influences:

Bad Plus, The Meters, Yesterdays New Quintet, The Greyboy Allstars, Soulive, Herbie Hancock, Medeski Martin & Wood, Papa Grows Funk, Topaz, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Tribe called Quest, DJ Logic, Funkadelic, Parliment, Fred Wesley, Bonerama, J.J. Johnson, etc, etc, etc.

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