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Saturday, November 6
San Francisco Art Institute
(whole campus)
800 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA
2-10pm
DIRECTIONS Tickets:
$15
 "Funk
School" featuring:
Rebirth Brass Band (3 sets)
DJ Rueben (Browntempo)
DJ Romanowski (Future Primitive)
DJ Enki (Future Primitive)
Leo Nocentelli
(the Meters – “Secrets of Funk Guitar” Workshop at 5pm)
Greg
Errico
(Sly & the Family Stone –
“ Funk Drumming” Workshop at 3pm)
Rickey Vincent
(Lecture & QA – “What is Funk?” at 7pm)
Medea Sirkas
(“Funk & Breakdance Workshop” at 4pm)
Cajun Pacific Café
(serving Louisiana soul food)
The San Francisco Funk Festival is proud to take it direct from the stage to
the classroom with an all-day session of “Funk School” at the scenic SF Art
Institute campus in North Beach. Drawing from SFFF’s mission to build
appreciation of the FUNK as America’s 3rd Great Art Form, the day will aim
to help music fans better understand what funk is, has been, and what it can
be. The centerpiece of the event will be an epic 3-set performance by New
Orleans brass-funk pioneers the Rebirth Brass Band. But the grooves don’t
end there as Rueben, Romanowski and Enki will be giving a dissertation on
turntable funk in the front courtyard. In the lecture hall the edumocation
will be led by Sly & the Family Stone/Santana/JGB drummer Greg Errico, who
will hold a complete “funk drumming workshop”. The funky professor himself,
Rickey Vincent will grace us with the end-all be-all rant on “What is Funk.”
And if that's not enough edumocation, oldschool breakdance originators
"Medea Sirkas" will be on hand to teach a class on the classic funk dance
styles (including the "Hustle" the "Funky Chicken" the "Robot" etc...) some
of which they invented themselves. And finally, San Francisco's finest cajun
chef, Chuck Maddox of Cajun Pacific Cafe will be on hand to sling the soul
food, making this an evening to savor in yet another way.
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About the Artists:
Rebirth Brass Band (New Orleans):
Known for leaving many of San Franciscans in a sweaty funk after their vivacious
live shows, The ReBirth Brass Band, a Sunset Promotions favorite, simply put,
is an institution. Formed in 1983, the band has long since graduated from the
streets of New Orleans to theaters and festivals all over the world. ReBirth
is committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands while at the same time
incorporating modern music into their show. Their signature brand of heavy
funk has placed them among the world’s top brass bands and they are the
hands-down favorite among the younger generation.
www.rebirthbrassband.com
Leo Nocentelli (New Orleans):
Born and bred in the swampy funkiness of New Orleans, Leo Nocentelli
has been playing guitar and making people move since he was 9 years
old. At 14
he was chosen to accompany Earl King on a working trip to Motown, where
Nocentelli’s strings can be heard on Diana Ross’s “Where Did Our Love Go?”
But it was with New Orleans legendary funk supergroup, the Meters, that
Nocentelli made his greatest contributions to the genre as their lead guitarist. The man who
penned such classics as “Cissy Strut” “Look a Py Py” and “Hey Pockey Way”
took blues and country styles and “gumbofied” them into a funky feel that’s
been imitated aplenty, but never matched. Nocentelli’s picking skills
developed over time to such a degree that when the Meters split, he found
ample work with artists as diverse as Patti Labelle, Dr John, and Jimmy
Buffet. Nocentelli recently compiled a liftime of funk knowledge into the
DVD release “The Secrets of Funk: Using It & Fusing It!” We are
honored to have Leo teaching these secrets at Funk School on November 6.
www.nocentelli.com
Greg Errico (San Francisco):
For more than 30 years, Greg Errico has beaten
the drums that have propelled of Bay Area funk. A member of the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, Errico is best
known for his seminal late 1960’s work with Sly & the Family Stone.
He has also applied his exuberant beats to albums and tours with Santana
and the Jerry Garcia Band. In recent years, Errico has spent a good deal
of his time working to reunite his various Family Stone bandmates under a
variety of monikers. Most recently, he convened “LIFE – the first
family of Funk” for sold out shows at BB King’s Blues Club in
New York City. Errico will be sharing his 30 years of funk-drumming experience,
conducting a workshop at the 11/6 “Funk School” event.
www.slystone.com
Rickey Vincent (Oakland): Whether you choose to call him “the Funky Professor” or the “Uhuru
Maggot” there is little dispute that Rickey Vincent is America’s
leading academic authority on the funk. The author of “Funk: the Music,
the People, and the Rhythm of the ONE” Rickey has taught classes at SF
State, USF, and has most recently entered the doctoral program at the University
of California at Berkeley. The longtime host of KPFA’s Friday night “History
of Funk” radio show, Rickey is an accomplished purveyor of funky grooves,
a skill he will show off at Elbo Room on 11/13. But his main contribution to
SFFUNK ’04 will be a lecture and QA session during the 11/6 “Funk
School” event, regarding the age-old question “What is FUNK?”
http://www.kalilight.com/nsites/rickey.html
Medea Sirkas: (East Bay):
Medea Sirkas is the embodiment of a dance extravaganza whose roots are deeply embedded in the soul of hip hop. Legendary pioneers of strutting, boogaloo, and the Fillmore dance styles, this innovative ensemble transformed the underground dance movement through a cataclysmic dance explosion which perfected these popular styles and incorporated them into synchronized dance movement. The four male (Fayzo, Boogaloo Dana, Charlie Rock, and Zulu Gremlin) member SF/ Oakland based dance group now tantalizes audiences from the Bay to Japan, each member contributing an individual flavor which combines to become what is uniquely Medea Sirkas. Inspired by life, performance, and their absolute love of the dance form, this group has continued to keep audiences awe struck for over two decades. Having strutted their stuff with everyone from Queen Latifah to RUN DMC, Medea Sirkas transitions the dance form to the next level, striving to create a unique and entertaining format whose futuristic appearance and cutting edge stage performance leaves the audience captivated. The use of audio visual effects as well as the integration of theatrical themes and staging, add extra creative touches that make this group appeal to any audience.
www.medeasirkas.com |
