LUCKY BROWN'S SPACE DREAM out April 18th 2011

LUCKY BROWN’S SPACE DREAM

I dreamed of making my own Funk 45. As an artist, I of course wanted the music to be experienced and heard in the same active, soulful way in which it was made. Or maybe I wanted to leave a mark, some kind of legacy, something lasting, permanent, a monument of my dream of this Earth. Perhaps some future digger would unearth my record and the message of the music could be carried across time. Would people of the future dance to my record? Perhaps I wanted to make a 45 as my humble tribute to the great artists I discovered and was inspired by when I dropped the needle on a long-forgotten but interesting dusty old platter. I know it seems strange that as an American, I had to turn first to German artists to find my way back to my own roots. Through my interest in the various incarnations of the great Poets Of Rhythm, I discovered Tramp Records, who had been granted the right to release later Poets tracks as its first handful of releases. I immediately made it my mission to meet the man behind the label and share with him my love for deep original raw funk.

After a whirlwind tour that the police couldn’t even stop, I assembled the Funk Revolution in my one-room cabin, called Chez Jojo. I gathered together all my salvaged, scavenged, and repurposed gear and completely improvised recording techniques and introduced them to a band that was hot and true, playing up to the presumptuous name I had just given them. After our debut single, ‘Don’t Go Away,’ the rest of the material from this session would be taken down to Sleng Teng Studio and messed around with for years until being realized as more singles for Tramp. Isaac Weiser played Bass on this session and Delvon LaMarr was playing a Hammond that took up most of the room. No one even complained.

The Lake-Side phase of this Space Dream happened when we recorded in drummer Olli Klomp’s living room in his log-cabin on an island in a lake. I remember that it was the hottest day of the summer. We would swim in the Lake in between takes to cool off (being careful not to disturb our Crawdads that were contentedly grazing on barbecued chicken bones just beneath the dock). I blurted out “Lake-side...Crawdad Farmers!” as the tape began to roll on ‘Jesse’s Party’ and it ended up being the winning take so we just went with it. We had the transcendent Jonathan Sherman on Bass for this session.

The personnel for all the sessions were: Olli Klomp, drums, Ben Bloom, guitar, Thomas Deakin, saxophone, and Mars, trombone. Special guest percussionist on ‘Deal With It,’ ‘Izzy Come, Izzy Go,’ and ‘Potatocakes’ was Karl Olson. Patrick Gay played Moog on the tile track. Transferring, mixing, editing and overdubs performed at Sleng Teng, USA.

The only track that floats in its own space is “Still Listening,” Delvon LaMarr plays keyboard Bass on this one.

I ‘m called Lucky because I have the great fortune to be involved with such deeply grooving hearts, super talented players, and infinitely loving souls. This album is the realization of many Dreams.

It has been an honor to share the Space.

Joel Ricci aka Lucky Brown
April, 2011

Who is Lucky Brown?

Lucky Brown is a concept of American producer and performing artist Joel Ricci. Brown represents an archetype from the past who conducts original raw funk (aka Deep Funk) to musically map the soul's path from underground to outer space - and back. As Lucky Brown, Joel Ricci employs the use of found instruments and objects, outdated and discarded technology, and improvised and alternative recording techniques to tell this ancient story.

Select Deep Funk tracks by Lucky Brown and members of The Westsound Union (a collective of west-coast funk artists) have been licensed for release on 45RPM single format by Tramp Records Germany and can be found at www.tramprecords.com.

Lucky Brown is the leader of The Funk Revolution, piano player for the Port Angels, and producer/engineer of The Crawdad Farmers and The Mosquitohawks. He performs live on trumpet, flute, percussion and vocals with The L.B.s, The Lucky Mystery Now Orchestra, Original Duke of Hominy Brass Band, Larry Yes, and The MarchFourth Marching Band.

