PSILOCYBENEA: BIG BOSS MAN + THE EXCITEMENTS

HONDARRIBIKO JAIAK 2010 - BENTAKO ESKENATOKIA
2010.09.11 larunbata - 22.00tatik aurrera

[b][url=http://www.myspace.com/bigbossmanmyspace]BIG BOSS MAN[/url][/b] (London, UK)

Big Boss Man taldea berriro ere gure artean izango da, oraingoan Hondarribiko Jaietako programaren barruan eta Bentako Eskenatoki handian. 2008an izan ziren gure artean, Psilocybenea aretoan eman zuten kontzertu ikaragarri batean, eta oraingoan herriko jaigiroa hareagotzeko intentzioz itzuliko dira.
Hona hemen taldearen deskribapen labur bat, [b]BloodyMary[/b]-ren eskutik:
[i]Big Boss Man, los "Punks del Hammond Funk" vuelven a girar por Europa y el mundo con su nuevo álbum ya editado internacionalmente.
Big Boss Man, con su directo arrollador, ya encandilaron al público en sus dos anteriores giras y en los varios festivales en los que han actuado. Esta es la siguiente oportunidad para disfrutar de veras con una banda que, a la vez, a remezclado a Paul Weller (y entrado en el UK Top 20), son la música utilizada por Sky TV para la Premier League inglesa (y por varios films ya), y cuyas composiciones propias son pura dinamita en disco y- lo que es mejor- en directo. Bongos, Hammond, Boogaloo, Jazz, Soul, Funk y mucho Beat! Esto es lo que hay.

BIG BOSS MAN: DEFINICIÓN Y EVIDENCIAS
-En directo: crudo y directo bongo/fuzz/hammond funk
-Interpretado por: Cuatro de las desgracias (pero las más groovies, eso sí) de la Gran Bretaña: Nasser Bouzida al órgano y percusión, The Hawk al bajo, Trev Hardig a la guitarra y de vuelta al mundo de los vivos Nick Nchols a la batería.
-Misión: Liberar el sonido hammond de las manos de los eruditos del Jazz y de los tradicionalistas, algo que han hecho por todo el mundo de Moscú a Venecia.[/i]

[b][url=http://www.myspace.com/theexcitements]THE EXCITEMENTS[/url][/b] (BCN, Cat)
It is significant that our views on music have been turning towards the past in the last years: too much modern-oriented de-humanizing sounds within the musical panorama have made people realize that, maybe, what pop charts are selling as R&B no longer stands for neither Rhythm nor, certainly, Blues; at least in the sense those words were put together musically back in the day.

Therefore, only a handful of musicians have stayed true to the roots of R&B and Soul in its original conception: music to make you dance, sweat, dream, love and forget about today's worries. And one group who certainly stands for that motto, more than anyone else, is The Excitements.

Their story may not vary that much from others, in the sense that they do not arrive as new-comers: they emerge from a crossing of paths. The core of the band is formed by members of several spanish R&B and Blues bands, such as The Fabulous Ottomans, which joined musicians from other jazz and soul-jazz combos and big bands from Barcelona, all of them having toured extensively around Europe and US (for example, lead guitar Pere Puertas spent more than a year in Texas backing up Miss Lavelle White, Hubert Sumlin and Bob Margolin (former member of Muddy Water's band) among other blues legends), and having shared stage and/or recorded with such artists as Nathaniel Mayer, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Betty Harris, Speedo and the Cadillacs and Melvin Davis, to name just a few.

And talking about their Rhythm and Soul fixation, The Excitements turn on audiences getting down to the real nitty gritty, paying their respects to such legends as early Ike and Tina Turner, Etta James, Sugar Pie de Santo and the hardest working man in show business, James Brown, plus several unique artists that formed the late 50's and early 60's black music explosion in the US and abroad. The band stays true to a sound and a brand you might label “old school”, but looking towards the NOW.

Regarding band members' origins, the most unique one may well be Koko Jean's. Born in Mozambique, lead singer Koko Jean Davis soon moved with part of his family to mid-west USA, where at a young age showed interest and a flourishing talent towards singing, either as part of gospel-choirs, small highschool bands and any job that could take her up to a bandstand or stage. During her college years, she was usually in demand for shows at small clubs ranging from blues and rock acts, to hip-hop, jazz and bossa-nova, the latest being an interest she carried on and expanded soon after, when she moved to Brazil and stayed there for a few years. Finally, she established in Barcelona, hoping the musical atmosphere of the city would at last help her find a full-time musical project, a thing she certainly found in what Adria Gual (rhythm guitar), Daniel Segura (bass guitar, both former members of The Fabulous Ottomans) and Xavi Ayala (drummer on several soul-jazz combos) had to offer.

Ranging from a raspy tone to a soft blues-driven powerful howl, Koko Jean's voice is a distinguished asset and fits perfectly with the raunchy backbone The Excitements provide as they run through their R&B revue which stands on its own: a real “exciting” show, we may say!