Galactic to bring emcees and hip-hop jam flavor to Varsity

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By Jason Andreasen

One of New Orleans’ favorite funk bands since The Meters, Galactic, will be bringing their infectious beats and stylings to the Varsity Theatre this Thursday, Nov. 1. The band is in the middle of promoting their latest release, From the Corner to the Block, which gave the band the opportunity to work with many emcees they had wanted to for a long time.

Galactic’s bassist and founding member, Robert Mercurio, spoke about the band’s latest album and all the changes that led up to the disc that has received praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Spin and Vibe Magazine.

Following 2003’s release, Ruckus, the band parted amicably with their vocalist, Theryl DeClouet, due to medical concerns. As a result, the band was forced into a comfortable position: performing as a primarily instrumental group with the occasional vocal supplement from a friend.

“It wasn’t a huge deal for us to move towards being fully instrumental at that time,” Mercurio recalled. “It was easier than it would be for most other bands, considering that we were two-thirds instrumental to begin with. We are a unique band that way.”

Galactic, as an instrumental quintet, remained popular with their fans. Those fans are often entrenched in the subculture of the jam band, something that Mercurio dismisses as a true genre in the first place.

“Musically, there’s so many types of groups that are grouped under that title,” he explained. “I think it’s more of a business model. We weren’t really influenced by The Grateful Dead or Phish, like most ‘jam bands’ are. I think the term just applies to any underground, improvisational band.”

Mercurio was quick, however, to point out those who did influence the band, such as The Meters, James Brown and modern hip-hop artists.

“Anything really groove-based, especially older stuff,” Mercurio said.

The four-year layoff between the release of Ruckus and their latest work was both a chance for the band to regroup after parting with DeClouet and the result of a Category 5 hurricane.

“We needed some time to figure out what we were doing,” Mercurio said. “Once we decided to make a record, Katrina hit and threw us back about eight months because we didn’t have a studio. It made us hunker down in a studio in Pennsylvania; it definitely influenced our work ethic and brought us closer together.”

Mercurio explained that recording this album gave the band the opportunity to work with a plethora of hip-hop-minded friends and a “wish-list” that included some of the most talented lyricists of the underground scene.

Aside from fellow New Orleanian, Juvenile, most of the CD features conscientious rappers who you might not already know, with some exceptions – though there is Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets on “Squarebiz,” and there is also little-known Mr. Lif; while the CD features Jurassic 5 alum, Chali 2na, it also calls on the lively Lyrics Born for “What You Need.”

“It’s something we’ve always wanted to do since the band got together,” Mercurio admits. “This is a way to have a voice but not be tied down to one vocalist. A lot of them we’ve worked with before so it was easy. Juvenile had hired us to back him when he was on ‘The Jimmy Kimmel Show’ a few years ago.”

The emcees have also had an influence on the live shows that Galactic has always been famous for. Although it would be nothing short of impossible to carry around every featured emcee on the road, those that have been able to travel with the band have really made an impact according to Mercurio.

“It has been killer,” Mercurio said excitedly. “We’re having a great tour so far. Sometimes a lot of hip-hop is lacking that energy that’s happening at that moment. I think that you get that energy when you combine the emcee with the band on stage, and I think the guys are really feeling that, too.”

As for what to expect from Galactic in the future, Mercurio isn’t giving too much away. He quickly shied away from now classifying the band as a hip-hop act or any other categorization. He only expresses the ability for the band to explore many different directions.

“We might do a country album next, you never know,” Mercurio sarcastically joked.

As for what to expect at the Varsity, Mercurio excitedly explained, “At that show we’ll have Mr. Lif as well as Boots Riley [of the Coup] with us. We’ll also have the Lifesavas, who will be opening for us. Expect to see a lot of guests and also a lot of that same old Galactic.”

For tickets to the show, you can purchase them at The Chimes or online at VarsityTheatre.com for $20. For more information on Galactic and their latest release, From the Corner to the Block, check out GalacticFunk.com or Myspace.com/galactic.

E-mail the author at JasonAndreasen@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 585 - October 31, 2007

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