Saturday night a decidedly slimmed down FunkFest, the fourth, hits the Parish with the Stanton Moore Trio, led by the drummer of New Orleans jammers Galactic and the rarely seen supergroup Garage a Trois, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboards, Skerik on saxophone, Mike Dillon on vibes, and Moore on drums.
I spoke to Barbara Prashner of Funkybatz, the show’s producer, to find out why, after a couple of years of multiple stages and days, FunkFest is only one night this year.
“We’ve changed a little,” she admits. “We’re showcasing local acts throughout the year and we’ll bring in the national acts for Funkfest where we showcase the collaborations that you would hear during Jazz Fest in New Orleans.”
She’s especially proud of bringing Garage A Trois to Austin for what may be their premiere performance in town.
“They’ve not played here as long as I’ve known them,” Prashner claims. “Surely it’s one of the few times they’ve played here. Usually they play just the festival circuit. It’s so hard to put these guys together because they all have other bands.”
Besides Galactic’s Moore, New Yorker Benevento is part of the well-regarded Benevento-Russo Duo, Seattle’s Skerik performs with Critters Buggin and the Dead Kenny G’s, and Mike Dillon has toured with Ani DiFranco and Les Claypool while leading his own band the Go-Go Jungle.
Locally, Prashner see the funk scene as constantly evolving.
“I think it’s grown. There are so many funk and groove bands that are popping up, and the bands that have been here for awhile their fanbase is growing. They’re not struggling for an audience like they were before.”
Some of the new bands she recommends include Felan featuring the Flyjack Horns, Soul Track Mind, Uncle Bruno, and the Finest Kind, most of whom were part of the Batz Hot Funk in the City series this summer. Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen the Greyhounds around town recently, Prashner reports it’s for a good reason.
“Bandleaders Andrew Trube and Anthony Ferrell have joined J.J. Grey and Mofro and have been on tour with them most of the summer. We expect them back by the beginning of the New Year.”
This article appears in November 13 • 2009.