Thursday, January 2, 2020

Find the Funk (feat. Leo Nocentelli)


Happy 2020! We begin the new decade with #54 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Find The Funk, featuring a musician who is synonymous with funk, The Meters', Leo Nocentelli. If you've listened to popular music in the last 50 years you have directly or indirectly been moved by Leo's influential guitar playing, and his band, the Meters, certainly needs no introduction. But please allow me to gush for a moment...Leo played guitar on Lee Dorsey's, Workin’ In a Coal Mine and Dr. John's, Right Place, Wrong Time. The riff in Cissy Strut, that's his! His guitar playing and songs have been sampled by everyone from Public Enemy to Eminem. As a sideman, his undeniably groovy and instantly recognizable style has been featured on records by; Allen Toussaint, Peter Gabriel, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, Labelle, Maceo, Robert Palmer and oh yeah, Paul McCartney! He is a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee. And on top of being badass, Leo is an incredibly gracious human being. Turn this one up!
The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. And the newest addition to the team; Mixing and Mastering by the Grand Wizard of Greaseland, Christoffer "Kid" Andersen.

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