Funkaholics play new venues, bigger crowds
By Sasha Benderly-Kraft
The Funkaholics, Earlham’s own nine-member funk and soul band, is now opening for nationally touring bands such as Detroit group His Name is Alive and the Nashville-based Dynamites through Student Activities Board (SAB)-sponsored gigs.
The band has electrified crowds with performances of songs from funk and soul standards like Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” to pop tunes like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” but had previously been limited to shows in basements and the Miller Farm barn.
The Funkaholics started playing together under that name in fall 2008, but began as Earlham’s Jazz Combo. Several of the core musicians wanted to play music on their own terms, according to drummer Grant Collier, sophomore.
Collier, along with senior Alex Arnold, who plays the trumpet, and electric guitarist James Gaffield, who graduated from Earlham last year, decided they wanted to play on a participatory basis so they could choose their own repertoire and practice on their own time.
Originally, the band continued to play as the Earlham Jazz Combo, doing events such as the Starr-Gennett Foundation’s Walk of Fame induction. That changed in the fall of 2008, when they played at Miller Farm’s Halloween party, introducing a funk-oriented set.
To establish their own identity, they looked for a new name.
“Someone suggested the Funkaholics, and it stuck,” says Gaffield.
The jazz roots of the band had a strong influence on their direction. “Playing in Jazz Combo, we mostly did standards. So playing covers felt very natural,” said Collier, who has been playing drums for six years.
Gaffield says he would like to play some originals, but that the current situation works well.
The change from jazz to funk and soul was also in part due to members wanting to assert their own musical preferences. For instance, Collier played trumpet in jazz settings, but says he feels more comfortable on the drums when playing rock, funk and soul. Meanwhile, Gaffield’s rock foundations are more apparent in his funk work than in jazz.
Collier says the band’s dynamic works very well, especially for such a large group in a participatory setting.
“Since everyone’s an experienced musician, we pick up songs very quickly,” he said, “which means we have time to play some songs from everyone’s suggestions.”
Gaffield said, “there’s no one in the group you have to worry about – it all works very smoothly.”
Their most recent cover is “I Want To Take You Higher,” originally by Sly & the Family Stone, which the band performed last Friday while opening for the Dynamites. For that performance, the band’s usual three vocalists, seniors Nadia Robinson, Yasmine Lee and Mica Whitney, stepped aside for Collier, who sang while drumming.
His efforts impressed junior Graham Judge, who praised Collier’s ability to control the crowd after the show.
The Funkaholics’ recent shows in Comstock have drawn large numbers and enthusiasm. Gaffield attributes this to their many previous concerts. “We’ve played a lot in the last year, and people want to hear us play now,” said Collier.
Many audience members confirmed this.
Senior Lauren Hurschman said, “I love everyone in the band … and it’s great seeing them play so well.”
Aaron Goldbeck, a senior and SAB music director, contacted the Funkaholics about playing with His Name Is Alive and the Dynamites, and the band was very excited for the opportunity.
Collier says the experience of playing with a touring band in a more serious venue is a very different one from playing in a college house.
“It’s great to get on stage and really feel the energy of the crowd,” said Collier. “It feels more professional, which I think inspires us to play better.” Collier thinks Comstock is a decent space for shows, if “a little echo-y.”
According to Lee, the Dynamites and the Funkaholics worked very well as a billing. “They kept the energy up, so people were dancing during both sets,” she said.
Gaffield also noted that the instrumentation of the two bands were very similar, which allowed for minimal set-up time, to the point where the Funkaholics’ horn section, Arnold along with senior Martin Tinkerhess and freshman Martin Ventura, used the Dynamites’ horn-screen microphones.
In the future, the Funkaholics hope to remain an Earlham institution. For the moment, they plan to play as many shows as they can. In part this is because of the simple fact that, at the end of this semester, every member of the band other than Collier, Ventura and junior bassist Sam Slocum, and will have graduated.
Collier is optimistic, though. “Enough people know us now that we shouldn’t have a problem continuing the band with new members if needed,” he said.
Gaffield is trying to set up a benefit show for the music program at Galileo Charter School, and otherwise says the group is always looking for shows. He can be reached at gaffija@earlham.edu or james.gaffield3@gmail.com for arrangements.
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