Galactic

I feel like gettin' funky today, and they don't come much funkier than Galactic. These guys have been together since 1994 (originally known as Galactic Prophylactic), maintaining a core group of Jeff Raines (guitar), Robert Mercurio (bass), Stanton Moore (drums), Ben Ellman (saxophone), and Rich Vogel (Hammond organ). They have no singer in the band, but many of their songs feature guest vocalists. Over the years their sound has evolved from a traditional jazzy New Orleans funk to a more modern style, mostly because of their use of electronic effects. They now have elements of hip-hop and electronica mixed into their funky tunes. Their 2007 release From the Corner to the Block features a different emcee on almost every track, including Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Boots Riley (The Coup), Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), Lyrics Born and many more.

They are well known for incorporating multiple guests in both their recordings and their live show. Most of these guests are other New Orleans locals, including Trombone Shorty, Corey Henry, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, and members of both The Neville Brothers and The Meters.

Galactic is another band on the long list of groups that I was introduced to in a live setting, at Bonnaroo in both 2009 and 2010. Keeping with their tradition of playing with guests, in '09 they played with Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry (both horn players) and last time they brought out Cyril Neville to sing and play percussion. I left that show at about four in the morning, RIGHT BEFORE THEY PLAYED MY FAVOURITE SONG! Shit-damn, that was disappointing.

Now, I'll admit, Galactic is one of those bands that I love, but am just not that familiar with song titles. In fact, aside from songs off of From the Corner to the Block, I can hardly put a track title to a song. But they do get me groovin', that's for sure.

The guys have even appeared in a couple episodes of HBO's Treme, a show based in post-Katrina New Orleans, where they perform live, and stir up some trouble with the cops.

On a quick side-note, drummer Stanton Moore also plays in a few side-projects, Garage-a-Trois and The Stanton Moore Trio to name a couple, which are definitely worth checking out.

I had a hard time deciding which videos to include with this post, but I think these are a fairly good representation of what the guys are all about.  I apologize for the size of the videos, you'll probably have to full screen them to see anything.

"Immigrant Song" featuring Boots Riley, Chali 2na and Laidlaw.  WARNING: if you like Led Zeppelin but don't like rap, this video may not be for you.

"Tuff Love" featuring Trombone Shorty and Big Sam.  I like this video because it not only shows off Galactic's talent, but also Shorty's (he's on trumpet in this vid).

Thanks for stopping by, internet people, and come back soon for more another edition of Jaremy on Music.