Who: The Global Funk Council
Where: Boot Pub
When: Saturday, Aug. 30
If you haven’t heard of Zoophorus yet, you better read on because it’s a wave, a motion, a musical movement that wants to cement itself smack bang in Whistler every summer for years to come.
If the names De La Soul, Garaj Mahal, Karl Densen or Global Funk Council mean anything to you, you already know what you’re in for – a foot pounding, free smiling phenomenon – wrapped up in a one-day, all-ages summer festival behind the Boot Pub on private land.
Dance bare foot in the long green grass. Cheers with beers in the custom built beer garden, check out arts, crafts and yummy foods at one of the many friendly stalls, or just breathe in the beats with the fresh mountain air as a backdrop. Zoophorus is a world unto itself for one day only.
One band making Zoophorus the zone for their first ever Canadian concert, is the San Francisco Bay Area jazz rock collective, Global Funk Council. Bassist Jon Stoyanoff, said the new Whistler musical event, in it’s second year, sounded like the perfect launching pad over the border for their funk and punk infused rhythms.
"Festivals always have a vibe that demands everyone there have fun and so they’re the best gigs to introduce yourselves to," he said. "We could go do a club gig in Canada but a lot of people are there solely because it’s something to do when you finish work. At a festival, the crowd is so much more interpretive and open-minded about new experiences and new faces."
Global Funk Council is funky in a way that they invokes the boogie in the best of us. They also bring new elements of music from around the globe to the toe-tapping table in a concerted effort to expand our musical minds.
"We’re all a lot more adventurous these days," said Stoyanoff, a seasoned performer who’s shared the stage with the likes of Larry Coryell, B.B. King, Robert Cray, Bill Wyman and Huey Lewis.
"Everyone in this band is an educated musician, which doesn’t mean we’re better than other groups, just more comfortable in taking risks."
Which is where the Global Council in the band’s title fits nicely.
Jazz is a big part of what they do, taking cues from their idols such as Phish, Herbie Hancock and even many of disco’s greats. They are known for firing off some catchy reggae rhythms, rock ’n’ roll riffs and everything in between.
Catch Global Funk Council as one of the opening acts on the day, from 11 a.m. Tickets to Zoophorus are $50 for the full day event with special late evening after-show village club gigs going for an extra $20. See www.zoophorus.com for all the details.
