Mardi Gras
Indian funk band Cha Wa will release their debut album, Funk 'n' Feathers, on
April 1, 2016, after years of explosive, thunderous live performances all over
the Crescent City. The new recording is a red-hot combination of two of New
Orleans’ quintessential trademarks, Mardi Gras Indians and street level funk
music. Funk 'n' Feathers combines deep funk, percussive polyrhythms, and a mix
of singing and Mardi Gras Indian chanting that fuse into an intoxicating,
hypnotic blend of culture that could only come out of the Crescent City. Cha Wa
will celebrate the album with a hometown show on release day and performances
at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April. “Cha Wa” is a slang
phrase used by every Mardi Gras Indian tribe, meaning “We’re comin’ for ya” -
and this band is definitely comin’ for ya!
Funk 'n'
Feathers is a direct descendant of the seminal Mardi Gras Indian-related funk
recordings of the 1970s by the Wild Magnolias (backed by The Meters), the Wild
Tchoupitoulas, The Neville Brothers, and Dr. John. But this time there is a
contemporary twist - the production of Ben Ellman (who has also produced his
own band, Galactic, as well as Trombone Shorty and others) and the mixing and
mastering of San Francisco’s super-hip engineer Count (DJ Shadow, Radiohead,
Lyrics Born, etc.). As a result, Cha Wa's version of Dr. John's “All On A Mardi
Gras Day” is a wild recreation of the original. The song takes you straight to the
street corners of Uptown New Orleans, instilling the energy of seeing the
Indians dancing in their traditional feathered suits, but it also embraces a
production style, which is cutting-edge. Another classic, “Jock-A-Mo” (the
original version of the song which later became a hit, and has been covered by
many artists, as ‘Iko Iko’) is also made over by infusing it with the band’s
upbeat brand of funk and the fresh production approach. Davell Crawford, the
grandson of the song’s writer, and Irving Banister Sr., the man who played
guitar on the original version in 1953 - and the father of Cha Wa’s lead Indian
Irving “Honey” Banister, provide deep New Orleans roots to the recording.
The two
leaders of Cha Wa, singer/percussionist Honey Banister and drummer Joe Gelini,
have been involved with the Mardi Gras Indians for years. Honey Banister, Big
Chief of the Creole Wild West tribe, combines both the Mardi Gras Indian
tradition and the history of New Orleans rhythm and blues. He was also a
featured performer in the HBO series Treme. Gelini moved to New Orleans after
graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Joe saw the
Mardi Gras Indians emerging on Mardi Gras day to march down Dryades Street and,
he says, “I was hooked. It's a spiritual
thing. It's more than the music.” Spy
Boy J'Wan Boudreaux combines the lyrics and style of his grandfather, Big Chief
Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles, one of the most respected Mardi Gras
Indians and one of the greatest Indian singers ever, with a 21st century take
on this music. Other contributors to the
album include John Fohl on guitar (Dr. John), Stephen Malinowski on organ (Ana
Popovich), Yoshitaka “Z2” Tsuji on piano (Kermit Ruffins), and Haruka Kikuchi
on trombone. Another well-known Mardi Gras Indian, Norwood “Geechie” Johnson of
the Wild Magnolias, added bass drum and backing vocals. Special guests include
producer Ben Ellman on alto saxophone and Colin Lake on lap steel guitar.
Cha Wa
brilliantly finds the right balance between Mardi Gras Indian tradition and an
edgier dose of the street funk which
also originated in New Orleans. The band has gained critical praise not only
from their hometown publications Offbeat, The Times-Picayune, Advocate, Where
Y’At, and Gambit Weekly, but also through national tastemakers including
Rolling Stone, NPR Music, and Dan Rather Reports. The music is spontaneous and spiritual at the
same, and no two shows are ever the same. “I think we've reached that point
where we can feel the direction of the music intuitively and we just go with
it,” says Gelini. “It’s like having that heavy Indian sound with modern
recording and modern production and using it all together. It's classic and
contemporary at the same time.” On Funk
'n' Feathers, Cha Wa has made a modern album featuring great energy and
enthusiasm, but one which also draws from the deep well of New Orleans culture.
The result? Cha Wa is coming for ya!
UPCOMING
SHOWS:
02/04- Blue
Note Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan
02/05- Blue
Note Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan
02/08- Riverwalk
- New Orleans, LA [Lundi Gras Celebration]
02/08-
Tipitina's Mardi Gras Stands - New Orleans, LA
02/09- 30x90
- New Orleans, LA
02/27-
Universal Studios Orlando - Orlando, FL
03/05-
Howlin' Wolf - New Orleans, LA
03/31-
Lafayette's - Memphis, TN
04/01- Blue
Nile [Album Release Show] - New Orleans, LA
04/07-
French Quarter Fest - New Orleans, LA
04/10- d.b.a
- New Orleans, LA
04/21- Ogden
Museum of Southern Art - New Orleans, LA
04/23- New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - New Orleans, LA
04/30- French
Broad River Festival - Asheville, NC
06/04-
Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Festival - Augusta, NJ
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