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Taken from The Brattleboro Reformer (Nov 20, 2019)
Steal Your Funk to play Thanksgiving weekend show
by Victoria Chertok, Reformer correspondent
Steal Your Funk, which sold out The Stone Church on its last visit to Brattleboro, returns for a Thanksgiving weekend show on Saturday, Nov. 30. PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEAL YOUR FUNK |
BRATTLEBORO - What happens when you take some funk, throw in some Grateful Dead and add a few Jerry Garcia Band tunes?
You get Steal Your Funk, a legendary band of all-star musicians who are returning to the Stone Church in Brattleboro for a "Funksgiving" show on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m.
Connecticut friends Jen Durkin (Deep Banana Blackout, Jen Durkin and The Breakfast, Mickey Hart Band); Jordan Giangreco (The Breakfast, Shakedown CT, Legion of Jerry, Host of Ghosts), and Rob Glassman (RGB, Music Never Stopped) started this special group four years ago. Their show last year at The Stone Church sold out.
"Steal Your Funk is a groove, jam band that has always desired to invite extremely talented musicians, with the knowledge of the music we deliver, to perform with us on stage," Glassman explained. "I think (the Stone Church) is one of the most amazing venues for not only sound, but also vibe and coolness! Our last show here was indeed an epic night, and we don't expect anything less this Thanksgiving weekend."
Steal Your Funk's repertoire includes classic Grateful Dead tunes, Jerry Garcia Band songs and classic funk tunes from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Shannon Jones, Parliament-Funkadelic and Betty Davis, just to name a few. Steal Your Funk's line-up includes Durkin on vocals, Burlington resident Zach Nugent on guitar and vocals, Doug Wimbish on bass and vocals, Giangreco, on keys and vocals, Glassman, on percussion and vocals, Ryan Lunderville on drums, and Sam Kininger on sax.
The night begins with Randolph resident Kind Bud, who will open the show and play some of his solo original music from his soon to be released album, "Peace, Love & Music."
It's a show and a venue the band is looking forward to playing.
"I love going to Brattleboro. [The Stone Church] is a great place to play," Wimbish said. "When you go into a church, it's always lots of fun to participate in a spiritual environment."
Durkin has toured with the Mickey Hart Band, George Porter, Jr., Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and Kyle Hollingsworth. She explained Glassman and Giangreco, with whom she had played many times over the years, asked her to join the band.
"They had a cool idea about combining the best funk tunes with our favorite funky Grateful Dead songs." She says she enjoys having a revolving cast of all-star musicians so she gets to play with different musicians at each gig."
How does funk meld with the songbooks of the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia? Very easily, Durkin explained.
"Jerry Garcia's great love for rhythm and blues is the driving force behind the soul of the music of the Grateful Dead, and through the years he developed a writing style with his bandmates that was a truly collaborative unit," she said. "I know that every show I ever went to people danced and sang every word. JGB had more of the blues and soul aspect which made it so funky."
" I'm so excited to be playing in a venue that sounds absolutely incredible - The Stone Church - one of my favorite places to play," she added.
Nugent, who has lived in Vermont for most of his life, has founded and played in Burlington based bands, Cats Under the Stars and Dead Set and most recently toured "as de-facto Garcia expert" with Melvin Seals & JGB. He's now touring with his own bands: Zach Nugent's Disco Dead, Zach Nugent's Fire on the Mountain or Zach Nugent band. They are currently in the midst of a national tour.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and can be purchased online at stonechurchvt.com
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