Throughout their history, Vancouver-based Five Alarm Funk has always managed to keep the funk alive.
The band, who describe themselves as an unstoppable orgy of energy on stage, will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with two performances at the Imperial this weekend.
“We wanted to do something special for Vancouver,” Drummer and vocalist Tayo Branston says. “We wanted to be able to do a double-header and get the whole crowd out for the whole weekend. We are extremely excited to do the shows and we can’t wait for them to happen.”
Five Alarm Funk originally began as a three-piece garage band in 2003 and has since morphed into the 11-member band that it is today.
“We started with drums, bass and guitar and eventually we got the four percussion players,” Branston says. “Then we got up to about seven people and then we knew we needed a horn section.”
“Horns have always been a big part of music that I’ve listened too. I’ve loved salsa and Afrobeat music all through my years and to have the horn section was a must,” he adds.
To date, Five Alarm Funk has released four albums. Their most recent disc, Rock the Sky, came out last year and received a 2013 Juno nomination for Instrumental Album of the Year.
“It gives you validity and it makes you feel like you’re on the right path and that you’re getting credit for what you do,” Branston says about receiving an award nomination. “It’s always nice to be nominated but that is not most important to us. We are here for the fans and we are here to make the craziest music that we can.”
The band are currently planning their next release which is scheduled to come out sometime next year.
“We’re working on this concept album about a diabolical ice cream man who tries to take over the world,” Branston says. “For us it is just fun.”
Branston says over the years the band’s sound has changed from a Parliament funk groove to their own individual sound.
“I’ve really noticed the transition in the last little while to more of this progressive rock death funk that we’re doing now,” he says. “Recently, I think Five Alarm Funk has really found its own sound. We’re now doing this giant musical explosion death funk. The only way to comprehend that is by coming to the shows.”
Like any band that endures a lengthy career, Five Alarm Funk has experienced its fair share of challenges. One of those challenges has been maintaining a core group of band members.
According to Branston, Five Alarm Funk has gone through about 25 different players throughout the band’s history.
“I think generally for any band it is hard to find all the people that really click together. Sometimes it just doesn’t work between people because of musically they’re not clicking or for whatever reason,” Branston says. “The major challenge for us was to find the right group of people. There are ten guys that are ready to do it and love it. They want to make this happen.”
Branston says communication between band members is critical in order to have success.
“You have to talk and discuss with each other and whether it is through email or face to face,” he says. “By any means possible being able to communicate, especially thoughts surrounding music and how people are feeling in general. It can be tough but I think we do it reasonably well. It is always family. You go back and you talk about things and you end up loving them even more. It can be difficult but we all rise above that.”
Five Alarm Funk have played in the United States, Taiwan and all across Canada. Some of their most notable performances include gigs at Canadian Music Week, Ottawa Blues Fest and the Ness Creek Festival in Saskatchewan.
“Taiwan was crazy. We had done a month-long tour right before that and everyone was just beat from driving across the country for about 40 days,” Branston says. “We had a couple of crazy shows. We played up in the mountains in an old temple; it was the mid-summer ghost festival that we were playing in. We played on the back of an old parade truck and we basically did a five-hour tour around the city and the streets were just lined with people.”
Five Alarm Funk have also travelled extensively throughout British Columbia including everal shows at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver.
“I love Canada to death,” Branston says about touring across the country. “It’s been the greatest experience, just to go to one side of the country and playing for people and making friends.”
Some of his most memorable moments as a member of Five Alarm Funk have come while playing at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival and Sunfest in London, Ont.
“It’s just an open air music festival,” Branston says about the Sunfest. “Everything is free and the whole city comes out to have a wonderful party. The Vancouver jazz festival and the London Sunfest are two of the most incredible experiences in my ten years with Five Alarm Funk.”
For more information on Five Alarm Funk visit fivealarmfunk.com.
