FinkFankFunk | meet the Members
Jesse "Sock" Reid Andrews, Bass 9/15/82-
Four short years ago, young Sock first
held a bass in his eager arms, caressed its neck and body, and listened lovingly
to its electric hum. After subsequently learning to play the damn thing with
the help of a neato effects pedal, Sock filled his pockets with quarters and
left Pittsburgh for the big city to make his fortune. Now Sock, a brawny freshman,
wears his baseball cap just right (a little to the left, please) and his T-shirts
just tight (to emphasize his heft, please) and grins with reckless abandon as
he lays down the law on FinkFankFunk’s weighty bottom end.
Ari "Kipper" Appel, Guitar 1/30/81-
The finest FinkFankFunk guitarist that Belmont, MA has
ever produced, his chiseled features and salty speech recall for
many the near-mythical pirate king of days of yore. His six-string skills,
however, augmented in embarrassingly unfunky fashion by his four-string foibles
on the violin, make it clear that Kipper lacks entirely the pirate king’s characteristic
hand-hook mechanism. Not to worry: Kipper’s personal maxim "What Would Herbie
Do?" leads him ever closer to the realm of ultimate funk.
Keith "Staff" Berkoben, Audio Engineer 1/18/82-
Where once was disconcerting sonic chaos, now is honed funk majesty.
Where once were poorly mixed honkings and unlistenable gurglings, now
gleams the gritty groove of FinkFankFunk. Staff is the man behind the
metamorphosis. Whether he's running like a soundman or running roughshod
over other soundpersons in his drive to perfect the mindless, unrelenting
funk, Staff's presence in that little booth behind you is vital. This
sophomore grew up tall and he grew up right here in Arlington, mixing
sound on a Yamaha MD8 for them Massachusetts boys on them Massachusetts
nights for Indigenous Grooves, a high school jam band. Now blessed with
more noise toys than most audio engineers could shake a Shure SM58 at,
Staff mixes on. For more dirt on his diehard Phandom and surreptitious
construction fetish, check out his site.
And if you like the noises we make, take the time to thank the man who
makes it happen.
Spencer "The Great Burro" Burrows, Lead Vocals 5/10/78-
The latest stranger to elevate FinkFankFunk to absurdly funky new
heights, this shouter out of Sebastopol, CA, will change the way
you devour FinkFankFunk. The Age of The Great Burro dawned in late
April 2002; interested parties agree that nothing will ever be the
same, while uninterested parties probably would say the same if they
only knew. This Berkelee student cut his teeth on such nursing-home
chestnuts as Keep on Rockin in the Free World. Graduating to front
Eric Lindell and the Reds, The Great Burro grew. Notwithstanding
these ominous beginnings, let a vow go forth upon this day: O
FinkFankFaithful, no longer shall simple Roll'n'Rock flow from
FinkFankFunk's most-vocal of members; no, this greatest of burros,
in no way a burrito, is a pale but tasty slow-brewed mix of soulful
croon, dirty growl, and tough funk, with an aftertaste of thick fink
and fat fank. To the Funk! Note: The Great Burro is best enjoyed in
moderation, as full submission to His Musical Majesty may inhibit the
operation of heavy machinery and leave one gasping for air.
Malaika "G.K." Butoyi, Vocals 4/10/82-
FinkFankFunk’s newest addition to its
roster of venomous vocalists, G.K sports a groove more stately, more dignified,
more je ne sais quoi than Razi’s rant. In fact, G.K.’s je ne sais
quotient is through the Mothership’s titanium hyper-alloyed astro-modified
roof, and has been since her exodus from Orange County and subsequent conversion
to Baduizm. With her Good Knitting, Grooves that Kill, and Gluteus Kineticus,
G.K. and her personal brand of mouth-watering groove are teaching the band and
its minions to funk and funk well.
Jake "Hawk" Fleming, Tenor Saxophone 6/5/79-
Hawk, a freakish-looking senior from
Santa Rosa, CA, has filled the band’s tenor chair to overflowing since his early
days as a co-founder and distressingly square clarinet player. Known near-internationally
for his cheerily ghastly fashion sense and chewy center, Hawk is the de facto
clothing consultant for the band, as well as an inspirational fount of funk.
Hawk’s stated goal for the band, as well as in life, is to help all the underprivileged
children of the world shake their bums and boogie down but good. Hawk is also
known for his overly verbose and nearly-illegible writing style. Funk you very
much.
