Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Fabulous FunkyBand 2014 - Video Year in Review

Fabulous FunkyBand + Garrick Davis 2014 in Review

This playlist indicates that "the dream" is alive and well! The first video "Life, Bittersweet." was actually part of a solo performance for a worthy fundraiser three days before the end of 2013. Close enough, we think, to start off what should be described as the "Year of Transition" from a majority of Garrick Davis solo shows to following a gut feeling and pulling the Fabulous FunkyBand together for what really was handful of shows with the original core of GD, Zach, Grant and AJ supplemented with the great percussionist D. Edward and for the first band show of 2014 Steven Sofranko on organ at Club Fox in Redwood City.

Further down the list you'll find Garrick's solo TV appearance on the Bruce Latimer show performing a new instrumental(so far) called "Awakening", three videos from a FunkyBand performance in San Francisco on the tiniest stage we could hope to fit on shot by Ralph Waylonis of Rude Quacker Productions. Ralph also caught a particularly potent May solo/duo performance at an acoustic club in SF called "The Lost Church" catching Garrick's version of what eventually becomes Jimi Hendrix' "Voodoo Child" as well as a, emotionally intimate duo performance of "Expose Your Self" punctuated by Zach's beautiful piano solo and how he "hands off" improvisational duties to his father who compliments the moment on electric guitar. Nice, real nice!

The FunkyBand added guitarist Russell Golub to the roster in late summer just in time for his first show with the band in early October. Unfortunately there is no video for this performance but is was definitely a promising start! Two weeks later FFB performed a 5-song set as the feature band for an open mic. This set (performed without soundcheck) was videotaped on Garrick's video recorder. An audience member pressed the record button and what you see is what you get - the camera wasn't on the correct setting - The figures on the stage are dark but the musical performances were "enlightening" as was the audience reaction. Note the audience talking at the beginning of "Expose Your Self" and how quiet they were for the piano/guitar solos! That's a great audience!!!

The last performance of 2014 for the FFB was at Garrick's Wedding to his long time love Zsuzsanna. There are no recording available for this but a photo of this moment can be found at http://fabfunkyband.com/photos/.

2015 should be a remarkable year for the Fabulous FunkyBand as Garrick begins writing inspired new material that will carry a foundational message of truth, love and unity. FFB's goal for the year is to perform, perform, perform!! Garrick will be joined by Zach for a brief 2-week tour in Europe in September as a duo after Garrick meets his Hungarian-born wife's family and friends.