Powers That Be are an accomplished band of Bay Area musicians who have all played in various projects on the west coast since the 80's. Their eclectic funk/rock sound infuses dynamic grooves with deep soul/R&B/jazz influences, with some other tasty Latin, Ska, and World beats rounding out the mix. Improvising is a tangible component of what they share with the audience and they excel at stretching out the funky jams and keeping the crowd moving. With strong, vocally charged, original songs and tight arrangements (and a smattering of rarely heard but exceptional cover tunes) they embrace and transcend the "jam band" label with a host of incredible tunes that tend to shake a roomful of booty.
In 2003, longtime friends and "coolaborators", tenor saxophonist/vocalist Dean Claeys (Sol Americano, Edgar, the Underlings) and bassist Dave Gantenbein (Hand of Kindness, Swaybone, Vessel) were in between projects and motivated to put together a collection of musical compadres and recruited musicians to revive a promising sound that had gone underground (rotting in an unmarked grave due to some lame band politics)... and to re-funk up the Bay to its so richly deserved potential. They recruited one of the North Bay's best unkept secrets... the powerful and versatile voice of Judy Padilla to front the group and their infectious sound. More recently (thanks to the magical adventure that is Craigslist), they have been working with accomplished guitarist Pat Duffey, drummer extraordinaire David Strong, and sensational keyboardist Patrick Petzel. The result of this joining of forces is Powers That Be, and they be ripe to lay down some of fine tunes, phat jams, and tasty grooves to a venue near you.
PTB is:
Judy Padilla - vocals
Dean Claeys - vocals and saxophone
Dave Gantenbein - fretless bass
Pat Duffey - guitar
Patrick Petzel - keyboards
David Strong - drums
I like the laid back funky style, it reminds me a bit of the Meters. It's nice to hear a recording of a band playing live instead of overproduced tracks. I've had the pleasure of performing with Judy a few times...she's a real powerhouse!
Hey check out the Lustreality podcast or my friend, Ross Allison who is putting it all together. He needs more edgy artists, You could wind up with my voice right before your music. (I've done a few voice overs for it)
Thanks for the ad. I don't normally listen to funk, but you guys are good. Like the "Another Side Of Me" Nice funky Sade feel. Really cool. Great voice.
Will Shred 4 Jesus