Alex "Xander" Gordon, Keys 11/16/81-
Replace the Doctor (Long Lost Ligggity Large) with an X-man? Some might
say 'diagnosis: disaster!' But FinkFankFunk found that so long as the
X-man is new keyboards funkster Xander, a Sophomore, the keys (organ,
electric piano, kinura, amazing fun strip, and tambourine too) will
tinkle as funkily and funkle as tinkly as ever before. From the tender
age of 6, Xander's Norwell, MA childhood was spent drowning out Dave
Matthews' cutting-edge cocktail of sonic pablum and noisome crap with
devoted piano practice. Funk made its grand entrance to his life seven
years later, with Mssrs. Hancock and Medeski leading the charge. After
a harrowing escape from Norwellian hell, Xander reached funkgasm upon
his Maytime merger with the band.
Brett "Pappy Dan" "gemini" Rautenberg, Drums 6/9/76-
FinkFankFunk’s guru of authentic funk
history and purveyor of absurd rhythmic perfection. Pappy Dan lives in Allston
when not staring at a wall in a basement in Cambridge while the band lays down
tune over his rocksteady groove. Pappy Dan is the creator of www.darkfunk.com, a bonanza of rare and raw
recordings of his personal funk god, Mr. Miles Davis. After hearing the Red
Hot Chili Peppers’ version of Stevie Wonder’s "Higher Ground" at the tender
age of 13, gemini was hooked. It was only a matter of time before the pull
of FinkFankFunk drew him in. All parties concerned are very happy about the
marriage, and plan to honeymoon in the belly of the Mothership.
Danny "Pip" Rhodes, Trumpet 8/31/79-
Pip Rhodes is a mellow Missoura boy,
but his trumpet explosions are anything but. A "mature" senior applied mathematics
major, Pip aims in all other ways to emulate the great Maynard Ferguson. Mr.
Rhodes would like it known that he once played with a bunch of old guys in a
swing band called "The Classics" at senior citizens’ homes. Since that distant
time when he thought Parliament was like Congress, only more British, Squeaky
Pip has turned the funk on in serious fashion. Still, his slightly goofy demeanor
provides a balance to the dirtier, less reputable elements of the band.
Eric "Flip-Top" Rosenbaum, Trombone 7/12/79-
A proud product of local trombone factory Lexington High
School, Flip-Top has supplied FinkFankFunk with controlled funk insanity on
the slide trombone from the very beginning. While a previous project, The Realers
Rhythm and Blues Revue Featuring the Back Alley Horns, left him (playing under
the alias "Hotlips") battling a crippling Stevie Wonder addiction, an insatiable
appetite for polyester and the dreaded "automatic swivel-hips" disease,
Flip-Top has used the revitalizing grooves of FinkFankFunk to nurse him back
to comparative health. Look for his classy duds, provided by Don Juan of Miami,
and his remarkable gel job.
Alexander "El Diablo" Scammon, Baritone Sax 4/27/79-
Of British extraction via Nevada City,
CA but with clear visual ties to the outer reaches of the funk universe, Alex
is the brain and urogenital tract behind the band. Co-founder and primary arranger,
he is known throughout the band for having the longest hair, curliest goatee,
and biggest saxophone, and for shouldering band-related responsibilities when
other members become too lazy to move. Also versed in the clarinet, tuba, flute,
devil sticks, and chicken dinner, Alex, a senior, first heard the funk in Cairo
at 3 A.M. during an intense game of Rummy 500. It was P-Funk. The culmination
of the ensuing love affair was the enormous misshapen child known as FinkFankFunk.
Alec "Sherm" Spiegelman, Alto Sax and Flute 5/20/81-
Hornman extraordinaire, Sherm’s multi-instrumentalist
chops continually spur FinkFankFunk’s Singin’ Dancin’ Horn Section to new depths
of funk. Though his oft-disoriented air and pasty exterior do little to differentiate
him from other sophomore physics majors, Sherm is learning to wear his bellbottoms
better, and to shed the "Serious Musician" baggage he picked up gigging with
Harrisburg, PA-based Brown Derby Junction Swing Band and jam band Marks Like
A Dog. Sherm may best be schematized as an Everlasting Gobdropper - no matter
how long you enjoy his tasty licks, he never gets smaller, though he does change
color some.
To get ahold of us for any reason, day or night, contact Alex Scammon at:
alex@finkfankfunk.com or
617-945-0276
Blast from the past: if you dabble in archeology, you might wanna check out our old sites:
Old FinkFankFunk.com
Reaally Old FinkFankFunk.com