The Gumbo Brothers
The Gumbo Brothers have firmly rooted themselves in the eclectic artistic tradition of Venice Beach, California with weekly residencies at the Venice Bistro, Rae's Lounge, The Palmer Room and The Santa Monica Bar & Grille. Since 2003, they have been entertaining the Venice community with an annual Mardi Gras parade on the boardwalk including a traditional brass band, funky drum corps, stilt walkers, dancers and costumed bead-throwing revelers.
The band's debut cd, Funky Freedom, was released in 2007. According to CDBaby, "This collection of swampy funk is deep in the pocket, right where it should be. The grooves are thick, the vocals are sparse and always add texture to the interplay between the musicians, and the vibes never get bogged down...The Gumbo Brothers say they're 'going to hit you with some ass-shakin' funk!' They got that right. Prepare yourself." It was followed up in 2008 by The Gumbo Brothers On Fire, a collection of original Mardi Gras songs. In 2008, they were involved in the creation and release of The Gumbo Family Holiday Album - a collection of 14 holiday songs performed by 25 different musicians with all of the proceeds benefiting Students Run LA, which helps mentor at-risk youth to stay in school through goal setting and fitness programs. They are currently working hard on their next cd, Chicken Gumbo, a funky, instrumental mixture of original grooves.
Dedicated to musicianship and exploring the traditions of jazz, funk, soul and reggae, The Gumbo Brothers have a wide appeal and an electrifying live show. Influences include: The Meters, Dr. John, War, Grant Green, Ivan “boogaloo” Joe Jones, James Brown, The Dirty Dozen, Galactic, and Walter “Wolfman” Washington. With over 300 shows behind them including notable appearances at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, The House of Blues in LA, and venues up and down the west coast, this Venice-based quartet is bringing their infectious, booty movin' bayou grooves to swamp-funk fans throughout the southland and beyond.
The Gumbo Brothers are Johann Stein on guitar and vocals, Greg Sonnier on bass and vocals, Jon McBride on electric piano, organ and saxophone, and Marc Joseph on drums, percussion and vocals.