Cascadia '10, The Braxmatics and The Gravity Kings at Darrells 11-22-13

I love the frequent Funk nights that they present at Darrells. I have seen many familiar faces playing in several different bands. I recognized Moose Barber, a killer trumpet player. I had seen him in Kissing Potion and Soul Senate, and maybe even one more...Shady Bottom?

Here he is blowing his trumpet.

The evening was hosted by my friends at Darrells Tavern in Shoreline Washington, just  north of Seattle. It is one of the best venues for live music in town. The staff is marvelous, friendly and efficient. They have a stellar sound system and a pro-magician to mix the tunes. The owner is a righteous music lover who is the consummate host. I love Darrells, I am here every weekend. See Darrells here: http://www.darrellstavern.com/

Here is Damien, a demon at the bar.

Here is Jenna, my favorite little door-mouse.

Here is Scott, my friend and most amazing Mixer, Lover and Professor of Music. That is our DJ for the evening, DJ Mullet in the back.

DJ Mullet has the incredible vinyl to keep the soul, R&B and funk keep coming. I have seen him several times, he is one of the highlights of any show he plays at. Tonight he was killing the turntables. His collection of vinyl is deep and never-ending. He works hard at mixing just the right stuff to keep the peeps moving. I, along with several others were up and dancing to his live show.

The Cascadia '10 were up first on this killer night of Funk; horns, keys, percussion and great guitar. Cascadia '10 is Tracy Ferrara - Tenor Sax, Mike "Moose" Barber - Trumpet, Jon Ryser - Baritone Sax, Bucket - Bass, JJ Moon - Guitar, Steve Steele - Guitar, Jayson Powell - Congas & Percussion, Andy Sells - Drums.

I have seen Tracey many times, she blows a mean horn.

Scott warned me about Andy. He said to keep an eye on what turned out to be some of the best percussion of the evening. 

When he combined with Jayson, it was magic.

Jayson was a force on the congas, I love that traditional tenor sound of the conga. He rocked the skins.

The twin boys on guitars were sweet. Funk bands need a strong lead and rhythm guitar. They did not disappoint.

I love guitars, I can't do this so I love to watch good artists perform right up close.

The baritone sax is one of my favorite additions to any band. I have a deep appreciation for the soul that can blow the big hole. Jon was pushing the killer wind.

Moose was on trumpet, like I said earlier, he is in several bands, and for a reason. He plays sweet brass.

The band spilled off the stage, here is Bucket on Bass.

They started with this great groove, the bass and percussion starting a slow beat and working up to a dynamite opening tune.

They had the place rocking early, here is some lovely ladies getting into the funk. This was a night to dance.

Thanks to The Cascadia '10 for the great show, you can connect with them here: https://www.facebook.com/cascadia10

The Braxmatics were on next, I had seen some of their vids on YouTube, it looked like they were going to be lot of fun. I was looking forward to this. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjGsorDcB8

They opened with a sweet funk tune and a parade of dancers. This was such a dramatic addition to the music. Wonderful theater combined with killer funk. All you wanted to do was get out of your seat and dance.

These girls had amazing energy and wonderful talent. This could have been really cheesy, instead it was marvelous entertainment.

The M.C. and lead guitar of this great  funk band is bigger than life with an huge stage presence.

I am sorry I cannot give the full line up for this band. Many of the members seem to be kin. By marriage and blood, they all seem to be linked in some familial way. Braxton is the Surname. They did introduce themselves, but I missed it.

Here is what their Facebook page says about their line-up: Meltron, Acematic, Dyltrazz, Flash Gordon, Schraepfer, Rev Rooster, The AB Girls.

Here is a description written on their FB page: Funkin' up the place, with the Bass in your face, from outer space, with a bit of dash and a lot of Grace, to capture the flag and win this Race, to the top of the galactic Mountain of Boom, where we funk harder than an Elephant in the Room, and leave smokey clouds of danceable Plumes, on which to fly with our Soul livened Crew...!

This was a total experience, all senses were firing and you couldn't help but move.

Great sax tonight. The other bands had big horns, here they had one killer sax man.

I saw the keyboard player loading in, I knew he was going to be fun and entertaining.

Percussion and bass is the main driver for any funk band.

The bass man was taking care of business out on the dance floor.

Super energy and fun. If you were not moving you were dead.

These folks knew how to entertain, they were having as much fun as the packed house. It was infectious. This girl worked hard for 45 minutes.

This is as much fun as you can have without acquiring a bad disease or getting arrested.

Our trip was calculated and planed by the most excellent gentleman in the bowler.

This was the best show we have seen in a long while. My buddy Mark and I decided it had to be a good six months from the last time we had so much fun. Thanks to The Braxmtics for a great set. See them here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Braxmatics/65689552293

Last on the stage tonight was The Gravity Kings. I thought, man, they have a tough act to follow. Un-intimidated, the Kings took to the stage and started laying down the dynamite grooves.

Some of the members of The Braxmatics stayed on stage to play with this group.

There were some fine musicians on stage tonight.

This was another sweet funk set. The Gravity Kings had all the moves and sounds. Horn heavy, they hit all my buttons.

I found their line-up on Facebook: Tom Wilkinson - Kit, Josh Peters - Guit, Brittain Barber - Tenor, Brandon Hunter - Trombone, Robby Beasley - Trumpet, Kris Pendleton - Bass, Jared Alfonzo - Vocals.

You can connect with them here: https://www.facebook.com/GravityKings

See some live music soon.