MOSQUITOHAWKS

Here is something fun from a session I composed, co-produced, arranged, engineered and performed on. Seattle Washington, USA. September 15th, 2010. The working session name is "T.D. & The Jimmy James 3" or we might go with "The Mosquitohawks" I was experimenting with how far I could push the drum and guitar channel through this weirdo amp I had laying around. As usual, I dug into my stash of noname mics turned to my trusty cassette 4-track. Drums went thru the same "Moneymaker" mic as in the Crawdad Farmers and Chez Jojo sessions. I am pretty happy with the results. I think we got the good vibes.

T.D. stands for Thomas Deakin, sax player from my band. Jimmy James is Jabrille Williams, guitar player from Seattle. The other guys are Jens Gunnoe on Drums and Bob Lovelace on Bass. There's more, lemme know if you want me to send it to you.

I was helped by Jason Gray which makes this our inaugural "Brown & Gray Production"

Hope ya dig it.

More on The Crawdad Farmers 45

This 45 is a snapshot of Bellingham musical history. It includes Tom and Mars from Yogoman Burning Band, Jon Sherman from Sweet Beets and Robert Blake’s pickup truck rolling into the lake! And Lil’ Hoss who saves the day. No kidding!

The two tracks are the first two releases from our legendary Lake-Side session last summer. They are also, in my opinion, the hottest cuts. We recorded in Olli Klomp’s (drums) living room in his beautiful cabin on an Island in a lake in Northwest Washington. I remember that it was the hottest day of the year. We would swim in the Lake in between takes to cool off (being careful not to disturb our Crawdads that were contentedly grazing on barbecued chicken bones just beneath the dock). We were in the lake just cooling off when all of a sudden I saw a cat running fast across the bridge and heard this “CRASH” from out in the woods. Well, Robert Blake’s pickup truck that Jon Sherman (Bass) had borrowed to drive to the session had been left without engaging the gear and the parking brake came loose. The thing rolled backward 100 yards down a hill, narrowly slipping between the trunks of two old-growth cedars, careening over the bank and coming to rest squarely in the middle of the muddy moat that separated Olli’s island from the mainland. I maintain that it was the cat who actually jumped on the hood, upset the balance, and surfed it down the hill - Jumping off at the last minute onto the bridge just before the thing went over the bank. Fortunately, The Yogoman Burning Band’s tourbus, Lil’ Hoss, was there and Thomas Deakin (sax) was able to figure out how to connect a rope between the truck and the bus. After about 20 minutes of reefing on the truck with the bus Thomas successfully liberated the pickup truck from the mud. Ben Bloom (guitar) was on hand to cheer Tommy on and to video the whole thing though we are still searching for that movie. The story has a happy ending: we applied the parking brake and engaged the gear to the truck and then brushed off the mud. No cats, trees, or people were injured, and we went ahead and recorded some amazingly hard Funk that evening.

Redbeard was written for an original member of The Lucky 7...That’s right, Noah Patterson. He and I actually played the song together in The Lucky 7 but as you know, I didn’t properly record it ‘til last summer. It went through many name changes, In fact it was Noah who originally named it “Beard Fulla Chicken Fat” but I thought that sounded gross so I decided to call it Redbeard after Noah and his big ol’ red beard. I haven’t seen that smile around for a while. I miss him. Redbeard is a boogaloo popcorn groove in the spirit of the Great James Brown. It was written originally for The Lucky Seven as an experiment to show the contrast between tight and loose grooves while still retaining that boogaloo pulse. I think it is a masterful work in that the hornline head is really only two specifically placed notes! The horns are really drums in this one. The bridge is only three notes and I called the bridge out at first and I liked it so much after the first time I just call it again after turning it back around to the tight top. The band turns on a dime and brings the energy up up up! After the last bridge, instead of going back to the head again, I give it up to Mars (trombone) and he barrels into the groove like a bull in a china shop. I am hanging on for dear life to the tambourine and I think we hold it for as long as we can ‘til I bring it back to the super tight top. Listen closely because it is this moment that I ask Olli to “talk” and that means to say something with the instrument. Man, he just does the sweetest with his snare and hat pattern while taking the whole thing home.
Jesse’s Party was written for Jesse Hunter or “Jesse from Sway” as we always called him. It was a going away party that I went to at James Beech’s (J.B. Quartet) house where, during one of the jams, I heard the first four notes of the bassline that eventually became both the bassline and the hornline for the tune. The hiccup drum pattern was supposed to make you feel disoriented like you were tripping and then gets into that heavy backbeat...which never happened during the jam, I just wanted it to happen so bad when I was there I took those four notes and exploded the line into the whole track, then did it myself.

