Say it with me now: keep funk alive!

>> Miles Tackett and Breakestra do their part to put the funk in the forefront

by SCOTT C

There was a time when thousands of half-assed bands with ramshackle gear, no record deal, and a church-basement practice space would regularly put out 7" records for the music-buying public to enjoy. In 2001, these same 7", 45-rpm records are some of the most sought-after pieces of plastic in the world.

Funk and soul sides from the '60s and '70s have become an international pastime for collectors who have the time, money and travel budget to support such a dedicated pursuit. But why are these records so rare? Why is there such a shortage of the raw, grimy tracks that define a whole era of American music, the influence of which runs so deep? Did funk die? I certainly hope not, but somewhere in the midst of the ever-changing sounds of popular music, funk did take a dive, and a deep one at that. It has come up for air, though, and L.A.'s Breakestra are making certain that it stays that way.

When they released the 7" "Getcho Soul Togetha" on Stones Throw Records in '99, it was clear that these guys had recaptured the rawness that had been lost in the shuffle over the years. On top of all this, they could really play, and have been playing steady ever since, taking their own crusade of pure funk straight to the people. The 10-piece ensemble just released their first full-length, The Live Mix Part 2, which is exactly that--a live mixing of some of the classic funk breaks that hip hop music has been built on. I had a delightful conversation with frontman Miles Tackett over the phone from Los Angeles.



Mirror: Yo, Miles, man, you guys must be ridin' high right now, because your record is blazin'. No one can test this.

Miles: I'm just busy right now, that's for damn sure. Tryin' to finish up some projects, start some new projects. We're busy trying to organize our regular monthly parties in L.A., New York and San Francisco called the Rootdown. I'm also trying to get our record release parties in all of these cities organized.

M: What about Montreal? We're not good enough for a regular party? Where's the MTL Rootdown?

MT: Well, now that you mention it, we're gonna try to bring the Rootdown event out there on a regular basis.

M: Really?!

MT: Yep. The show that we're coming with this time out is basically what goes on at Rootdown in L.A. Some of the DJs who spin every week are coming to the Montreal show. Egon, myself and Peanut Butter Wolf. You'll be at the show when we come?

M: Hells yeah!

MT: Then you'll see the kind of flavour that we're comin' with, man.

Funkifying the five-one-four

M: I have to say, man, that there is definitely a lack of funky shit going on in this city.

MT: I noticed that Montreal is a house city.

M: That's right. Anything funky in this city died in 1994 with the death of acid jazz, rest in peace.

MT: I've noticed that, too. I mean, look at Giant Step, who we've worked with to do shows in San Francisco. They don't have any kind of funk or raw rare groove goin' on at all, they just do house. Is there something wrong with that?

M: Yes, sir. It don't matter though, because you guys are blowin' up and will be able to play anywhere very soon. I can't open a magazine without seeing a write-up about you guys somewhere.

MT: Are we getting good press, man? Cause I haven't seen any of it. I know about the Fader thing, that was really cool. Anything good to help spread the funk.

M: Do you feel like you're doing your part?

MT: Yeah. Even though there's only one original funk thing on the project, when we did that, the only thing I had heard in the way of raw shit that was being made in the present was the Poets of Rhythm from Germany. They were recording new stuff and putting 45s out about six years ago. Apparently they've been doing it since '92. Around the same time I heard about the Desco stuff coming out of New York.

M: Their stuff is definitely on the same tip as yours.

MT: Right, so I sent them off a tape of what we were doing and ended up working with the label owner Gabe Roth on a few other projects.

M: That label is de-"funkt" now, isn't it?

MT: Well, yeah (laughs).

M: No pun intended.

MT: They split into two sub-labels, one called Soul Fire and the other called Dap Tone. Then there was this other group Calypso Kings, from Finland I think, but they now have a new record coming out on Soul Fire that's hot.

M: Funky shit?

MT: Oh yeah.

M: Is it fair to say that apart from you guys and the Desco offshoot labels, there is nobody else in the United States that is putting out pure funk?

MT: There's another label with a group I just heard of called Delta 69 that's doing something out of Chicago. They put out a good 7", but other then that, that's it.

No mass love

M: Doesn't that just boggle your mind, though?

MT: No, it doesn't.

M: Really?

MT: Let's look at this from the perspective of two people talking who really love this music, me and you.

M: Okay.

MT: Based on what we've talked about, I think we share the same appreciation and love for the same things in music, even if we just put it to funk. A lot of those things, even in America, have never really been popular. Funk music has never enjoyed mass love in the States. When the sound was forced to clean up and become a little bit more commercial, then everybody loved it, except the people who had started the whole sound in the first place.

M: That's a direct parallel to hip hop today.

MT: Exactly. It's like jazz in America. Is it appreciated the way it should be considering it was conceived here? No! So I'm not gonna get too excited about people outside the actual music, because you can't really count on any scene or any particular subculture to maintain the survival of a music. If people are diggin' it, great. If they want to dance and get down, all the better. I'm not pessimistic--

M: You're just realistic.

MT: Right.

M: I think that's the only mentality you can have as a musician, if you're putting out music that you essentially like yourself and want other people to like as well.

MT: There's definitely a crusader part of me that's trying to keep the raw funk alive, whether it's through the live band, hip hop beats or putting out 45s. That struggle is real to me, and there's other people doin' it too, but I'm at least doin' my part.

M: You do yours and I'll do mine.

MT: Yeah, man! If it were to blow up--which it won't--in its true and unadulterated state, accepted at a mass level, I wouldn't be mad at that. It just means that all that many more people are gettin' down to real fuckin' music.

With DJs Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib and Egon at Tokyo on Thursday, March 15, $15. Note: early show, doors at 6pm