Galactic to bring funk to the Varsity

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By Travis Leeper

With over ten years behind them as an instrumental funk band fresh out of New Orleans, Galactic has evolved, stripped down, switched up, and changed everything you thought about New Orleans music. Never a group to stay stagnant with their work, Galactic has featured MCs from around the nation, New Orleans jazz legends, and everything in between.

Galactic is made of drummer Stanton Moore, bassist Robert Mercurio, saxophonist/harmonica player Ben Ellman, keyboardist Richard Vogel, and guitarist Jeff Raines. Currently touring with trombonist and vocalist Corey Henry, Galactic is known also for its vast and varied array of guest musicians, on and off the record.

Their previous album, From the Corner to the Block, features MCs such as Chali 2na of Jurassic Five and Gift of Gab of Blackalicious. Though still true to its funk roots and far from a typical hip-hop album, the record echoed a cross-country mentality and resulted in a cross-country tour.

"We toured with the MCs for over a year, but that's kind of the last thing we did," said Rich Vogel in an interview with Tiger Weekly. "But for live shows we're right back to playing a lot of instrumental songs. Of course, Corey's with us and he will rap and sing a tune or two, but that last record has been two and a half years ago. We're working on the new stuff now!"

Galactic's next record, titled Ya-Ka-May, will be released February 2, 2010. Though the record will depart from the previous' hip-hop laden sound, don't expect anything like a stale return to old tricks here: Galactic promises to keep it fresh once again.

"There's a lot of guests on the new record. Lots of vocals. But this time around all the guests are from New Orleans and Louisiana. We kinda went back home on this one; we've got underground artists like Walter Wolfman Washington and Cheeky Blakk, as well as legends like Allen Toussaint, and Irma Thomas. It really covers a whole lot of ground in Louisiana. That's what distinguishes it from our last record. There were a lot of out-of-towners."

Galactic is scheduled for a November 4 show at the Varsity Theater in Baton Rouge. With the release date for the new album creeping closer and closer, expect a few new songs, but many old classics.

"We're still playing old stuff, stuff from all the records, really. We know our fans want to hear the old stuff, so we try to make it a good blend. We're starting to play a couple of tunes off of Ya-Ka-May that haven't been released yet, so it really is a pretty even mix."

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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