Why aren't there any funk/disco pub bands?

[crez5150]

[quote name='OldGit' post='772225' date='Mar 11 2010, 10:43 PM']Oh no Diss intended! More like Re-spect![/quote]

I know....... you love it!

[Les]

Pubs pay £150-200 ish up here. There'sonly 3 of us so you can get a beer out of it, you'd struggle if there was 6 or 7 of you, ie horns, etc. But I'd love to see a couple of soul/funk bands on our local circuit.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Les' post='772231' date='Mar 11 2010, 10:44 PM']Pubs pay £150-200 ish up here. There'sonly 3 of us so you can get a beer out of it, you'd struggle if there was 6 or 7 of you, ie horns, etc. But I'd love to see a couple of soul/funk bands on our local circuit.[/quote]


You're not wrong Les....... Pubs pay poo....

The thing is that with good Disco music.... there's a lot going on..... my outfit is a 5 piece, but we handle horns and such with keys/samples so we get away with it.... 3 vox so we just about get away with the big vocals sounds on some of those recordings.... Function work pays very well but you have to have a punter who wants that genre of music rather than an eclectic mix

[bubinga5]

Talking of funky Zep...this is badass...love it like any funk song...they knew what they were doing these guys....amazing

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1PoxTp7jIM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1PoxTp7jIM[/url]

Edited March 11, 2010 by bubinga5

[BassBunny]

[quote name='Les' post='772231' date='Mar 11 2010, 10:44 PM']Pubs pay £150-200 ish up here. There'sonly 3 of us so you can get a beer out of it, you'd struggle if there was 6 or 7 of you, ie horns, etc. But I'd love to see a couple of soul/funk bands on our local circuit.[/quote]

Les, Check out North West Bands. [url="http://www.northwestbands.co.uk/"]http://www.northwestbands.co.uk/[/url]

There are a few Soul/Funk bands on there, (including us), and they usually go out of their way to promote their Gigs.
There seems to be a bit of change going on in parts of the North West. We have had a lot of pubs contacting us and when I point out that we do Funk/Soul/Tamla and they usually have Rock Bands on they want to try something different. If you look on NWB most of the bands have a pretty similar set-list and the punters are fed up with the same old same old.
I've just joined a JazzFunk band as well, (think Mezzoforte, Spyro Gyra, Meters etc.). There are probably about 6 venues in the NW we can ply our trade, but what the hell, great music to play.

[crez5150]

...... This brings back so many hazy memories..... oh yes

[Stan_da_man]

Because funk dosen't make money. Not that that stopped me from forming my own funk band.

[xgsjx]

I know rock can be hard to play, but what I actually meant was it's easy for a bunch of average (as a whole) musicians to play good sounding rock or punk music.
I think funk & jazz take a lot more disciplin for a band to sound good.

+1 on the 6-7 members issue too.

[Cat Burrito]

There's a couple that I know of. A bit like country bands, loads about but they tend to play a different circuit. Different audiences I guess

[51m0n]

Last time I was in an out and out funk band was pre-millenium

6 Piece old school funk band (we had a flutist, nice!) and as we aimed at a hornless sound and as we were original it was fine. Used to pack in the punters (I mean really pack them in) - student town meant a lot of people just all about something to dance to.

I've been on the look out for funk orientated players for months now, they just aren't about down here at all any more; ok one or two, but thats it, literally hundreds of rock and punk players mind.

Its not really harder to play funk than rock lets face it, you dont have to have a big horn section, though it can help, I really don't understand why there isnt more interest, punters love it!

[Musicman69]

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='772213' date='Mar 11 2010, 10:35 PM']I've tried to get together a band to do it many times but I just can't get the musicians around here, even just a basic drums/bass/guitar/keyboards/vocals setup.

What I want to do is 1970s funk/disco like Chic, Sister Sledge, Rose Royce etc. but I've found that drummers and guitarists in particular who are up to it are virtually impossible to find. Rock and Indie is so popular because it's relatively easy to play.[/quote]

Correct and true.. same all over.
If something is difficult most people just want the easy option so they stay in the ol comfort zone.
Craptastic.

[thisnameistaken]

I was in a large (10-piece) touring funk band in the mid '90s, but that was in the USA and they will turn out in droves to see good live music, so it was easy to keep a large band on the go.

I think the problem over here is once you start adding brass - assuming you're going the function/wedding route or pub covers and money-making is your priority - you're going to end up with a band that can't support itself or can't compete on price with other bands. And if you're doing covers you'll either need brass, keys and percussion... or the dreaded backing tapes.

I suppose if you had a couple of versatile brass players who could also play keys and percussion, and a singing guitarist, bassist and drummer then you could potentially cover a lot of ground with a 5-piece band, but you would still run out of instrumentalists if you wanted to do old Stax tunes.

