Galactic Funk (Part I)

Last post for the month. Just a few quick notes before I begin. First, I’ve decided that for format, I’m going to have just the two most recent posts showing on the page at any time. The rest will be available in the archives in the upper right-hand corner. Secondly, someone asked me if I could include sound clips on the site, and as much as I would absolutely love to do that, it would present a whole host of potential legal issues that I don’t want to deal with. Instead, I’ll try to include links to YouTube clips if they’re quality enough. Lastly, a Happy Birthday to the Small Donkey.

Ok, on with the show. I’ve been excited for this post for a long time. It’s about one of my absolute favorite bands, and will be split into two parts. It is a band of relative unknowns to most, but one that most people who know me and my musical tastes are going to have some level of familiarity with, because I’ve been destroying their anonymity for years. These guys are the modern-day masters of funk music. They are, New Orleans’ own, Galactic.

Galactic is a five-man (formerly six-man) jazz/funk group that has been around since the mid-‘90’s. They were first brought to my attention during my freshman year of college, by my musician-roommate JP. JP was an avid drummer and guitarist from Virginia, and he was very in tune with a lot of different stuff that I had just never heard in New York. Most of it was very mellow, groovy, jam-band stuff. Worth noting is that he also introduced me to John Mayer (way before he blew up), Ryan Adams, O.A.R., Ben Harper, Coldplay and others, while I’m pretty sure I introduced him to more rap music than he even knew existed (which is pretty much all I was listening to at age 18).

So anyway, since JP and I shared a mutual affinity for all things drum-related, he turned me on to this funk band Galactic, because their drummer was point-blank the best in the business. According to him, I simply had to hear it. I remember how he used this now-defunct, highly primitive file-sharing site (I can’t even remember the name of it anymore) on my computer, and came up with a couple of tracks that he thought I’d like. I remember being absolutely blown away. At that point I had only heard old-school funk. I had no idea that modern bands were playing funk like this. And let me clarify, it was not rock, or hip-hop, or anything else that had elements of funk to it. No, it was just straight up, groovy funk music. And JP was right, the drummer was intense… he filled up the track with more drum sounds than I could process, yet it didn’t sound at all cluttered. Everything fit together perfectly, in this exciting, fast-paced display of raw musical energy. Guitar solos, sax riffs, screeching organs, impossible drum solos, perfect basslines… it was unreal. The love affair was born.

Galactic started in 1994, as the brainchild of two ordinary kids from D.C. Guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio were so into music, that they decided to pick their colleges of choice, based largely on the music of the city in which the college was located (I’m sorry, but how ballsy is that!). Their love of funk and soul landed them both in New Orleans, where they sharpened their skills by immersing themselves in the local styles of jazz playing. In time they teamed up with saxophonist/guitarist Ben Ellman (a California transplant), and keyboardist Rich Vogel (a Midwest transplant). But the lineup wasn’t truly complete without the addition of a true local. As it was, that local would become the driving force behind the band’s sound, as his musical prowess was so deeply rooted in the New Orleans style of jazz, that he stands out on nearly every song this band plays. The “local” was drummer Stanton Moore, highly regarded as one of the finest drummers in the business today. And there they were… five scrawny-looking young white kids, playing funk music in the heart of New Orleans. Pretty impressive.

But once again, they couldn’t resist adding some more New Orleans flair. So the band decided that they should branch out, away from just instrumentals, and take on a vocalist. How about a hip, young superstar-in-the-making? Nope. Instead they decided to go with a local legend named Theryl “The Houseman” DeClouet, who was 20 years older than most of the band members. This proved to be the finishing touch on a formula for 7 years and 4 studio albums of great funk music, which culminated in 2003 with DeClouet’s retirement, and the band’s rise to semi-mainstream fame.

