Herman’s Hideaway on South Broadway was flooded with funky tunes Thursday night when bands from DU’s humble campus invaded its doors and let loose their musical talents.
Headlining the show was Scratch, an eight-piece funk ensemble composed entirely of students who graduated from the Lamont School of Music. In addition, Megan Letts and the Shameless Get Down accompanied them, composed of almost all Lamont students as well. The night got its start with groups Dover Prose, The Hunger Artist and Hourglass leading in.
When Letts, a senior audio engineering and vocal jazz major from Anchorage, AK, and the crew took the stage, people moved from their bar stools onto the dance floor and, as their name anticipates, shamelessly got down to their smooth melodies, most of which were original songs. Letts fronts the band with her velvety vocals while the Shameless Get Down members back her up with strong jazzy support that one can’t help but move their feet to.
“Gigs are our chance to show off what we do and how hard we’ve been working for it,” said Letts.
Scratch performed next, including two of their members, guitarist Thomas Jennings, senior Jazz Guitar major of Ipswich, Mass., and keyboard player Will Kyriazis, graduate student from Chicago, overlapping from the Shameless Get Down.
Scratch covered classic funk favorites like Charles Wright’s “Express Yourself”, cross-genre covers like their elongated jam on The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby”, and also original content that band members had written. At one point, saxophone player and singer Max Manoles, a Lamont student currently pursuing a Performance Certificate in Jazz and Commercial Music Performance from Orono, Minn., even surprised the audience when he spontaneously busted out some quick-lipped, freestyle rhyming.
Scratch was originally formed two years ago when members of the band were assigned in class to group up and play completely through a specific album. They chose the album “Scratch” by The Jazz Crusaders, recorded live in 1974 at the Roxy. They decided to stick together and continue playing after the assignment was completed.
“We thought that [Scratch] was a pretty good name for the group. The first track on the album is also called Scratch and continues to be one of our favorite to play,” said Manoles.
There was a small but enthusiastic crowd at Herman’s and most of them spent at least some portion of their time out on the floor grooving.
“They are incredibly talented for bands their age,” said senior International Studies major Amelia Leigner from Chicago.
There is palpable chemistry amidst the groups, and their comfort playing together is obvious. With two years behind them, these bands are poised to entertain larger audiences and continue creating impressive sounds. After a few more years of playing together, it would not be surprising to see these bands go on to entertain larger audiences at bigger events.
“Scratch is definitely a musical family; not just do we enjoy hanging out with each other but we also have developed a strong musical connection. When we’re playing out we let loose a little more and play games with one another onstage. The game now is ‘who can be the most funky,’” said Manoles.
Both bands expressed their intent to hopefully start recording albums and also continue to play as many shows together as possible. They will both be touring and performing around the Denver in the foreseeable future.
For a chance to see Megan Letts and the Shameless Get Down, head out to Boulder’s arcade bar Press Play! this coming week on Feb. 6.
Scratch will also be playing a show a little closer to campus at Illegal Pete’s on Evans. The show will take place on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 10 p.m. If you missed them this time, then plan on taking your boo out to Pete’s and get funky with Scratch the night before Valentine’s Day.
