Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band is a high-spirited, wildly contagious gang of musicians out of Asheville, North Carolina who have been bringing the funk to smiling faces since 2002. Their newest album Funk Life is a delicious combination of the classic groovy jams that serve as the backbone YMBFBB is known for alongside their evolved incorporation of future funk sounds.
We had to learn more about this talented bunch, so sit back, relax, and get to know your resident coaches to living the funk life, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band.
What artists do you guys draw the most inspiration from, and how do you think that shows through you your music?
Al Al Ingram (Bass, Vocals): For me it’s a mix of Red Hot Chili Peppers, P-Funk, and Jamiroquai. You can hear how it shows. One thing that’s great about our band is that we are all influenced by a wide variety of artist. We take all that and form one sound that has a little something for fans from all walks of life.
JP Miller (Guitar, Vocals): George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic have been a huge inspiration. We like to dress up and keep the party going throughout our entire set, much like P-Funk does at their shows. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have always made me want to rock out while holding down the funk angle. They were very influential to me when I was first getting started in bands. I consider Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik to be one of the best albums ever recorded.
Lee Allen (Drums): I grew up with classic funk and soul, then moved to heavy music, then electronic music, and now back to funk. Some of those artists are Chicago, Tower of Power, Herbie Hancock, Otis Redding, Buddy Miles, James Brown, Sevendust, Tool, Pantera, Bonobo, Groove Armada, Quantic. Overall, I try to listen to every genre and style I can get my hands on because you can draw influence from everything, which in return gives you a bigger palette for creation.
What part did everyone play with the creation of Funk Life?
Mary Frances “Mama Funk” (Keyboard, Vocals): Both “Wake Yo’Self” and “Living the Dream” came to me in dreams. We were in Chicago when I woke up from a dream that had George Clinton and the late, great Gary Shider jamming with me onstage. They taught me the main riff in the dream, and I used the details of the dream to write the lyrical content. I was in Asheville when I woke up and wrote “Wake Yo’Self.” Every single part was so clear to me when I woke up. The horn lines, bass line, vocals…so I went straight to the piano and started working through the parts and recording them on my phone. Maybe one of these days I’ll have to release those early morning videos in a documentary. “Brand New Day” was a riff that Lee and I had been holding on to for years and weren’t really sure where to go with it. One day we were at Martha’s Vineyard for a gig, laying out on the beach, and I wrote all of the lyrics to that song that day. The music and the song just finally came together. “Funk Life” and “24/7” were ideas that were hatched at a weekly gig that Lee, Derrick, and myself do here in Asheville called Tuesday Night Funk Jam. We took those ideas on the road, and those songs developed through live performances. We put the final touches on during the studio sessions. Funk Life is by far my favorite Booty Band album to date, and I’m so proud of this album.
JP Miller (Guitar, Vocals):–Funk Life was the most efficient studio session we’ve ever had. We went in with a vision, we finished writing a couple songs while in the studio, and we recorded some tunes that we had tested on the road. Everyone contributed to the writing process and our drummer, Lee Allen, spent countless hours in the studio with Julian Dreyer, during the mixing portion of the record. We even had Nex Millen (Digable Planets) lay down some turntable action on a tune. He ended up being the only guest on the record. It was a fun album to record and we are very happy with the results.
Do you see the band incorporating more electronic elements into your sound someday?
Mary Frances: Absolutely! I already use Moog Little Phatty live and a lot of other synthesizers in the studio and Lee has a drum pad with samples, loops, and 808 drops that he plays throughout our set. I think incorporating electronics tastefully is part of evolving with the current music sounds of today.
What’s the best part about life on the road? Worst part?
Al Al: The best part is all the cool people we meet and form powerful relationships with. The worst part…hours and hours in the van traveling to shows and home.
Mary Frances: Traveling the country and getting to experience the beauty, food, culture, and music scene for so many cities and towns. Booty Band loves to take adventure trips while we are on tour so we have hiked the Redwoods, kayaked Lake Powell, driven through Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley, and visited Arches National Park to name a few. We’ve also been to every state except Hawaii. Alaska was one of the most life changing trips ever. I think the hardest part for me is being away from home so much and not being able to hang with my friends, family, and two cats Mia and Pistol Pete.
JP:The best part is being able to travel all over the place, see the country, eat great food, meet great people, and spread our music from state to state. The worst part is the long hours and lack of sleep that occurs as a result of our aggressive tour schedule, but if it wasn’t worth it, we wouldn’t do it.
What would your dream collaboration look like?
Derrick Johnson (Trombone, Vocals): Booty Band, Lettuce, Living Colour, P-Funk, Haitus Kaiyote, The Roots, D’Angelo and the Vanguard, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.
What are you guys most looking forward to this summer?
Mary Frances: I’m really looking forward to recording a new album with hip-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo in August. The last album we recorded with him was entitled Quirk, and was nominated for a Grammy. The band always loves being in the studio and creating music. Keep your eyes out for this record in 2016.
JP: We just played a great festival called Mountain Music Fest, one set as a full Booty Band, then returned later dressed as aliens, to “invade the stage” during Big Something’s astronaut themed set. It was a fun collaboration. During the day, we went zip lining through the woods with some festival attendees. We’re looking forward to hitting in our hometown for the BurningCan Extravacanza at Oskar Blues Brewing Company on July 17th. It is a 2 day event and includes heavy hitters such as Trombone Shorty, Rebirth Brass Band and, of course, Booty Band, among other acts.
You’re doing yourself an injustice not to catch these guys live. YMBFBB has shared stages with names like Funkadelic, Galactic, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and entranced audiences from Wakarusa to Jam Cruise. The forecast is always sunny with a chance of killer covers and some truly organic entertainment from these master performers.
Connect with Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band:
https://www.facebook.com/yomamasbigfatbootyband
https://twitter.com/bootyband
https://soundcloud.com/yomamasbigfatbootyband
http://www.bootyband.com/
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