Now for the sound. I know I seem to throw this phrase around quite a bit, but this music truly is like nothing else I’ve heard. Like I stated earlier, a lot of bands out there can summon up a funky sound, but they’re not really playing funk music. These guys play real funk, and they make it sound modern. And it all starts with the drums. Stanton Moore plays the straight-up, unabashedly groovy and syncopated New Orleans style of drumming. Lots of snare drum, great exchanges with the snare and the hi-hat, backbeats on the bass drum that seem out of place at first, and an overall ability to make complex patterns sound easy, while never over-doing it and drowning out his bandmates. He’s one of the few musicians out there who can approach an instrument with a “less-is-more” style of play that will actually allow him to rip through immensely complicated rhythms without anyone even noticing. I have to laugh a little when people anoint flashier players as the kings or queens or their instruments, when in reality most of those players are a lot of gimmicks with little substance. Not the case here. Moore’s play is almost always flawless, and provides the funky framework over which the other Galactic members can lay down their respective grooves. (Check out this video for some of Moore's great licks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYBmaXztl1I&feature=related).

Moore’s rhythmic counterpart is undoubtedly bassist Robert Mercurio (in many of today’s musical genres, it is the bass and drums that are considered the “rhythm section”, whereas years ago there might have also been a piano, horn(s), second guitar, etc. due to the fact that there were more instruments available to play the lead parts). Like Moore, Mercurio’s play is understated yet highly sophisticated. He generally finds a groove and sticks to it throughout a song, thus never disrupting the flow that he and Moore set for that song. Some bass players try to do too much, and wind up just confusing the ear as to what the actual melody is. Mercurio stays in his zone and allows the listener to settle into the groove. This is not to say that he’s just a space-filler though. His basslines are undeniably funky. Whether he’s picking, slapping, or playing chords, the guy is always funky. And that of course makes every other instrument sound that much funkier.

As for the other band members? Well, I’m going to hold off on that part since 1) I have another post in which to discuss them, 2) I think it might be cool for you guys to approach some of their songs with a very defined perspective (here, the rhythm section perspective) as opposed to just an overall view, and 3) this post would become obnoxiously long.

So enough yapping, let’s get on with some suggestions. I’m going to provide some selections from their earlier stuff on this post, and I’m not going to bombard you with analysis… I figure you can all analyze for yourselves. The sound is very groovy, and highly influenced by the New Orleans style of jazz. It’s much lighter than their more recent sound, which retains more elements of hip-hop. Some tracks here have vocals, and others are instrumentals, but all of them are incredible. Great driving music. Enjoy.

Song(s) For The Week:

“Baker’s Dozen” from Late For The Future: The first Galactic song I ever heard. Unreal. Moore’s snare drum dominates the track, and Raines’ guitar solo is one of the cleanest you’ll ever hear. Unfortunately, iTunes doesn’t carry the original, only live versions. I’ll have to see what I can do about that.

“Something’s Wrong This Picture” from Coolin’ Off: This is the first song Theryl DeClouet wrote with Galactic. It’s a perfect introductory track for listeners, as his jazzy, lounge-singer voice is toned down to fit within the band’s sonic landscape. I love Mercurio’s slap bass, and Ellman’s sax solo.

“Doo Rag” from Coolin’ Off: A classic Galactic song. It has a very laid back sound, with all of the members uniting to form one smooth groove. Mercurio and Moore stay in the background, where they are joined by Raines on guitar, setting the stage for Ellman and Vogel to take the lead. This is probably one of the most ambitious uses of the keyboard that I have heard out of Galactic. It’s 6+ minutes of mellow funk.

“Running Man” from Late For The Future: Another vocal track. This is one of the most laid-back Galactic songs out there. iTunes doesn’t even carry it, but I figured I’d throw it in just in case someone found it. A very relaxing song.

“Everybody Wants Some (Part 1)” from Coolin’ Off: Like “Doo Rag” this is a very mellow song, indicative of their early sound. I think Moore’s play really shines on this song, as does a guest trombone spot from Mark Mullins. Enjoy your listening!