Glimpses of the South Florida Scene is devoted to the artists thriving within Broward and Palm Beach counties featuring interviews with the folks making it happen.This week, Lake Worth's Funcrusher.
On their Facebook page, Funcrusher jokingly lists its genre as "Psychedelic Gospel." But they're only half-kidding. Likening themselves to different colors and natural elements, the influence of some kinda psychedelic is present, and it's that Shuggie Otis/Velvet Underground inspiration that allows the band to fearlessly use a wah pedal. That said, band members wander among genres with equal abandon, that funk-but-psych-but-good-alt-rock '60s vibe leveraging it all. When vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (synth, bass, guitar) Greg Einhorn spoke to us, he was peeking his head out of the studio -- metaphorically speaking, anyway. Funcrusher has been toiling over (with the help of Your Umbrella's Daniel Demosthenes) a new batch of songs that will inevitably allow it to explore some more musical categories. Thus, this was a short micro-interview, recorded just when they were recording. Read more after the jump.
New Times: How did Funcrusher come together? What were you all working on before -- and is this mainly your project, or is it something more collaborative?
Greg Einhorn: The original lineup for Funcrusher manifested when I posted two ads on Craigslist looking for people who wanted to start an original music project. I described what kind of goals I had for my music and the atmosphere I wanted to create.
Alex Noble, the original drummer, replied to one ad, and Leo Bonet (guitar) responded to the other. We all met up for beers in Lake Worth, got to know each other and... bang! Before this project, I had another local band back in 2007 and 2008 called Swim Like Sharks. We played a few shows locally, only did it for about a year. Leo is the cofounder of "El Santo Jamin," a music movement from Venezuela that he played in for years. Mike, who is now on drums with us, plays in the band Your Umbrella -- our friends and awesome guys!
When the band first started, I had a bunch of songs already written and brought them to the band. Leo has also brought one of his songs into the band's repertoire. As we started working together, everyone put their own style and influence into their parts. We feed off each other's inspiration and creativity. So even though one of us individually may bring the general idea of a song's structure, melody, and music, to the band it still becomes a collaborative process because everyone adds their own special ingredients: oregano, parsley, basil...yum!
Since Leo's part of that movement from Venezuela, has he and everyone else in your band changed the direction of the sound pretty significantly?
Sometimes I look at the creative process for songs like a flower in a forest. You plant a seed in the earth, but it takes water, sunlight, and time for it to blossom.
Are you guys currently recording new songs, and if so, are they intended for an upcoming release?
We have played about six shows throughout Palm Beach County, and it's been a lot of fun! I love playing live. But now our main focus is going to be recording. We are going to work with Dan Demosthenes and Baby Duck Studios, and I'm predicting we'll drop a three- or five-track EP around late summer or early fall. There are rumors we may put out a possible seven-inch, but it's not finalized yet. Fingers crossed.
Will the EP -- and hopefully the seven-inch -- feature the same material you're playing live, or is it all new?
We are going to record some of the songs we have been playing live. But we're really looking forward to getting into the studio and creating a new atmosphere with each song individually and within the whole EP.
Can you tell me about your early musical influences as well as what you've been listening to more recently?
Jim Morrison, Brian Jones. I find it hard to pick out bands that influence me. Musical influences can be so subconscious at times. I love so many different kinds of music, so I feel like little bits and pieces of all that love bleed into my music -- or at least I hope that's what happens. Right now, I've been listening to a bunch of older Ariel Pink, the Beach Boys, and Toro Y Moi.
I think your influences do leak into your music, and that's what created your unique sound. Where did you come up with the band name?
This bird I dated used to come up with band name ideas. This one came to her in a dream, and when she told me about it, it called out to me... something about it. I begged her for a while to let me use it, and finally when I started this band, she gave in.
The local scene in South Florida is what this interview column is about, so I'm curious about your take on it. How has it changed in the past few years?
The scene here is great! It was barely breathing a few years back, in the early 2000s. It was like all of a sudden people got really creative and started making some great music. Some local bands that we really like are Sumsun, Band in Heaven, Evan Mui, Luna Rex, and Kevin Popejoy. They got some great tunes and are awesome people. But really, the bands owe a lot to articles like this one -- getting the word out, supporting music that's made here in South Florida. So for that, we are really thankful.
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