NOW (alphamabetically):
Dave Adler- keyboard lunacy,
Babatunji Heath- drums (closed eyes),
Jeff Hill- guitars/elderly vocals,
Lisa Hill- congas/beauty/fancy percussions,
Dave Moore- the bass/BBQ tips,
Mike Nicholls- alto sax/riddim guitar/blueprints,
Dave Stahlberg- bone(trom and otherwise),
Bill "The Myth" Smith- drums (open eyes),
Kathyjo Varco- vocals/barefoot loveliness,
Dave Zielinski- tenor sax/lascivious glances...
THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED:
Matthew Olaiya, Konal Kirsten, Ron Haynes,
Dan Bellows, Dave Klopfenstein, R.B. Fagin,
Fred Brandstrader, Tom DiPietro, Sam Torres,
Al Croke, Mark Fechner, Gerald Dowd,
many dozens more...
Back in the 90s there was a big band stomping around Chicago, Champaign, Madison, Milwaukee, MNPLS, Cleveland, Canada and even New Orleans! When I say BIG I don’t mean they sold tons of records. I mean they had a lot of players, 8, 9, sometimes 10. They had ambitious sound that covered a lot of territory and were fearless in their pursuit of music.
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Dhamba 8's Unreleased EP :
In 1994 – 95 Dhamba 8 had a rebirth with an explosion of great songs and a killer line up to boot. Here are a few tracks, along with live songs from a radio performance, never released, that showcase that band which featured Jeff, Lisa, Mike, Bill, Dave, Dave, Dave and Dave...
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A little ancient history (by Tunji, please feel free to edit or expand.): ....................................................................................................................
A long, long time ago there was a band called The Facades. The year was 1985 and like many new bands they were a group of college students. Yes, you guessed it Architecture students, how original huh? Why do I mention this band? Because a skant 10 years later an idea hatched by 3 of The Facades led to the music you hear here and one of them, Mike Nicholls, was still a major creative force. If I remember correctly the first time I met Mike we got to talking about Fela Kuti. Mike was listening to him and I was stunned that one of my UI classmates had even ever heard of him. It would be many years before we tried to tackle a Fela tune but soon enough we were making music with Fred Brandstrader. I believe it was his idea to put together a band to play at a Thanksgiving Day Party, an annual tradition at the University of Illinois Architecture School at Versailles, France. We managed to scrape together some instruments and bash out classic rock n roll hits like "Louie, Louie", "Tequila", "Saw Her Standing There" and "Smoke on the Water". After university Mike, Fred and I formed the much more serious and original "Temple Blue" with Doug Klatt and later Fred's brother Bill. After a year or so of entertaining our friends in Chicago's small clubs it came to an abrupt end as Bill and Doug quit to form "Trick Zipper" and set off to seek their fortunes. It was then that Fred, Mike and I formed a plan to start a new band, bigger, stronger, groovier, a band that could morph and evolve, able to survive any one leaving or joining. That band was Dhamba 8.
FGC's got two hometown area shows this weekend! Friday is an all ages extravaganza at the House Cafe in Dekalb, and Saturday is a hometown throwdown at the Abbey Pub in Chicago (Ages 18+). Fans that attend both shows can pick up a FREE FGC album of their choice at Saturday's show (just grab the Free Album Coupon at the House Cafe and redeem it at the Abbey Pub)!
In other news, FGC is also excited to announce that the band will be celebrating New Year's Eve 2009 at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. Our third New Year's in a row at this incredible venue, we will once again be pulling out all the stops! Stay tuned for more information on this year's theme, advance tickets, and other details.
And finally, don't forget to check out the band's new Video Blog, a weekly series featuring a behind the scenes look at FGC performances and touring. Check out the YouTube playlist for the last few editions, and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
FGC's got a great weekend coming up! On Saturday, we open up for Umphrey's McGee at the Exposition Gardens in Peoria (FGC @ 7pm), and Sunday, we head over to the Riverview Music and Arts Festival in South Elgin (FGC @ 6pm). The Riverview Fest goes on all weekend, and Sunday's lineup features FGC, as well as The Everyone Orchestra (with Michael Kang from SCI, Brendan and Andy from Umphrey's, Jordan and Janis from FGC, Allie from Cornmeal, and many more!). Visit www.riverviewmusicfest.com for full lineup and tickets!
