Funky Butt Brass Band - Sugar Sugar Whomp Whomp

The Funky Butt Brass Band is a soulful collection of six St. Louis-based musicians who respect and revere the New Orleans brass band tradition. With influences ranging from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band to James Brown to the Allman Brothers, the FBBB crafts a broad range of original tunes and unexpected interpretations, all set to seriously funky grooves. With their fourth studio album, the band has captured an eclectic mix of traditional jazz and gospel, rock, brass funk and hip hop, with a little Creole and swamp funk thrown in for good measure. The playlist includes a 'South Side Suite,' four songs that capture the essence of life on the south side of the Gateway City -- 'Down Broadway To The Oyster Bar' pays homage to the band's musical home base, while 'South Side Swamp' takes a satirical look at the attempt to co-exist with some of the nation's most oppressive humidity. 'River Despair' tells the tale of the River Des Peres, a sort of local landmark for all the wrong reasons, while 'Saint Lou Bliss' recounts some of the city's quirkiest pleasures with a down-home back porch vibe (largely because it was recorded on a back porch). The CD also includes a couple of New Orleans classic tunes, 'Tipitina' by the legendary Professor Longhair, and 'Yours Truly,' a Dave Bartholomew paean to unrequited love.