Stoned Soul Picnic (Hammond Beat)
In association with Telfords Warehouse
Funkdub Live Presents…
Stoned Soul Picnic (Hammond Beat)
With DJ Support From Funkdub Residents
Saturday September 16th @ Telfords Warehouse, Chester
FREE before 10pm, £4 thereafter / Band on Stage 10.30pm / Bar open till 1.30am
Stoned Soul Picnic are an instrumental Hammond Organ based combo formed in 1999 by four musicians with a mutual enthusiasm for the funky soul grooves laid down by the likes of The Meters and The Mohawks. With a sound led by swirling Hammond and fatback drums, the band have carved a reputation as a formidable live funk band, with a string of successful festival and club dates across the U.K and Europe.
Members:
Justin Dodsworth > Hammond Organ, Wurlitzer Piano
Anthony Reed > Electric Guitar
Harry Furnell > Bass Guitar
Mark Evans > Drums
Headquarters:
Nottingham, England
How long have you been together?
5 years
How did you form?
Myself and a sax player used to jam together a few years back. We were both soul boys at the time and were into Junior Walker & the all stars, King Curtis, Billy Preston, that kind of thing. We hooked up with a guitarist and drummer that we knew in Nottingham, and later on a bass player, then we started gigging a set of covers, some sax led & some organ led. One of our first shows was opening up for the Sugarman 3 when they first came to England in 1998. After a while we parted company with the sax player and regrouped as a four piece and adopted a harder grittier sound and began to start writing our own material and developing our own style.
Describe your sound:
There are a lot of Soul and early funk influences but it is essentially a very British sound, there are far too many so called funk bands around that think that all you have to do is copy James Brown’s licks and try and sound like the J.B’s, I hope we are offering something a bit different.
Inspirations:
Musically: The Meters, The Mohawks, The Small Faces, Billy Preston, Allen Toussaint, Pretty Purdie. Spiritually: John Lennon, Cassius Clay
Releases to date:
Boogaloo Baby/ Crosstown Traffic 7” SSP2 September 2001—–500 copies
Hip Joint/A Little Leveller 7” BIH14 November 2002—-750 copies
Record Label(s):
Currently with Blow it hard Records, London who are probably best known for releasing the first New Mastersounds 7” ‘One note Brown’
Current News:
After recently decorating our studio we are settling down to record our LP over May and June, which will feature guest appearances from vocalists and horn players.
What is in the pipeline?
Recording the Album is the main priority, although we may put out a 7” in the meantime. Later on in the year we will be doing a short tour of Europe.
Where can people hear you play?
For full updates on all our gigs check out www.hammondbeat.com and select the band from the menu. For Hammond fans this site also contains info on some other great bands such as New Mastersounds and Boogaloo Investigators
Is there a ‘deep funk’ scene?
I don’t know, we don’t pigeon-hole ourselves into any particular scene, sometimes we will play where the music is mostly late 60’s early 70’s funk, and other times we will play at Mod festivals which is a totally different audience. I think there is quite a healthy scene for Funk D.J’s, there are always some good nights on in most cities, but it is more difficult for bands because it costs more money to put on. Most promoters are reluctant to take risks and try something different, so you have to build up your own following to get a bit of clout and get gigs without having to compromise or sell-out!
Website:
http://www.hammondbeat.com/