World's Fair

Daptone Record’s the Budos Band has been continuing to assert its afro-beat-funk dominance on the West Coast with a handful of dates this past weekend, including a Friday Night gig in Seattle for the record release party of the Saturday Knights (got that?).

(Photo by Abbey Simmons/The Seattlest)

The omniscient Seattlest was there, and here’s what they had to say:

Our brief summary: the Budos Band sounds like “Hot damn!” spicy, and we’re head-over-heels for the sunny punk-pop-rap-rock of The Saturday Knights.

The classy Budos Band, aptly labeled as Afro-soul funk by critics, played a diverse and absolutely danceable set. We loved “Up From The South” and “Budos Rising,” both of which you can hear on their Myspace page. The guys on stage ranged from a cutely dimpled trumpet player out of L.A. to a wiry, grey-haired guitar player straight from the ’60s—East Coast style—and a dreamy-eyed dude on the keyboard with lovely curls. This is music Seattlest and our father could both appreciate for once, bridging generations with skilled brass players, memorable song composition, and hot, organic rhythm.

We couldn’t agree more, but if there is, for some reason, any lingering doubt, there are still chances this summer to see them (and having an invite to the MLB’s All-Star Game Private Pre-Party isn’t an excuse!), including a gig the Waverly Hotel in Cumberland, BC, tonight.

Here’s the “Origin of Man” video to pass the time (4:37 minutes of it, in fact. Which means you could watch it 4,520 times before the pre-party starts).

July 1 - Cumberland, BC @ Waverly Hotel
July 11 - Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
July 13 - Camden, NJ @ XPoNential Music Fest
July 15 - Randall’s Island, NY @ Official Major League Baseball All-Star Game Pre-Party (Private Party)
July 18 - New York, NY @ Damrosch Park - Mid Summer Night’s Swing
July 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Getty Center

Artist: The Budos Band
Album: The Budos Band II
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 7th, 2007
Formats: CD, vinyl, mp3

As part of a schedule leading up until release date, Daptone Records has just released the fourth installment of the documentary for its upcoming album, the a cappella gospel record COMO NOW.

This week it’s The John Edwards Singers, a group of 4 siblings who contribute two songs to the compilation, including a stunning interpretation of the Sensational Nightingales’ “Burying Ground” (called “New Burial Ground”), while next week promises Brother and Sister Walker (who are actually a husband-and-wife team. Take that White Stripes).

The entire album comes out August 19 (and pre-order is available soon).

Album: COMO NOW
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 19, 2008

So at this point in time Daptone Records has pretty well established itself as the go-to place for funk and soul in the 21st century. Sharon Jones is practically a household name, and acts like the Budos Band and the Sugarman 3 are getting more and more exposure daily. Being the kind of label they are, though, and not content to rest on their laurels, Daptone is releasing an a cappella gospel album on August 19, called COMO NOW. It was recorded live in a church in Como, Mississippi on July 22, 2006, and it’s as soulful and rootsy and real as any Dap-Kings hook or Sharon Jones chorus.

In order to celebrate, the label is releasing one chapter of their COMO NOW Documentary a week, each featuring a Como artist. They’re on “Chapter II - Como Mamas,” right now, and this Thursday “Chapter III - Mary Moore” will roll out. There are nine in all, so stay tuned for the rest to come.

In other Daptone news, Sugarman 3 are playing tomorrow, Wednesday, June 18 alongside than Rich Medina as part of Stuyvesant Town’s Music on the Oval series (show starts at 6pm).

Album: COMO NOW
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 19, 2008

In case you didn’t hear, the one and only Sharon Jones and her Dap-Kings graced the stage of Late Night with Conan O’Brien yesterday, performing a very emotional, very tight rendition of “Let Them Knock,” off 100 Days, 100 Nights.

The Music Slut has posted the performance. Sharon and Conan make quite a pair…check it out!

Ms. Jones has been going strong for the past couple months now (last Saturday she put on a killer performance as part of the Roots Picnic in Philly — see pics here and here), and she’s showing no signs of letting up, playing Bonnaroo this upcoming Saturday, June 14, and continuing on to Aspen, LA, Chicago, and New York, the latter as part of the Central Park SummerStage series with the whole Daptone gang in tow.