Jesse’s Party is an ideal B-Side and listen closely, because those first moments of the guitar line are actually where the tape begins. It was just lucky that it happened like it did. I remember coming up with the bassline, and putting it up against that drum pattern. I dug the bassline so much that I decided not to write a hornline and just asked the horns to play in unison with the bass. Meanwhile I needed a thing to straighten out the chatter and ease the tension with a nice backbeat. At first, I just have all the instruments split off with Ben doing his “chank chank” soul thing on the ones, that was an idea we got from Delvon, and Olli dropping that backbeat. Jon continues with the original bassline and doesn’t lose it until I ask Ben Bloom (“Horseradish Tree” according to some spanish websites) to do his gritty final overlay part. This part reminds me of the clavinet overlay from Poet’s Of Rhythm’s genius “Smilin’ While Yer Cryin” Both parts seem to change the tonality of the thing and then wrap it back up around when everybody comes back in. We recorded his amp through an old trucker’s C.B. mic that I found for 10 bucks at Aladdin’s Antiques. That’s how he got that “breaker breaker” sound. I then give it up to Thomas. and... well..I am just gonna let you check it out and have his Saxophone speak for itself, words really cannot do it justice.

Anyway, I have a feeling that Funk freaks and DJ’s who like to do beat juggling will have a ball with this one because you can play with so many sections of the tune and build up the tension so high. I am really excited about these tracks. They really represent our finest works so far. Thank you so much for paying attention and supporting The Funk Revolution. In a world of disposable music and disposable ideas, It is really encouraging to meet and communicate with a circle that believes in things that are authentic, natural, real, and original. Thank you all for living, loving, and listening according to your ethics.

Enjoy the music and buy vinyl!

True Funk: The complete "Contemporary Funk" Liner Notes

True funk can only happen in the Now.

The funk on this compilation is contemporary but the message of funk is as old as humanity itself. Funk as Tramp Records sees it is a vibrant and viable music that was born from a transformative period in American history - the sound of the growing pains of a young country. ‘Contemporary Funk’ gathers inspired bands from today whose hearts still beat for funk’s timeless truth, and connects them with this rich legacy of American music.

The structure of funk reflects the social ideals of those making it. The simple yet disciplined form of funk carries within it a message of freedom, unity, cooperation, and equality. It literally cannot be made without these qualities being present in the hearts and souls of the band members. Playing your part in a way that shows that you are digging your partner’s contribution strengthens the social and musical bond. In this delicate web of intricate rhythms, each musician must subjugate his own ego for the good of the collective. He or she must share and give in equal proportion. The music percolates among the group in the Now and an inner potency is born out of the space. Inside the space lives the full spectrum of human emotion. And in going beyond the space, humans have the potential to reach higher and deeper as a people than with any other art form. Funk transports and transforms us from the inside. Those who partake know that when the groove is right and everyone is riding it out together, we are aligned with something ancient and arcane. The groove is…THERE! The silence between the sound opens up and grows wider. Time and space wobble and blur. They are altered, blasted apart and then reformed into something colorful, wild, and alive, exploded and then reformed again.

