Kaboom.
If you’re a Bow Valley funk fan, you know how apt a description that word is of Vancouver’s nine-piece, high-octane sound explosion Five Alarm Funk.
For everyone else – screaming horns, wailing guitars, primal drums and thumping percussion will all come into play when Five Alarm Funk (FAF) tests the building structure at Wild Bill’s in Banff, Tuesday (June 24) and again on July 21.
The band is made up of Gabe Boothroyd (guitar), Oliver Gibson (guitar), Neil Towers (bass), Tayo Branston (drums, vocals), Tom Towers (congas), Carl Julig (timbales), Nimish Parekh (trombone) and Dameian Walsh (sax).
The band’s new and fifth studio album, Abandon Earth, is a concept album which tells the story of a giant robot that destroys the planet.
Heavy – with songs like “We All Scream”, “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, “Robot”, “Horrible Sound”, “Erupt” and “Attack” among the 10 tracks.
So heavy, in fact, that drummer Branston said the band generally does not play the entire album through during a show. Rather, they break up the heaviness with classic FAF funk, reggae and rock grooves.
On the heels of Abandon Earth, FAF is hitting the well-worn road to Montreal and back in support of the new work.
“It’s going to be 34 shows in 46 days, so lack of sleep will definitely be an issue,” said Branston. “But, we have a new airporter bus and everyone will have their own captain’s chair, so no more sleeping on the floor of a 15-seater van.
“We were very excited when we first got it because we can walk right into it, instead of crawling in. It should help us keep our sanity when we’re on the road.”
In putting together a concept album, Branston said the band follows a solid philosophy when songwriting. “We’re always wanting to have tons of fun when writing music. For this one, we got away from our old process of having a jam mentality and working on an idea, though. For the majority of the songs, Gabe, Kent and I did the writing, with more of a focus.
“We’d sit down and say, ‘let’s make a song sound like a robot is crushing the earth, like a natural disaster.’ It sounded awful when we mapped it out on a computer, but it was interesting to see these awfully recorded songs in a basement worked out.
“It was like science nerds bringing a song into a rehearsal, then everybody working on it and making it come alive.
“And our producer, Ben Kaplan, is so creative and so knowledgable… He took the recordings we had and he took it to the next level. He changed it dramatically and made it more aggressive.”
Abandon Earth was first put in front of a live audience at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, June 7. “It was fantastic,” said Branston. “There was about 1,000 people and everyone was jumping. It was one of the best concerts we’ve played; of course, I say that about every concert we just played.
“But we’ve been some great reviews, even though the album is so different. I think it will be a love/hate thing. It’s so outside the box and the vocals are almost screaming that I think people will either love it or hate it.
“In the end, though, you’ve got to be true to yourself. Most of us have been together for six or seven years, although we’ve had a quite a few changes in the horn section. But they’ve been together a while now, too, so we’re a well-oiled machine.
“After so many years people ask ‘how do you stay together?’ I think it’s come to the point where we’re so brotherly, we can get over anything, which is important when it’s nine dudes on tour in a van for five weeks.
“But I’m so happy with this album, I think it’s our best sounding by far. It shows the energy we have on stage and that comes from the passion we have. To be on stage is an honour and to have people up and dancing is what we want.
“For us, the more fun people are having, the more fun we’re having and that’s what it’s all about.”
FAF’s fourth album, Rock the Sky, was nominated for Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2013 Juno Awards and Instrumental Recording of the Year at the 2013 WCMAs.
