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Grand Slam



Review 04/11/99
From: FF Gap

Grand Slam feat. Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper & Rick Gardner                      
Cologne, Germany, April 11, 1999, Die Kantine                              

We went to Cologne to see Grand Slam. Horny Horns member Rick Gardner was  
supposed to be special guest of the show. The venue was Die Kantine where I
had seen Bootsy rock the house 4 years ago. The club has room for about 300
people but only about 100 showed up. SHAME! Now for the music: Opening for 
Grand Slam in Cologne was a four piece band (gt, bs, dr, voc) in funky     
outfits called "Party Popes". They were opening act at Bootsy's concert in 
the same venue 4 years ago. I didn't like them too much then but they      
really improved their skills. They were tighter now and most of all the    
singer was funny.                                                          

After 40 minutes they left the stage and after a short break the 9 members 
of Grand Slam dropped some serious funk on us. I was surprised Rick Gardner
was blowing his trumpet already during the first song. The first 30 minutes
or so were filled with compositions by the band such as "Manik Botanik",   
"Luv Rite" and "Ride On The Rhythm" (being the title track of their 1997   
6-track CD). In comparison to the show half a year ago they had improved   
their vocal style a lot. And the keyboardists were way more funky. Then    
'Rockin' Rick Gardner was announced and the vocalists had left the stage he
played two instrumentals. Having never seen him live I was surprised how   
smooth his sound was compared to the other Horny Horns. A good surprise to 
me. After this instrumental break it was time to introduce the great voice 
of Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper. He began with an inspired cover of Sly Stone's   
"Family Affair" followed by other covers like "Cosmic Slop" and "Thankful  
N Thoughtful". During the whole set he sang several other classics as      
"Skin Tight" or "Mothership Connection". He also integrated himself into   
the band as a background singer giving the spotlight to the three          
vocalists of which Michael 'Mischmaschine' Deiml has the best voice and    
feeling in my opinion. "Look To The Rainbow" sung by Gary was another      
highlight of the show. Rick Gardner only played on some of the songs of the
nearly 3 hours set. To me he proofed what the band needs to be even better:
a horn section.                                                            

So after almost three hours we had experienced a good amount of funk       
focused on but not limited to the P., James Brown, Ohio Players, Zapp,     
Prince (with "Make Yo Mama Happy" from the Crystal Ball set), and many     
others were referenced. But the band played all those big names and their  
own stuff in a unique style. Therefor the true funkateers (some had even   
traveled from Holland!) were really impressed by the show. The band, like  
so many funk acts, deserves much more publicity and larger crowds. Remind  
you: They had two original P. Funkers in their band. Like one of their     
refrains says it: It's a P. Funk thing...                                  

FF Gap