Pictured: Breakestra asks, “Where’s the party, dog?” Yup, even the dad-looking guy in the middle. Especially that guy.
Breakestra is a Bronx based funk band that is less about jam (thankfully) and more about dance. They’ve been around seemingly forever, with former members going on to form or be seminal members of Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jane’s Addiction. When they sing, they sing dirty. When they dance, they dance dirty. When they open up a chain of fast food franchises, you can bet… they won’t meet current health code standards.
Thankfully, Breakestra hasn’t opened up franchises of any kind, and stuck to what they know best, putting out great party records. Their influences are obvious, and almost shamefully close to Breakestra’s sound. James Brown, Gil Scott-Heron, and (especially) The Meters are all well represented. Breakestra does walk the tight rope of influence and imitation well; they only stumbling on a few forgettable tracks in the middle of their 2005 release, “Hit The Floor”.
Hit The Floor is a template for what all good funk should be. Dumb, fast, with amazing horns, great drum breakdowns, and NO slap bass. I repeat, NO slap bass. There is nothing funky about a white guy hitting his thumb on a five string bass. It’s just disgusting. I digress. Anyway, this album sounds like one big car chase, and if you’re looking for something to play in your old impala as you repo cars in the dog days of summer, this could be exactly up your alley. The below track is, “At The End of the Day” It’s a funk kiss-off to some ex-girlfriend. Why anyone would break up with this guy is beyond me. Maybe he’s just too damn funky. Wait until 1:15 for a funky surprise. Not in a gross way. Sheesh.
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