THUNDER BAY - If you have ever been to a Five Alarm Funk show, and there have been many in Thunder Bay, you know to expect a night of heart pounding music, feet stomping, dancing, and just letting loose. That energy on Thunder Bay dance floors has not been lost on the band.
“It seems like the people of Thunder Bay really like to come out and get loose and not in a bad way or anything like that,” said Tayo Branston, drummer and vocalist with Five Alarm Funk. “They are just really down to earth awesome people who want to hit the dance floor and wash away the day and enjoy themselves.”
Fans will get yet another opportunity to dance to the Vancouver-based band’s unique genre transcending music as they make a stop in Thunder Bay on Sunday, Mar. 19 at Crocks as part of a 24-date cross Canada tour.
The eight-piece band is no stranger to Thunder Bay, having made several stops in the city throughout their decade long career.
“We love Thunder Bay,” Branston said. “You guys are the gateway to Ontario. We probably play Thunder Bay more in a year than we do in Vancouver. Usually when we come out we do two shows, sometimes even three shows in a year in Thunder Bay. It’s really important for us to build the audience there and make sure people want to come out and get funky. It’s one of our favorite stops.”
The latest tour is in support of Five Alarm Funk’s new album, Sweat, released on Mar. 4. Branston called Sweat, the band’s sixth studio album, the tightest, most cohesive record they have ever done.
“It seems like for years we’ve been trying to hone our sound and Sweat is sort of the epitome of what our genre transcending past has lead us to,” he said.
Mixing short bursts of gang vocals, intense horns, heavy guitars, and thumping drums, Branston called Sweat the culmination of the band learning how to write together and learning exactly how they wanted to sound.
What really seems to set Sweat apart from earlier albums is the way it captures the energy the band feels when they are up on stage performing to a crowd, which Branston credits producer, Ben Kaplan, for achieving.
“He really brought the live kind of energy,” he said. “With Sweat, it was really imperative to get that live, energetic sound and he brought this kind of thunderous feel.”
For the eight-piece band, the writing process has always been the same, which starts with jamming sessions two days a week every week, and building on ideas that each member of the band brings forward.
“It’s a natural and kind of all-encompassing process for the band and that’s how we’ve always done it and we will continue to do so,” Branston said.
And even though Five Alarm Funk does not shy away from bending various musical genres or mixing in different sounds, Branston said the band doesn’t really concentrate on whether or not one genre or sound feels more dominant.
“I wouldn’t say any one genre is more dominating, except for the fact, we are kind of, in our minds, bringing a new era, a new style of funk to the genre of funk,” he said. “We do like transcending. But there is no one genre we try to stick away from or say it needs to be like this. We are very unconventional and untraditional.”
And yet, for some fans in Thunder Bay, hitting up the dance floor when Five Alarm Funk comes to town has become a bit of a tradition, and what makes it a memorable night for fans and the band, is just how unconventional it can be.
“It’s incredible,” Branston said of performing live. “For us it’s the best feeling in the world. We live to be on stage and to be able to see people enjoying your music that it takes countless hours in rehearsal to create and to get on the world to see people from all over the place come together and enjoy your music and dance to your music and really have fun and really let loose is one of the most enjoyable experiences for the band.”
Five Alarm Funk will be performing at Crocks on Sunday, Mar. 19.
