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Funk You appears for 2-night run at Old Town Pub

Funk You, the nine-piece band from Augusta, Georgia, will play two nights this weekend at Old Town Pub.
Courtesy photo

What started as a four-member band in east Georgia is now the nationally acclaimed nine-piece band known as Funk You. Their latest tour includes a stop in Steamboat Springs, where they will perform for two nights at Old Town Pub.

Bringing an eclectic mix of funk, soul, jazz — and everything in between — the band is celebrating 10 years on the road with a new album that looks to the future with hope, grit and determination. Explore Steamboat caught up with band members Mark Dykes (bass and vocals) and Gnarly G (saxophone and flute).

Explore Steamboat: You guys went from a four-piece band to a nine-piece band. How did that progression work?



Mark Dykes: The band started in Augusta as friends just getting together to play music. It evolved into this kind of monster nine-piece set that we have now. There were six for a while. Gnarly G and I joined about three years ago.

If you go

What: Funk You

When: Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 9 p.m., show starts at 10 p.m.

Where: Old Town Pub, 600 Lincoln Ave.

Tickets: $12 advance; $15 day of. Purchase at OTPSteamboat.com

ES: As you add more people, how do you blend everything together in terms of individual sounds and inspirations?



MD: What’s been really nice is that everyone does have their own taste and sound and inspiration, but they all mold together really well. Being a nine-piece, we have to do a good job of respecting each other’s space and letting each other breathe in the sound.

ES: What influences your sound?

Gnarly G: For me, it’s the jam scene; although, it’s hard to pick just one thing. We do numerous improv sections in each show. There’s lots of jazz, lots of funk, lots of soul. There are heavy funk influences in certain songs, but there’s really everything in there from smooth jazz to heavy metal. Basically, if someone comes in with a song and it’s not horrible, we work with it and try to make it into a Funk You song.

ES: Tell us about your latest album, “Moving Forward.”

MD: It’s the first album that this iteration of the band got together and wrote as the nine of us. It’s the introduction to the new Funk You sound, and what you hear on the album is what you can expect when you come see us live — the same energy and passion that’s on the album. We had plenty of time to work on it, so it gave us a chance to perfect everything and make it something we’re super proud of.

ES: With this album, you dive into what you hope will come out of the next decade for you guys — what do you hope that is?

MD: I feel like we’re growing together really well. Now that we can get back out there, everyone is starting to listen to us more closely. We’ll work on a new album here soon, and we have some new songs in the works. We want to just continuously put out songs and albums, and hopefully, another decade will allow us to do that.


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