Trouble Funk In-depth Biography
Miles off the radar of popular music during the early '80s, Trouble Funk} energized their D.C. home with the sound of go-go} music, an uproarious blend of swinging, up-tempo '70s funk} and a '60s-style horn section. The band formed in 1978, and the lineup coalesced around drummer Emmet Nixon}, percussionists Mack Carey} and Timothius Davis}, guitarist Chester Davis}, bassist Tony Fisher}, trombone players Gerald} and Robert Reed}, trumpeter Taylor Reed}, keyboard player James Avery}, and saxophonist David Rudd}. Trouble Funk} earned a loyal fan base for their notoriously can't-miss live act, a raw, party friendly version of dance and funk} with few songs but plenty of extensive jams organized around audience-friendly vocal tags and call-out hooks.
The first go-go} record released outside of D.C., Trouble Funk}'s 1982 debut Drop the Bomb} appeared on Sugar Hill}, the same label then championing early hip-hop}. (The two styles had very similar origins, in the breakbeat culture of urban block parties.) Though the band's second album, In Times of Trouble}, appeared only on the local label D.E.T.T.}, Trouble Funk} earned national distribution with a prescient concert record, 1985's Saturday Night (Live from Washington, D.C.)}, released through Island}. After taking the live act nationwide and even worldwide (they played the 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival}), Trouble Funk} returned in 1987 with the boundary breaking Trouble Over Here, Trouble Over There}, featuring sympathetic heads like Bootsy Collins} and Kurtis Blow}. It was a bit of a stylistic misstep, however, and Island} released the group from its contract. Undeterred, Trouble Funk} kept on grooving around the city, playing often, even into the '90s, for nostalgic party goers as well as the musically curious. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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