Friday, August 15, 2008

Meet Groovesect

This is a repost of an article about my brother's band, Groovesect. The article was in today's New Orleans Times Picayunne. It's pretty cool to see this! Also, just to introduce them better, here's a couple of videos of them in concert. Some more, higher quality videos of Groovesect are located here. Oh, and yes, I realize this is a very long post, but its worth it.


SCHOOL OF FUNK

Legendary trombonist Fred Wesley is a funky mentor for Groovesect
Friday, August 15, 2008
By Keith Spera
Music writer

Trombonist Fred Wesley co-wrote two critical chapters in funk history. He was music director, arranger and a primary composer for James Brown from 1968 to 1975, then spent several years with George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic projects.

The legend's latest collaborators? Groovesect, a New Orleans instrumental funk band composed mostly of recent graduates from the Tulane and UNO jazz programs.

Wesley guests on three songs from Groovesect's 2007 debut, "On the Brim," and subsequently toured with the band. Tonight he joins Groovesect onstage at the House of Blues, part of the first-ever Cutting Edge Music Business Conference showcase at the venue.

"I like to think if Fred thought we were bad musicians, he wouldn't do it," said Groovesect bassist Eric Vogel. "The fact that Fred wants to hang out and play gigs, that means the most to us. It's an honor. He could take a gig with anybody. He's Fred Wesley, one of the fathers of funk."

Wesley returns the compliment.

"They're a young band, but a good band," the trombonist said this week from his home in South Carolina. "They work hard. They rehearse like maniacs. They're very dedicated to the music. They want to learn funky music, and I'm here to help them."

Vogel and future Groovesect guitarist Danny Abel and keyboardist Nick Krawitz first crossed paths as members of Tulane's jazz band in the early 2000s. Abel eventually transferred to UNO and met drummer Colin Davis. The foursome worked the frat party circuit as a funk band called Soda Popinski.

In 2006, they rechristened themselves Groovesect. In 2007, they added saxophonist Tim "Sully" Sullivan, an alumnus of Aretha Franklin's band who moved to New Orleans to enroll in UNO's jazz graduate program. They also recruited acclaimed New Orleans percussionist Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, whose epic résumé includes Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, 101 Runners, Deacon John and Willie Tee & the Gaturs.

The alliance with Wesley instantly elevated Groovesect's national profile. The seeds of the collaboration were sown on Feb. 2, 2007. That night, Groovesect's manager, Justin Aliperti, promoted a sold-out James Brown tribute concert at Tipitina's featuring Wesley backed by local drummer Johnny Vidacovich and bassist George Porter Jr. The members of Groovesect opened the show, and asked Wesley to sit in for one song.

"He comes out for the one song, and ends up staying for three," Vogel said. "That began the relationship. And it's been fantastic ever since."

Wesley agreed to play on those same three songs on "On the Brim." And because his own Fred Wesley Group works mostly overseas, he was keen to tour with Groovesect. Billed either as "Groovesect featuring Fred Wesley" or "Fred Wesley featuring Groovesect," they jam on Groovesect originals and James Brown classics -- a particularly mind-blowing circumstance for the young musicians.

"In middle and high school, before I was even playing music, I listened to James Brown," Vogel said. "Then when you start to play your instrument, you learn those songs. All the horn lines that you hum in your head -- never in a million years did I think I'd be playing them with the man himself.

"Fred was the bandleader. To be taking cues from the leader . . . we play what Fred wants us to play. We take Fred's cues, just as he would take them from James. It's surreal."

Wesley runs a tight ship. "He shows us no mercy," Vogel said. "You hit a wrong note, you better believe Fred hears it. He's going to turn around, take a look at you for a second and set you straight."

He also encouraged his young charges to expand their repertoire into blues.

"We'd just been focused on the grooves, intense jams, funk and jazz," Vogel said. "All of his suggestions are crucial lessons. Everything he says is golden."

And not just on the bandstand.

"Going on the road with him, learning life lessons . . . I can't even explain everything he's done for us, as far as being a role model," Vogel said. "We want to be as good as we can and have as much fun as we can. There's nobody better to take those lessons from than Fred."