When trying to talk about this music, it might serve us to consider funk music as a pure form of folk music. The ascended masters of Soul and Blues, our musical ancestors, introduced most of what we now consider to be elements of funk to popular culture, but it’s legacy as an honest form of music for everyday folks is evident in the sheer volume of influence it has had on music and culture since then. Funk is a people’s music in that one need not be formally educated in music to make it. The necessary instruments and recording equipment can be scavenged or bought on a few days’ pay. In a relatively short time, beginning funk practitioners can invite regular folks into their circle to initiate revelers in the ancient ritual of dancing.

Funk is a pleasure for the ears and hips but it is also a powerful medicine for daily life. As a tool, we use it daily to sweeten the labor and to sweeten the leisure. As a foundational force, enlightened producers today draw upon funk’s unending depth. Funk is strong and forgiving. We sample from it and forget to give thanks. Yet without fail it continues giving and giving.

***
Today, the rhythm and earnestness of true funk can be found in all corners of the world. And this compilation is evidence that the innocence and purity of the original message remains strong. Affectation and phoniness can’t seem to take hold in funk as long as the unenlightened or uninitiated players aren’t trying to wah-wah their way through one-dimensional cartoon-like clichés. Afro wigs and ‘booty’ references only help to reinforce racist stereotypes and obstruct funk from realizing it’s true potential as an uplifting music for all the people of the world.

Funk scholar, Tobias Kirmayer has searched the deepest, darkest and dustiest record bins and studio basements across the globe for a sound and feeling that is almost impossible to write about. For to write about it is to in fact cheapen it and steal away some of its mysterious power.

The forgotten 45s and tapes that Mr. Kirmayer has unearthed for us were often made by people with a dream, but left to languish on shelves when corporations swept in and brutally suffocated the independents with cheap, computer-made music and massive advertising budgets. Just because it is rare, of course doesn’t make it good. In the collector’s circuit, the rarity of a thing sometimes supercedes its actual merit. Fortunately for us, Tobias’s discerning ear, explorer’s mind and tireless searching has shown us that hidden treasure still awaits those worthy of discovering it.

During his quest, he has found musicians and bands still stoking the fire of this real human music, musicians who actually bring their instruments into a room and actually play the music together. It is important to note that these musicians are not trying to emulate or recreate something old. Nor are they deserving of simplistic descriptions like ‘retro’ ‘classic’ or ‘throwback.’ These musicians are simply making music together, today, in the Now, and doing it with dignity, authenticity, and reverence. ‘Contemporary Funk’ is a testament to all of our individual and collective yearning for music that speaks to deep human truths.

We will always find our way back to it, and it will always be here for us when we do.

The Funk Revolution, Izzy Come, Izzy Go/Deal With It ~ Sunstreet SS-1002 (Tramp TRI-1020)

Izzy Come, Izzy Go was written by Lucky Brown as a tribute to friend and comrade Isaac Weiser when he left the Westsound Union to perform and record in Africa. He returned home and is now featured as the rock solid bass-guitar man for these essential "Chez Jojo" sessions!

Deal With It was first recorded by Joel Ricci as a demo in the spring of '07. Ricci took the track to Germany for an audience with one of his contemporary funk heroes: Tobias Kirmayer. The meeting encouraged Ricci to go back to America where he assembled The Funk Revolution and became Lucky Brown. The track is an edit of an 8 minute workout intended to let each of the members of The Funk Revolution "Deal With It" for a little while. notable is Delvon LaMarr's minimalist and soulful Hammond B3 work on this track. Drop this 45 and turn it up loud so your whole neighborhood can "Deal With It!"

