MySpace a place for friends

About the Band:

Chill 7 began when saxophonist Josh Brinkman and guitarist Michael Burand met at a jam session in Minneapolis in 2001. The two were new to the cities and started playing jazz standards together. They added drummer Tom Garrington and bassist Steve Garrington and began playing smaller venues throughout the twin cities including a weekly gig at Barley John's Brew Pub. The group quickly began to incorporate sounds beyond the traditional jazz standards. Burand started to incorporate rock and blues borrowed from Slash and Stevie Ray Vaughn, while Brinkman was experimenting with funk overtones borrowed from P-Funk and the Funky Meters.

The result was a slow but steady evolution from jazz to a groovier funk/jazz/rock/blues hybrid that culminated in the group's first album, "Big Fish Eat Little Fish" released in 2002 at the Cabooze in Minneapolis. The album was a collection of originals featuring funk grooves with bebop improvisation and energy. The disc received great reviews and one of the tracks was chosen as one of the best of 2003 by Kevin O'Connor at 88.5 KBEM.

Shortly after the release of "Big Fish Eat Little Fish", the Garrington brothers left the group, and Chill 7 eventually hired its current bassist Jason Swanson and drummer Andy Artz. Although Swanson was trained in jazz and classical music, he also brought an influence of 80s metal to the group. Artz brought a rhythmic complexity and talent for arranging that gave Chill 7's tunes more structure and discipline. With the addition of Artz and Swanson, the group took off and released two live albums in a year, "Probable Cause" and "Serving Time." The group also began to play bigger and better gigs such as the Dakota, the Twin Cities Hot Summer Jazz Festival, the Cabooze, and Jazzmine's. The group began touring the upper Midwest with the rare ability to play jazz and rock/jam band venues. The group's amazing versatility allowed it to play for a classy dinner crowd and to throw down the funk in a college bar.

From 2003 to 2006, the group also began to partner with artist Brant Kingman. Chill 7's funky yet artistic sound was perfect for dancing at Kingman's parties, which have become legendary raves. The band and the artist quickly developed one of the hippest underground scenes in the city, full of art, funk, sexuality, acrobatics, and politics.

Chill 7 is hot and has just released its hard-hitting album "Buzz's Fat Tire" to rave reviews and a slew of television and radio appearances. The album is unlike anything else on the scene. It has been described by some as new post-modern instrumental music that has yet to even be defined... dance able like rock or 70s funk, with an underlying discipline and musicality like jazz, with a soul like blues, but with an edge like metal.

Undefined? That is the way Chill 7 would like it. The group is about to go national and seeks to erase the stereotypes associated with rock, funk, jazz, or jam band music. The music is cool and hot, black and white, old and new. But, whatever you want to call it, it makes you groove, makes you chill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chill 7's New CD Buzz's Fat Tire

Click on the album cover to order your copy.

Mpls. St. Paul Magazine Twin Cities Fall Art Preview, September 2006 says: "After a few demo-style releases, funk-jazzers Chill 7 are releasing a properly bold groove fest with Buzz's Fat Tire. In the dozen original tracks, they blur the lines between jazz, jam band, and psychedelic rock with soulful sax, trippy wah-wah guitar licks, slap-happy bass runs, and big, big drums."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out the new video: "Groove for Kingman"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~