User:Tomlm83/Books/james murphy

Promoter/Musician

 * Introduction


 * Life of James

James has been playing trumpet for 15 years. He has played in various funk bands such as Flux Capacitor, Funk Club House Band and Sunshine Brothers. James is the founding member of The Funk Club and has had the opportunity to play in classical orchestras, brass bands, big and swing bands and small jazz ensembles. James is the chairman of the Funk Club committee and sits on the JazzWA’s board.1 http://www.dca.wa.gov.au/funding/grant_panels/panel_information/panel_members_entries/james_benson_murphy_147jimmy_the_lips_murphy148


 * Funk Club

Funk Club Inc is a not-for-profit association dedicated to supporting music and creating a vibrant community lifestyle in the pursuit of good times! Funk Club is an interactive, organic organisation that: lives and thrives off the energy of the people involved, and what they have to offer. The objective of Funk Club is to share the joy when that potential is harnessed and creative action occurs: Through music, performance, promotion and whatever else!

Got some shiny black platforms, some oh-so-tight flares and one hell of fro? Want to be a part of one of the best not so secret clubs of all time? Got a creative genius waiting to break free? Then slide over to your email and send an email to: lips@funkclub.com.au and tell us about any idea/project that comes to mind!

Funk Club embraces and celebrates all kinds of music that grew from the roots of African soul and blues, music that gets you up and partying including: Funk, Jazz, Fusion, Hip-Hop, World Music, Disco, R&B, Reggae and Electronic forms of music.

“Funky” arts including: Street Performance, Fire Performance, Dance, Bubbles, Hoops, Ninjas, Sward Swallowers and Magicians – Anything you can think of that means PARTY!

Once upon a time (How Funk Club Begun...)

There once was an unemployed bum ‘musician’. Way back in 2003 he had this crazy idea to build a place where the aim was to host a night where fun, funky people could go on a regular basis and know they would have a great time whilst checking out quality local, live bands and DJ’s. A place where bands could call home and play the music that they loved, to an audience who would dance all night... This dream called Funk Club, started out at The Woodbridge Hotel all the way out in Guildford, Western Australia. Not quite what you think of when you think of Funky Live Music! But, that was all to change… not long after, Funk Club moved to another venue called The Leederville Hotel, from there Funk Club exploded. onto Australia’s cultural landscape creating a diverse community which came to operate in multiple locations (now that’s another story), hosting club nights, Events, Tours and Festivals! With thousands of members coming on board and subscribing to the cause! So now, some say that this once musician bum is the richest man in the world - not because he has made his fortune (for that is the last thing on his mind and he wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of money anyway) but, because he reached his dream of building a community around a place for all to come and party.

The Funk Club Committee

The Funk Club is run by a dedicated group of cultural ambassadors. They are party people, they are ideas people, they are behind the scenes (and always on the dance floor!), they are the Funk Club Committee!

Jimmy 'Lip' Murphy Founding Member of Funk Club Lips@funkclub.com.au Toni Clancy Committee Member - General Manager Tonez@funkclub.com.au Tracy Frawley Committee Member - Treasurer Tracy@funkclub.com.au Kelly Scaramozzini Committee Member - Secretary/Memberships Members@funkclub.com.au Matt Sivyer Committee Member - Chairperson Ken Allen Committee Member - Vice Chairperson John Fernandes Committee Member Joel Coleman Committee Member Randa Kay Committee Member Alex Koresis Committee Member

Special thanks go to all our staff and volunteers who we haven’t mentioned (they know who they are), who make Funk Club what it is today!

Need to get in touch with your Funk? (Contact Us)

Jimmy “Lips’ Murphy FUNK CLUB Head Quarters I 1 / 15 Glendower Street Perth 6000 Entertainment Bookings and Information lips@funkclub.com.au I m +61 412 291 795

Functions funktions@funkclub.com.au Members members@funkclub.com.au Accounts accounts@funkclub.com.au

Touring Opportunities

As well as being a community full of fun, part-goers, Funk Club is a non-profit association dedicated to promoting and developing bands and producers/DJs in Perth and Australia.