Looking beyond, FGC's fall schedule thus far hits tons of our favorite Midwest spots, kicking off with the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, where FGC will be sporting the musical costume of Green Day!
10/17 - Halloween Masquerade Ball, Chillicothe, IL (All Ages) 10/23 - Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA (Ages 21+) 10/29 - Miramar Theater, Milwaukee, WI (All Ages) 10/31 - City Nights Theater, Springfield, IL (Ages 21+) 11/6 - The House Cafe, Dekalb, IL (All Ages) 11/7 - The Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL (Ages 18+) 11/9 - WIU, Macomb, IL (All Ages) 11/13 - Canopy Club, Urbana, IL (Ages 18+) 11/14 - Yacht Club, Iowa City, IA (Ages 19+)
A TRIUMPH OF DHAMBA PROPORTIONS! A performance we won't soon forget. Too many highlights to list, but Big Bad Wolf killed, and words cannot describe the Bar Mitzvah song. (Oy!) Bravo! -T
FGC’s only Chicago appearance of the summer is coming up on Friday July 17th at the Abbey Pub. This will be an Ages 18+ show with special supporting acts: Lobster Newberg and The Rubblebucket Orchestra. This Hometown Throwdown is a show not to be missed…hope to see you there!!
In the meantime, check out all three of our Summer Camp Festival sets on the Live Music Archive for free stream/download! Visit our MySpace blog for the links.
We also want to invite our Myspace friends to connect with us on Facebook. Click the links for the FGC Group and FGC Page, both great ways to stay in touch with the band and link up with other fans.
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Hi Tunji, glad to hear that you are coming to town. Yes, we had so much fun last September with Konal, RB and the Freezone gang that we decided to do it again this July. We're booked at Reggie's for July 23, and are playing in Milwaukee 7/25 at the beach for the AirShow (competing with the Thunderbirds for volume?) It should be a blast. We're still trying to fill in one more gig for 7/24 -- maybe Freezone and Dhamba can do a double-bill??? That would be legendary! Konal has been trying to contact Mike N and KJ to play sax, percussion and backing vox for the Freezone reunion. I hope your travel schedule works out so we can all get together. Tom
Hey there – Just stopping by with a quick reminder about this Saturday’s show at the Park West, our only hometown performance of the Winter/Spring in fact! The night begins with an opening set from Land of Atlantis, followed by co-headlining sets from FGC and Hot Buttered Rum (FGC plays first!). Hope to see you there!
FGC’s got some exciting hometown area shows coming up. First up is a co-bill with Kyle Hollingsworth from String Cheese Incident at the Canopy Club in Urbana on April 10. On April 11, we headline the House Café in Dekalb, home to some legendary past FGC shows! Down the road on May 2, FGC returns to the beautiful Park West Theater in Chicago for a co-bill with Hot Buttered Rum. More info about all Spring shows at www.familygrooveco.com/tour.
And don’t forget to get your tickets to Summer Camp Festival, where FGC will be performing multiple sets including a special late-night appearance paying tribute to The Big Lebowski!www.summercampfestival.com.
Just stopping by to invite you to our annual post-Thanksgiving show, next Friday 11/28 at the Clearwater Theater in West Dundee IL (NW Chicago suburbs). Come on out and groove off some of that turkey!
In other news, we’re pleased to announce a NEW YEAR’S SHOW at the REDSTONE ROOM in DAVENPORT, IA, where our extended sets will feature “Rock Star Celebrity Death Match” with chances to win tickets to Summer Camp Festival! More info at www. familygrooveco. com.
Stay warm and have a great start to your holiday season!
Hey there – FGC is proud to announce the release of our latest studio album, Models and Metrics, and topping it off is a 4-night run with Lotus next week, culminating with a show at Chicago’s Park West Theater!
Hey guys – Just stopping by to invite you to our Martyrs’ show this Friday June 13th. We’ll be joined by hometown friends, 56 Hope Road and Eli Jones, and we’ll also be giving away tickets to The Lazy River Music and Arts Festival! It’s our only hometown appearance on the books for the summer, so we hope you can join us for this great night of Chicago music!
You can also catch us at a number of Midwest festivals this summer, from Minnesota to Iowa to Ohio and points in between. Visit our myspace page or website for all the details!