Speaking of Daptone, the label hasn’t been doing too shabby a job of keeping itself in the music spotlight. Their 7″ Singles Collection, Vol. 2 was just released last week (June 3), Naomi Shelton’s “What Have You Done?” was just featured as NPR’s Song of the Day, and the Sugarman 3 are playing Wednesday, June 18 alongside none other than Rich Medina as part of Stuyvesant Town’s Music on the Oval series (show starts at 6pm). No excuse not to see at least someone from the family this summer. And, unlike your Aunt Ida’s potato salad, you won’t regret it later.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Tour Dates:

Jun 14 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
Jun 21 - Aspen, CO @ Rio Grande Park (Jazz Aspen Festival)
Jul 20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl (w/Feist)
Jul 25 - Portland, OR @ The Portland Zoo
Jul 27 - Seattle, WA @ The Seattle Zoo
Aug 2 - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
Aug 3 - Montreal, QUE @ Oshega Music and Arts Festival
Aug 9 - Baltimore, MD @ V Festival
Aug 16 - Westhampton, NY @ Westhampton Performing Arts Center
Aug 17 - New York, NY@ Central Park Summerstage (Daptone Revue)
Aug 21-22 - St Paul, MN @ Minnesota State Fair
Aug 24 - San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate State Park (Outside Lands Music and Arts Fest)

Artist: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Album: 100 Days, 100 Nights
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: October 2nd, 2007
Formats: CD, vinyl, mp3

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace | iMeem | YouTube

Still, um, Jonesing, for more funk and soul this summer? Daptone’s got you covered, courtesy of the 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2, which came out (digitally-only) yesterday. The album’s a nice assortment of some of the label’s favorite 45s, none of which have ever found their way onto any Daptone CD or LP. Lee Fields and the Sugarman 3 and the Dap-Kings (with and without Sharon Jones) both have songs included on it, as does Charles Bradley, who contributes this most excellent track:

Check out the Charles Bradley & The Bullets track “Now That I’m Gone” [DOWNLOAD]

Speaking of the Dap-Kings, their horn section is responsible for the great brass work on Al Green’s new record, Lay It Down, where they, according to The Boston Globe, “effortlessly toggle between urbane cool and juke-joint funk.”

Watch the magic happen!

Album: Daptone 7 inch Singles Collection Vol. 2
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: June 3rd, 2008
Formats: mp3

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace | iMeem | YouTube

More news on the Daptone front! Their first venture away from the straight-up funk and soul they’ve built their name on is coming out August 19th. It’s an a cappella gospel album, it’s called COMO NOW: The Voices of Panola County, MS, and well, it’s pretty cool. The full press release follows…

Deep in the heart of Panola County, Mississippi lies Como, a small rural town where children and grown folks alike have been living and breathing gospel for as long as they can remember. In the summer of 2006, Daptone Records placed a small ad in local papers and on the radio inviting singers to come down to Mt. Mariah Church to record their songs. The result is COMO NOW, a stirring collection of traditional and original a cappella gospel from the voices of Panola County’s own families.

It may seem like a leap for Daptone Records to be releasing an album of a cappella gospel music. Daptone has earned a reputation for creating and proliferating the purest of today’s soul and funk music. Why gospel? And why without any instrumentation? If you put aside the analytical categories of the music critic for a moment, and just listen to the record, the answer becomes simple and clear: this is soulful music.

“When Michael Reilly came to me with his first recordings of the Como Mama’s, I remember hearing it and being blown away. Though I’ve been into soul Music for a very long time, it has only been in the past few years that I really got deeper into gospel music. I owe this in no small part to Cliff Driver who invited to play bass behind Naomi Shelton and the gospel Queens. Through, Naomi, Sharon Jones, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Wilson Picket, Aretha Franklin, and several other heroes of mine, the line distinguishing Soul Music from Gospel became much less significant. For me it was less of an academic lineage than a visceral feeling that I started to get from listening to old records by the Soul Stirrers, The Highway QC’s, Dorothy Love Coates, The Mighty Pilgrim Travelers, The Blind Boys, and The Violinaires. They were the same sounds, the same feeling, as listening to James Brown, Tina Turner and Lee Fields when they were really wailing. Otis Redding when he was really pleading. Al Green when he was really moaning. Sounds that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The recordings Michael played me gave me the same feeling.” - Gabriel Roth

The 16 songs on this record feature performances by every one of the singers that came down to Mt. Mariah Church on July 22nd, 2006. Though their music is steeped in tradition, it should not be filed away as some sort of academic field recording. It was not made for the archives of the Library of Congress, nor for the benefit of musicologists and anthropologists. COMO NOW is a contemporary recording of contemporary people. From the slow stirring duets of Brother Raymond and Sister Joella Walker to the bouncing harmonies of the Jones Sisters, every song on this record is meant for you, they’re contemporary, to hear how the people of Como, Mississippi sing – right now.

