FinkFankFunk

Alex Scammon

459 Adams House

Cambridge, MA 02138

(617) 493-2072

alex@finkfankfunk.com

FinkFankFunk invites you to browse our press kit.  We are an eleven-piece funk-Juggernaut hailing from Cambridge and Allston in Massachusetts complete with driving horns, smokin’ rhythm section, and rockin’ vocals.  Our express purpose in life is to get people to get down while playing tunes that can be appreciated on every musical level.  The band has been together for over two years, and is now looking to embark purposefully upon the music scene.

The pictures of the band on this web-site might give you some insight into the entertainment approach of our band.  In living color, the effect is even more outrageous.  Rather than force you to meet all eleven of us all at once, the included biographies hopefully allow you to peer beyond the outfits by explaining a little of our background and experience.  What we can’t describe in words or pictures will be vibrantly on display on the demo tape included for your groovin’ pleasure.  Additionally, we have included our business plan so that you are aware of our past and present goals and advertising methods.

Thank you for taking the time to look through our kit. We look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Alex Scammon

FinkFankFunk Representative

Bios

Ari “Kipper” Appel, Guitar 1/30/81-

The finest FinkFankFunk guitarist that Belmont, MA has ever produced, this sophomore’s 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. 

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.

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. 

Mike “Bones” Large, Keyboard 10/5/78-

Bones, also known as “Liggity” and “Smalls” to his many friends, fans, and lovers, looms large and very much in charge in the area of FinkFankFunk’s organ.  Though Bones, a senior in our hearts and, surprisingly, in reality as well, tries to keep actual orgasms on stage to a minimum, you’d never know it from watching him.  His musical excitability dates from his South Bend, IN childhood, when he was the grooviest high school marching band Drum Major the world has ever known.  Last year, Bones had an epiphany in church when he discovered a beautiful Rhodes organ that God had apparently rejected and which now livelies up FinkFankFunk’s rhythmic foundation.

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.   

Ben “Razivishna” Scheuer, Lead Vocalist and Guitar       5/10/82-

He’s the baby of the band, a mere stripling freshman, and, appropriately, screams the loudest.  A New York charmer from his rockstar hair to his pornstar toes, with enough London added to soothe the burn, Razivishna, or Razi, joined FinkFankFunk in October 2000 and immediately took the band on a rock and rollercoaster that continues to this day.  For its part, the band has provided its new public face with fashion advice and musical noise to accompany his rant.  Razi’s funk is the deepest allowable by law, though he’s been known to incorporate high funk and wide funk, the Eternal Funk’s other two dimensions, into his stage persona.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

FinkFankFunk, Band November 1998-        

Rising from the ashes of an ill-fated Dixieland trio experiment, FinkFankFunk quickly grew from a 7-man mildly-funky ensemble at its first gig on March 25^th 1999 to the 10-man, 1-woman funk juggernaut it is today.  Along the way, the band hit 13 strong, went through seven bass players and one harmonica player, and did a number of generally zany and wacky things.  Since a recent lead singer transplant, FinkFankFunk has become a well-oiled groove machine.  The band now shakes booties throughout the area to classic covers as well as original tunes.  More info on the life history of Harvard’s largest, loudest, and funkiest band is located at www.finkfankfunk.com.

Business Plan

After playing within our school territory for over a year and a half, the band feels the time has come to spread our wings and move out into the greater Boston music scene.  Confident that we can rely on our existing fan-base for support, every party we play will be hopping.

Home Ground

Ten elevenths of our group is currently enrolled at Harvard and as such, we have an incredible pool of loyal followers. After more than three semesters of playing parties, arts events, rallies, and other public events, our recognition on campus is immense.  Additionally, this year we have begun to cultivate our name at our neighbor, MIT, by playing private party gigs.

Mailing List and Flyers

These are our two main advertising weapons.  When we throw our full weight into spreading the word, we’ve found that these two techniques always bring an overflow of people to every party. These advertising efforts are only augmented by:

FinkFankFunk.com

Our latest marketing ploy.  Find information about upcoming gigs, mp3’s, pictures, and this Press Kit, all online.

CD

A major goal for the band for the next six months is to release a professional quality CD.  While FinkFankFunk has already done some studio work for demo recordings, the next step we must take is to invest enough time and effort to create an entire album.

Song List