Wesley's history with New Orleans predates Groovesect by five decades. Growing up in Mobile, Ala., he often made the 150-mile commute to New Orleans to jam with the likes of drummer Smokey Johnson and saxophonists Red Tyler and Nat Perrilliat.

More recently, he appeared on the 2007 compilation "Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino" alongside his former JB Horns bandmates Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis, Lenny Kravitz, the Rebirth Brass Band and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews on "Whole Lotta Loving."

Post-Parliament, Wesley joined the Count Basie Orchestra and released jazz albums as a solo artist and with his Fred Wesley Group. He essentially retired from funk until, around 1990, former James Brown Band vocalist Bobby Byrd suggested he was missing out on the music's renewed popularity.

"I had no idea it would last this long and be this popular," Wesley said.

In the coming weeks, he'll tour as part of an African music tribute to Brown, followed by a long fall tour with bassist Bootsy Collins' Brown tribute. (That show comes to the House of Blues on Oct. 25.)

But in Groovesect, he's found a mutually satisfying partnership with young players who learn from him, even as they provide a fresh perspective on his own legacy.

"I'll find time for Groovesect," Wesley said, "and I'll find time to do my own thing."

_________________________

GROOVESECT Featuring Fred Wesley

With: Opening acts Elliot Cohn and Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor.

When: Tonight at 9.

Where: House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 504.529.2624.

Tickets: $8.50-$18.50, plus service charges.

To hear music from Groovesect's "On the Brim" CD, go to www.nola.com/music.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Awesome Rock and Roll ads

Hill Holliday, an agency I interned for back in 2000 and absolutely loved (in fact, this agency is what started my love for advertising), just came out with some ads that I really like. The client is the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and I just think these ads are a perfect fit.


Copy says: "Foo Fighters … pretty much exist thanks to Vernon and Gladys Presley who unwittingly changed the course of history in December of 1946 when they bought their son a guitar even though he specifically asked for a bicycle instead."



Copy says: "Jimmy Page is A God … but wouldn’t be if not for Lester William Polsfuss, also known as Les Paul, who created the first solid-body electric guitar – an idea he came up with when he noticed the unique way in which railroad ties carried vibrations – making the sound of Rock and Roll possible."



Copy says: "The White Stripes Rock … thanks to Ike Turner who in 1951 created Rock and Roll’s signature distorted guitar sound when he stuffed some paper inside a broken amp that fell off the top of his car on his way to record “Rocket 88”."

Advertising Agency: Hill Holliday
Art Director: Mike Shaughnessy
Copywriter: Scott Noble
Digital Artist: Scott Woolwine
Photographer: Bruce Peterson
Published: June 2008

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Dream Board

A few days ago I came across a post on BlogHer that really caught my attention. The post, written by Rachelle Mee-Chapman, is about the idea of dreamboarding or manifesting your dreams into reality and was introduced to the writer by Suzie Ridler. To directly quote the post, "Dreamboarding is a way of capturing your deepest hopes and offering them up to the Universe in physical form." The basic idea behind dreamboarding is "you put together words, images...pretty much anything that represents your dream together in one place to tell the universe, "I want that!" Both Rachelle and Suzie use a mix of images and words to represent these goals. Each dreamboard represents one specific goal.

As the idea of another Minneapolis winter begins to approach, I feel I needed to focus on what I would like for my future, what my hopes and dreams are, and express them to the universe. I have a feeling that a dreamboard is the perfect forum for that and definitely an option I'm opening to trying. Anyone interested in trying this experiment with me?

Saturday, August 2, 2008

More school work

I recently got the results of my end of the semester critique. I did pretty well, but in typical me fashion, I always want to do a lot better than I did. Anyway, one of the campaigns they wanted to see me push forward is my campaign for Jostens. In general, Jostens is a company known for high school and college class rings, but one cool thing about the company is that they actually create rings for fantasy sports leagues too. So, I decided to explore that angle. It seemed like a great way of looking at the company that was totally different. Here's the work I art directed. We are in the process of reworking them, but I would still love to get some feedback.

Art Director - Judy Abel
Copywriter - Sean Jervey