Album: COMO NOW
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 19, 2008

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Daptone’s very own Budos Band is hitting the road this June for a slew of tour dates across the country, including a stop at Detroit’s Festival of the Arts and as headliners the inaugural Rock the Harbor Festival on Staten Island.

Tastemaking organizations like The New Yorker, brooklynvegan, and The New York Times all took note of their May 1 show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, but there are some upcoming chances to check them out if you missed them then.

June 8 - Detroit, MI @ Detroit Festival of the Arts
June 10 - New York, NY @ Pier 81 (Rocks Off Cruise)
June 14 - Staten Island, NY @ Snug Harbor (Rock the Harbor Festival)
June 27 - Seattle, WA @ Nectar’s
June 28 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (Vancouver Int’l Jazz Fest)
June 29 - Victoria, BC @ TBA (Jazzfest International)

Artist: The Budos Band
Album: The Budos Band II
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 7th, 2007
Formats: CD, vinyl, mp3

Budos Band - “Chicago Falcon” [DOWNLOAD]

CONNECT: Website | Myspace | World’s Fair | Daptone Records

Still propelled by the energy from an explosive 2007, funk revitalizers Daptone Records are treating their fans to a digital-only compilation of some of their most treasured 45s. Out June 3, Daptone 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2 is comprised of 13 tracks from some of the label’s finest artists, including Lee Fields and Sugarman 3, the now-defunct Mighty Imperials, Charles Bradley, and of course the incomparable Sharon Jones, alongside her band the Dap-Kings, who are now practically a household name.

Never before released by Daptone on either CD or LP, the collection offers the exclusiveness of vinyl with the convenience of digital formatting, perfect for barbeques or humid July nights, for road trips or back-porch gatherings. So start the summer out right, with plenty of funk. And hey, there’s no arguing that burgers taste better with an acclaimed horn section behind them.

Though Jones’s cover of Kenny Rogers’s “I Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition Was In” — by now a staple of her live show — is a definite standout, the singer’s emotive voice transporting the song from its psychedelic roots to something based in the organic grit and toil of soul and R&B, music enthusiasts of all types will find inspiration in the fast-paced funk of Charles Bradley’s “Can’t Stop Thinking About You,” the wah-wah-driven groove of Lee Fields’s “Stand Up,” and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra’s take on the Willie Colón salsa standard “Che Che Colé.”

Check out the Charles Bradley & The Bullets track “Now That I’m Gone” [DOWNLOAD]

Daptone 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2 is a necessary piece in the ever-growing discography of one of the most exciting young labels of the new millennium; but more than that, it’s great music, music that shouldn’t be held back by format or player, music that needs to — and now can — be heard by everyone.

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace | iMeem | YouTube

Budos Band - “Origin of Man” [WATCH]

“Staten Island’s funk-soul brothers the Budos Band set out into the faux-deserts of Shaolin — decked in cloaks, no less — to bring ‘Origin of Man’ to life. Matt Rogers and Luke Stiles set the Afro-Latin jam to the series of deadly assassinations, replete with a reappearing scorpion — the symbol for their latest album, ‘The Budos Band II.’ “We narrowly avoided lock-up when the cops showed up on Staten Island’s beach,” Baritone Saxophonist Jared Tankel tells Spinner. “We faced an interrogation as to why we were dressed in cloaks, chasing each other around with knives and a pet scorpion.” Enjoy the video in all its lo-fi glory, exclusively on Spinner…” - AOL Spinner [WATCH]

Budos Band plays live:
Mar 21 Hoboken NJ @ Maxwell’s
Mar 27 New York NY @ SOB’s

Artist: The Budos Band
Album: The Budos Band II
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: August 7th, 2007 - Out Now!
Formats: CD, vinyl, mp3

Budos Band - “Chicago Falcon” [DOWNLOAD]

Budos Band - Live @ Spinner’s The Interface [WATCH/DOWNLOAD]

CONNECT: Website | Myspace | World’s Fair | Daptone Records

The Queen of Funk indeed!

Artist: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Album: 100 Days, 100 Nights
Label: Daptone Records
Street Date: October 2nd, 2007
Formats: CD, vinyl, mp3

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace | iMeem | YouTube