[iconic]

[quote name='crez5150' post='772150' date='Mar 11 2010, 09:39 PM']Iconic...... you missed my band..... Hot Sauce at the Dog and Partridge near Orsett last week..... all the disco and funk you can shake a stick at....
[url="http://www.myspace.com/hotsaucedisco"]Hot sauce on Myspace[/url]

We are on Facebook too ;o)

I'll send you some dates for the near future if you're interested

J

PS.... sample set list below -

Superfly
Couldn't Get It Right
Long Train Running
Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out
Living For The City
I Like It
Little L
Cosmic Girl
Play That Funky Music
Ladies Night
Love Me Sexy
You Should Be Dancin'
Signed, Sealed, Delivered


Theme From Starskey & Hutch
Superstition
Disco Inferno
Car Wash
Boogie Nights
Move On Up
Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Feels Funky
Cold Sweat
Sex Machine
I wish[/quote]


now that's a sweet selection I couldn't resist dates please!

[chris_b]

[quote]....Why aren't there any funk/disco pub bands?....[/quote]
Economics: 3 piece blues bands and 4 piece rock bands pay better.
Line up: Most pub bands are run by singing guitarists so guitar centric music will be preferred.
Ability: The musicianship in pub bands is usually not high and average musicians can't play funk right, so they don't, thank god!

[51m0n]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='772360' date='Mar 12 2010, 04:34 AM']I was in a large (10-piece) touring funk band in the mid '90s, but that was in the USA and they will turn out in droves to see good live music, so it was easy to keep a large band on the go.[/quote]


Is there such a thing as gig envy? I'd have loved the chance to tour America in a 10 piece funk band!!!

Biggest band I was in was a 19 piece funk band at college, we only did a couple of gigs for charidee mate, but they were awesome (we even had dancers on top of that). Just superb fun!

[waynepunkdude]

[OldGit]

[quote name='51m0n' post='772462' date='Mar 12 2010, 09:19 AM']Is there such a thing as gig envy? I'd have loved the chance to tour America in a 10 piece funk band!!!

Biggest band I was in was a 19 piece funk band at college, we only did a couple of gigs for charidee mate, but they were awesome (we even had dancers on top of that). Just superb fun![/quote]


I play baritone sax in an occasional mixed abled/disabled funk outfit that raises money for a single local charity that we are all involved in.

80% of the 8 or 9 horn players are beginners or born again players but the bass and drums are right on the money, male singer is a mad maelstrom of James Brown and Bootsie in Lycra and hair, Tenor player has his own proper funk outfit and the rest of us struggle on as best we can.

It's a lot of fun but there's a clear divide between the well known funk tunes like Sex machine and I feel good and the more obscure "classics" like Shack Up when it comes to audience reaction.

Funk pop like Crez 'Lurve Machine' 5150's band's set list is great but the obscure James Brown, album filler, "let's just play and see where this goes" hard core stuff is pretty boring for civilians after the first 5 minutes, even if you are dancing.

[JTUK]

There are disco funk bands round here...still stuck in that 80's timewarp but then you can say the same about the Bon Jon Jovi/Queen bands. They used to be very popular and are still presumably viable now.

The 50's something set still get out and about for the latter. If blues bands can keep going them so can others

Having said that..and I am not a great blues fan.. blues bands aqround here are as good now as I can remember..
Lots of nice players around, IME.

[JTUK]

Starsky and Hutch theme tune is called Gotcha and Tom Scott's album version is soooo much better.

I agree that keys and horns aren't as common place as the rest but there are no absence of them around here. I guess it depends which pool you are plugged into?

A jazz playing booker will have them ALL on tap and if you play with that booker, bob's your monkey..

[iconic]

[quote name='JTUK' post='772669' date='Mar 12 2010, 12:35 PM']There are disco funk bands round here...still stuck in that 80's timewarp but then you can say the same about the Bon Jon Jovi/Queen bands. They used to be very popular and are still presumably viable now.

The 50's something set still get out and about for the latter. If blues bands can keep going them so can others

Having said that..and I am not a great blues fan.. blues bands aqround here are as good now as I can remember..
Lots of nice players around, IME.[/quote]


....so if I like classical music I must be sub-timewarp

[Marvin]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='772477' date='Mar 12 2010, 09:27 AM'][/quote]

Are you the love child of Victor Meldrew or have you had to work at being this miserable?


[size=5]Disco is Good[/size]

[dangee]

[quote name='iconic' post='772124' date='Mar 11 2010, 09:21 PM']...so why no funk pub bands?[/quote]

A combination of reasons...lack of money and lack of space tend to be two of the biggest...

[evilLordJuju]

[quote name='chris_b' post='772437' date='Mar 12 2010, 09:06 AM']Line up: Most pub bands are run by singing guitarists so guitar centric music will be preferred.[/quote]

I think this is the biggest cause. Bassplayers want to play funk, drummers want to do jazz, and guitarists want to be Hendrix.

And the bandleader/singer/songwriter usually gets their way.