Funk Band Phat Phunktion is Set to Release New Album “Live At The High Noon” on June 2nd, 2017 | WATCH VIDEO!
Award-Winning Nine-Piece Funk Band PHAT PHUNKTION To Release Fifth Album on June 2
Available Digitally, on CD, and Blu-ray, ‘Live at the High Noon’ Is the Group’s First Live Album. 75-Minute Concert Includes Exuberant Rendition of “Jupiter” by Earth Wind & Fire. Group Includes Oscar-Winning Arranger Tim Whalen.
MADISON, Wis. – April 17, 2017 – PRLog — As a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison music students who banded together in 1996, Phat Phunktion have built a loyal following of listeners throughout the United States and around the world. Combining the polish of Top 40 with the smooth feeling of 60’s soul and the raw groove of 70’s funk, Phat Phunktion is a nine-piece tour-de-force that are one of the most revered live acts of the past 20 years. In their hometown of Madison, they have been known to attract crowds of 5,000 people and regularly sell out wherever they perform.
During the summer of 2005, Phat Phunktion embarked on their first U.S. tour. Following the Nardis release of You and Me, the tour was a turning point for this award-winning band. As keyboardist / co-founder Tim Whalen said at the time, “We are not just a local band anymore.” From June 2005 until August 2006, the band played non-stop at festivals and clubs all over the United States, from Arizona to the New England seaboard, and everywhere in between. They brought the house down at the Bele Chere Music Festival (Asheville, NC), the Riverbend Festival (Chattanooga, TN), Riverfest (Little Rock, AK), the Art Tatum Jazz and Heritage Festival (Toledo, OH), The Knitting Factory and BB King’s in New York City.
Over the last 10 years, the band has shared the stage with musical legends, The Temptations, Tower of Power, WAR, Cameo, Morris Day and the Time, The Original “P” (featuring original members of Parliament), The Average White Band, Chick Corea, Taj Mahal, Rick James, Clyde Stubblefield, The Brothers Johnson, Soulive, Umphrey’s McGee, Willy Porter, and Kool and the Gang. Their dynamic stage show and incredible musicianship have initiated thousands of faithful “Phatheads,”
Individually, the band members have achieved worldwide notoriety and acclaim. Saxophonist Falaschi arranged and composed music for legendary James Brown drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, for his album, The Original, and appeared as a member of the “Sad Sax” collective that augments Bon Iver‘s 22, A Million. Frontman Whalen also contributed to Stubblefield’s album, writing music for “Hippest March Part 2,” though he is most well-known for orchestrating strings for “Al Otro Lado del Río,” a song by Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler that appears in the film Motorcycle Diaries, starring Gael García Bernal (Babel, Bad Education, Mozart in the Jungle). Otro Lado won the Oscar for “Best Original Song” at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.
As the nonet continues its second decade of melting minds with its incendiary live show, the members felt it was time to reward fans with a testament to their electrifying onstage chemistry. Gathering before a raucous sold-out show at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI, on October 7, 2016, Phat Phunktion unleashed a blistering 80-minute set to rapturous applause. Stand-outs include the booming “Whatcha Gonna Do,” the funky boogie of “Knockin’ em Down,” a transcendent 8-minute version of “Rock Star,” and a show-stopping rendition of “Jupiter,” the Earth Wind & Fire classic. Produced by Whalen and Falaschi, the 13-track collection, “Live at the High Noon,” will be available worldwide on June 2, on CD, as a digital download, and on Blu-ray, in High Definition.
PHAT PHUNKTION:
Tim Whalen: Keyboards and vocals
Darvonte “Turbo” Murray: Drums
Pauli Ryan: Percussion
Nick Moran: Bass
Vincent Jesse: Guitar
Jon Schipper: Trumpet
Jim Doherty: Trumpet
Courtney Larsen: Trombone and vocals
Al Falaschi: Saxophone and vocals
Live at the High Noon
1. You Want It All – Whalen/Falaschi
2. Whatcha Gonna Do – Whalen
3. Knockin’ em Down – Whalen/Falaschi/
4. Rock Star – Whalen/Falaschi
5. Never Be The Same – Whalen/Falaschi
6. Don’t Destroy The Funk – Whalen/Falaschi
7. Eyes of Mine – Whalen/Falaschi
8. Untitled (Weekend Special) – Whalen/Falaschi
9. Jupiter – White/White/
10. Tell Me – Whalen
11. Miss Madison – Whalen/Falaschi
12. Well Run Dry – Whalen/Falaschi
13. Stand Up – Falaschi