October 26 2012 marks the drop of the fourth album from the critically acclaimed and ground breaking jazz fusion band, Snarky Puppy.
Formed in 2004 by bassist Mike League, Snarky Puppy has grown tremendously from a bunch of kids at the University of North Texas into the powerhouses they are today. Members of Snarky Puppy have played with many big names in jazz and popular music, including Dave Brubeck, Marc Johnson, Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas, Phil Woods, Maynard Ferguson, Erykah Badu, Bill Holman, Morcheeba, Headhunters, Dave Fiuczynski (of the Screaming Headless Torsos), Clyde Stubblefield (of James Brown and the JB's), Dick Oatts, Jimmy Cobb, Marc Johnson, Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath, Michael Spiro, Jovino Santos Neto, Benny Golson, "Snooky" Young, and countless more. Three of the bands members have even won Grammys for their work with other artists.
While making names for themselves with these giants of the scene, Snarky Puppy still manages to play fucking great music together, and their new album, "Tell Your Friends" on Ropeadope Records is no different. The album is so rich with thick melodies and heavy beats that after hearing this album and watching the dvd there's little else you can do but get up and dance. Like the bands motto, the music is "for your mind and booty."
Just like their previous releases, "Tell Your Friends" is a complex soundscape that leaves the listener itching for more. Michael League's bass lines interweave through the hard hitting playing of the horn section with all the fluidity and precision of the masters of jazz and funk. Robert "Sput" Spearwright's drumming is unrivaled in technical prowess and ability to know just what to do at just the right moment, and Chris McQueen's guitar playing is sure to melt off the face of any listener. To put it simply: this album will rock you to your core.
"Tell Your Friends" is not just an album. To be completely honest, it's not even really a studio album. It's a hybrid of a live dvd and cd that just happen to take place in a one-take, leave no prisoners run in a recording studio. Mike League comments on this strange album and dvd conception by saying, "After kicking out three studio albums, I've been pestered by numerous people in numerous towns about making a live record. My response has always been that I don't like the sound of live records. I was speaking with Sput about it one night on tour and said (in an attempt to be ironic) that the only place I'd want to make a live album is in a recording studio. We looked at each other, and both laughed. I immediately started planning it."
"Tell Your Friends" was recorded and shot at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana. "From the moment this band set foot in Louisiana," League notes, "just 8 months after Hurricane Katrina stomped on it, we felt a collective sense of homecoming. I've tried to understand how a person can feel so familiar with a place, so in tune with it, when they've never been there before. I can't explain it."
Tracklisting:
1. Whitecap
2. Flood
3. Good Men Deliver And The Best Is Blessed
4. Skate U
5. Slow Demon
6. Ready Wednesday
7. Anonymus
8. Little People
DVD:
1) Tell Your Friends: Live At Dockside Studio
DVD Specs:
DVD Format: DVD 5
Picture Format: 16:9
Runnuing Time: 54:30 + 26 Min Bonus
Audio: DD 2.0
