TWEED FUNK
COME TOGETHER
TWEED TONE RECORDS
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT–DON’T GIVE UP–MUSE–SWEET MUSIC–COME TOGETHER–EMBRACE–WHO IS THIS–LOVE AIN’T EASY–BULLET–SOUL ROCKIN’
The six-piece blues and soul revue known as Tweed Funk hail from Wisconsin, and are one of the bands that have a true grasp of what honest R & B is meant to sound like. Their lead singer, Smokey Holman, so impressed Curtis Mayfield that Curtis signed Smokey and his group, Love’s Children, to the Curtom label back in the mid-Seventies. Smokey’s still got that soul-man energy and vitality, and brings it all to the table on their latest set, “Come Together.” This one is ten prime cuts of vintage soul-blues from a group that’s sho’ nuff got it all together!
Aside from Smokey on vocals, we have the venerable veteran, JD Optekar, on guitar, Eric Madanic on bass and keys, Dave Schoepke on drums, and the horn section of Andrew Spadafora on sax, and Rommful Of Blues alum Doug Woolverton on trumpet. They get right down to the gittin’ down with the opening funk of “Light Up The Night,” which features backing vocals from Chrissy Dzioba and Sara Moilanen. JD’s sweet guitar lines play over Smokey’s affirmation of the power of “Sweet Music,” “that filled this hole in my soul.” “Embrace” is a beautiful love song that, with the horns doin’ their thing, give this one a Sixties, Solomon Burke feel. The set closes on another “Soul Rockin” note, this one a definite dance floor strutter.
Our favorite sums up what this group is all about. Eric’s organ over Smokey’s church-y, testifyin’ vocal urges us all, “Don’t Give Up on your dreams–walk with purpose to your destiny.”
This set from Tweed Funk contains perhaps their strongest material thus far. Add in musicianship of the highest order and a dynamite soul man fronting the band, and everything is bound to “Come Together!” Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.
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