Crawdad Farmers: Redbeard/Jesse's Party ~ LAKE-SIDE, TR-1024

The Origin of the Crawdad Farmers 45,

Available on Lake-Side records July 27th 2010
www.tramprecords.com

The two tracks are the first two releases from our legendary Lake-Side session last summer. They are also, in my opinion, the hottest cuts. We recorded in Olli Klomp's (drums) living room in his beautiful cabin on an Island in a lake in Northwest Washington. I remember that it was the hottest day of the year. We would swim in the Lake in between takes to cool off (being careful not to disturb our Crawdads that were contentedly grazing on barbecued chicken bones just beneath the dock). We were in the lake just coolin off when all of a sudden we heard this "CRASH" from out in the woods. Well, Robert Blake's pickup truck that Jon Sherman (Bass) had borrowed to drive to the session had been left without engaging the gear and the parking brake came loose. The thing rolled backward 100 yards down a hill, narrowly slipping between the trunks of two old-growth cedars over the bank and coming to rest squarely in the muddy moat that separated Olli's island from the mainland. Fortunately, The Yogoman Burning Band's schoolbus/tourbus was there and Tommy D (sax) was able to figure out how to connect a rope between the truck and the bus. After about 20 minutes of reefing on the truck with the bus Tommy successfully liberated the pickup truck from the mud. Ben Bloom (guitar) was on hand to cheer Tommy on and to video the whole thing and if I can get a hold of it I will post it here. The story has a happy ending: we applied the parking brake and engaged the gear to the truck, no cats, trees, or people were injured, and we went ahead and recorded some amazingly hard Funk that evening.

Redbeard is a boogaloo popcorn groove in the spirit of the Great James Brown. It was written originally for The Lucky Seven as an experiment to show the contrast between tight and loose grooves while still retaining that boogaloo pulse. I think it is a masterful work in that the hornline head is really only two specifically placed notes! The horns are really drums in this one. The bridge is only three notes and I called the bridge out at first and I liked it so much after the first time I just call it again after turning it back around to the tight top. The band turns on a dime and brings the energy up up up! after the last bridge, instead of going back to the head again, I give it up to Mars (trombone) and he barrels into the groove like a bull in a china shop. I am hangin on for dear life to the tambourine and I think we hold it for as long as we can 'til I bring it back to the super tight top. Listen closely because it is this moment that I ask Olli (drums) to "talk" and that means to say something with the instrument. Man, he just does the sweetest with his snare and hat pattern while taking the whole thing home.

Jesse's Party is a perfect B-Side and listen closely, because those first moments of the guitar line are actually where the tape begins. It was just lucky that it happened like it did. I remember coming up with the bassline, and putting it up against that "hiccup" drum pattern. I dug the bassline so much that I decided not to write a hornline and just asked the horns to play in unison with the bass. Meanwhile I needed a thing to straighten out the chatter and ease the tension with a nice backbeat. At first, I just have all the instruments split off with Ben doing his "chank chank" soul thing on the ones, an idea we got from Delvon, and Olli droppin that backbeat. Jon continues with the original bassline and doesn't lose it until I ask Ben Bloom ("Horseradish Tree" according to some spanish websites) to do his gritty final overlay part. This part reminds me of the clavinet overlay from Poet's Of Rhythm's genius "Smilin' While Yer Cryin" Both parts seem to change the tonality of the thing and then wrap it back up around when everybody comes back in. We recorded his amp thru an old trucker's C.B. mic that I found for 10 bucks at an antique store. That's how he got that "breaker breaker" sound. I then give it up to Tommy D. and... well..I am just gonna let you check it out and have Tommy D's Saxophone speak for itself, words really cannot do it justice.

Anyway, I have a feeling that Funk freaks and DJ's who like to do beat juggling will have a ball with this one because you can play with so many sections of the tune and build up the tension so high. I am really excited about these tracks. They really represent our finest works so far. Thank you so much for paying attention and supporting The Funk Revolution. In a world of disposable music and disposable ideas, It is really encouraging to meet and communicate with a circle that believes in things that are authentic, natural, real, and original. Thank you all for living, loving, and listening according to your ethics.

Special thanks to Tobias Kirmayer of Tramp Records for supporting independent Funk Artists like me.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=17601229&blogId=537158306#ixzz0tngj3kJd