Funk Cub has played host to the likes of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (USA), Bomba (VIC), Kid Confucius (SYD), Fdel (live), Tommee and the Neighbourhood (Syd), Resin Dogs (QLD), Bliss n Esso (SYD) and DJs/Producers such as Greyboy (USA), DJ Regal (UK), Kinobe (UK).

With an established touring circuit in Western Australia, Funk Club can provide acts interested in touring Western Australia for the first time with:

Touring package including fees and promotion for your act Local publicity campaign including local press and radio coverage. Exposure to regular audiences at regular events throughout WA including Perth, Fremantle and regional South West (Margaret River, Dunsborough and Busselton/Bunbury). Full tour schedule and itinerary provided for established circuit Ability to tap into local music network with thousands of interested members through website, media, myspace, member database and word of mouth. Capacity for sale of band merchandise Supports from relevant local bands Accommodation options available Funk Club further develops acts who tour WA through large festivals/events, tour supports, compilation CDs/MP3s and wherever else possible.

Some History of Funk!

"If you can describe it, it ain't funky". However, we can tell you how it all began. So pull out your notebooks class, we goin' back to the REAL "old-school".

“A message of revolution, love, peace, change, and correction”

Through the 20th century it started with African-American citizens pioneering the culture of this music. A blend of tribal and gospel music, soul and blues grew, along with Jazz, rhythm & blues and urban music. Many other types of music came as a result, like ragtime, big band, swing, and doo-wop. These music genres are the political and social voice of inner city lower and middle class citizens.

Soul music took off in the early to mid 60's, with the "Motown Sound": artists like The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and others, along with Wilson Pickett. 1965-1970 was the changing of times, and James Brown was the man with the groove. James had the most outspoken voice in soul music and had a groove that would be proven to be the future of funk music.

Another emerging group called The Parliaments had many similar traits of a Motown group, but with a deeper, more groove oriented sound, similar to that of James Brown. This "deeper, more groove oriented sound" would prove to be the biggest thing in soul music for the next 20 years and beyond. Led by George Clinton and the P-Funk movement many of James Brown’s band (The JB’s) defected to this new sound The Parliaments simply become Parliament and other groups such Funkadelic were born and the P-Funk movement was in full swing! This sound would be later improved upon and streamlined by Sly and the Family Stone and into the mid to late 70's, Rick James began to funk the world with his fun and sexy style of party music. Other artists, like Isaac Hayes had major influence, but the biggest of them all was about to emerge with a new sound.

The most influential artist to all people in regards to funk and dance music today, was Prince. Prince released his first full-length record in 1978, titled "For You", and from there would go on to blend many styles of music together into a danceable and soulful presentation of art. Prince was the only artist to blend all of the previous genres (that contributed to funk) together with many other genres of music, like disco/dance, European/new romantic, new wave, folk, techno/electronic, Latin and world music, and hip-hop. This new genre of music that emerged from Prince' unique blend was called New Funk. As the generations went on, many musicians of all colors started listening to the music of the original African-American pioneers and were mainly influenced by them. However, Prince was one of the few remaining artists who continued the traditions of previous soul artists.

Hip-hop and rap was the closest thing to the 70's music revolution that existed through the 80's, 90's and 00’s. Hip-hop artists sampled many of the soul and funk legends by adding parts of older songs into their own music, or looping instrumental parts of old funk and soul songs and adding heavier drum beats and rhythms to it. Other good groove oriented groups like Jamiriquai came around every now and then, and it would be fair to say that many artists have at least some elements of the original funk and soul in their music, but there was no organized movement.

Now its the dawning of a new funk revolution!

“a new music order among musicians who share a message of revolution, love, peace, change, and correction.”

For more information checkout http://www.newfunkorder.com/