Name: Mamas Gun
Locality: London, England
Crayon Color: Pink/Yellow: These colors stirred in a psychedelic Twilight Zone-esque twister; a That 70’s show transition clip.
Locality: London, England
Crayon Color: Pink/Yellow: These colors stirred in a psychedelic Twilight Zone-esque twister; a That 70’s show transition clip.
This band right here..man. In a hypothetical OTLC concert, they would headline.
The Story: It was 2007 and Mamas Gun’s only piece of press was on MySpace.com. Here Andy Platts, lead singer/songwriter, showcased random demos. One, “Get a High,” an unreleased song whose vocals reach the sky, about a female femme, whose lyrics, “I get a high off you baby/And I never want to come down, whoa/I get a high off you baby, whenever you come around…” prove to be intense. Another, “Never Be Right,” where a funky guitar plucks like a banjo behind an empathetic concept. The sound was 70’s funk. The tracks stayed humble behind a free-streaming website.
Not for long. Andy formed a new band and started re-recording all of his material, updating his MySpace and vlogging about new releases. They put out a mixtape to all of their fans in 2008 and started on the road, recording and releasing the first album, Routes To Riches in 2009.
After hitting number 3 on the Japanese Billboard Top 100 chart, and touring the UK with Beverly Knight, recently they have begun their quest to do it bigger. Last week Andy and the boys went back to the recording cave to birth a follow-up album, to be released in early 2011. They will be in the studio with producers Martin Terefe and Andreas Olsson, the mixmasters behind Train’s “Hey Soul Sister.” Let the funkiness continue.
Coloring Outside The Lines Because: They take you back and set the stage--they are a wailing nostalgia for the 70’s. It’s the sign of the revolutionary, pensive, pro-active, and sometimes murky times. Yet all of the material remains to be relatively positive, right. Andy Platts has a large range, leveling between mezzo soprano and tenor. His projected falsetto is unforgettable and quite unbelievable. The tone for every song matches the lyrics immaculately. They evoke highs; definitely not the average sub-level band.
Think: On a plane ascending into the air; loud suits; the funky chicken. The Now and Then treehouse; neon; picks; wedding reception music; Stevie Wonder's funk and introspection; Ginko Biloba; "Welcome Back Kotter"--the themesong.
