FELONIOUS GROOVE FOUNDATION: Paper Tiger Eclectic '70s Trunk Funk and Latin Pyrotechnics.

SKINNYFAT: Great, Great, Great Gran'Pa Award winning, underground hip-hop concept album.

Penguino Records Hype:

Ragon Espinoza following a bike theft.



July 10
Here's Johnny!

John DuBois, formerly of Danny Winn and the Earthlings, will join Felonious Groove Foundation for a number of upcoming shows throughout 2008.

John, (long-time member) Colin Darby and (eleventh-hour substitute) David Diaz have contributed saxophone to FGF in recent months and will continue to contribute their golden tones as FGF maintains its busy weekend warrior performance schedule.


Caption: John "van Gogh" DuBois plays saxophone with FGF.

May 6, 2008:
Published in the "New Mexico Daily Lobo"
By Frank Wott

Band grooves on genre-juggling
At one time, the Felonious Groove Foundation had nine members.

"We would go to a show, and it'd look like a clown posse getting out of the car," guitarist Cali Soberanes said. "The van door would open up, and it'd be a nonstop line of musicians getting out. It must have been pretty humorous to see."

Today, the Felonious Groove Foundation has four members. Their music is a blend of funk, salsa and rock 'n' roll.

"The essence of Felonious is we always mix our styles," Soberanes said. "Keeping it exciting to ourselves. It's not an easy task to make it all seamlessly flow together."

The band's lineup also includes Todd Lovato on vocals and bass, Colin Darby on vocals and saxophone, and rotating drummers Ragon Espinoza, Rick Moraga and Mike Jaramillo. At the band's core are Soberanes and co-singer and songwriter Lovato.

"Him and I met in high school in Santa Fe and then moved the project down here to Albuquerque," Soberanes said. "Well, we weren't a band then. We were just two UNM students playing music."

As the story goes, Soberanes and Lovato were encouraged by a bar owner to start a band after playing at an open mic. Now, after three albums, the duo have managed to keep their music alive by playing live shows.

"Being a bar band is tiring," Soberanes said. "Playing all weekend. Staying up late and then getting up and going to work on Monday. You have to be self-sufficient most times. Bring your own P.A., etc."

Felonious Groove Foundation has traveled to California, Arizona and Colorado to perform. They've also played all over Albuquerque, opening up for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Launchpad and the Backstreet Boys at The Journal Pavilion.

"By the way, the scariest sound in the world is 14,000 screaming girls for the Backstreet Boys," Soberanes said.

He said playing at Club Rhythm & Blues on Monday nights was memorable because the place was always packed.

For 10 years they've managed to keep it together, but Soberanes said the music is what has kept the Foundation going.

"There's been moments when it feels like everything's going to fall apart at the seams," he said. "I think we stayed together 'cause we found good friendships. (Lovato) is almost like the brother I never had. I mean, we're family. But even when we have our fights or disagreements, we know we have to do better than that. So, we rise to the occasion and make good music, 'cause that's what it's about."

Felonious Groove fans are apt to be seen out of their seats and dancing. Crowd participation is important to the band.

"It's kind of our pathos to keep the audience involved," Soberanes said. "We yell out 'Orale' a lot. We go to Denver and say it and we hear crickets chirping. Everyone just looks around. But we try to have the crowd say things back to us to keep them involved. And we usually make our set lists on the spot by feeling out the audience."

Felonious Groove puts their own spin on cover songs, but Lovato and Soberanes' original songs are the gems of their musical endeavors.

"I write mine - he writes his," he said. "Then we have a good skeleton, and then we come together and work out the kinks. Just him and I. Then we make a little recording and give it out to the band. Then we come together and knock it out. It's better if everybody knows it before we come together."

The Felonious Groove Foundation plays Sunday at WilLee's Blues Club in Santa Fe and June 6 at the Monte Vista Fire Station in Albuquerque. Though it's not a rich and famous rock band, the members still enjoy making a difference in people's lives, Soberanes said.

"I guess, as a musician, you would like to have your music out in the world," he said. "But having a local fan base is great. Having a show with people you know and enjoy the music - that's very rewarding in its own sense. There's definitely something that drives us to keep playing."


April 17, 2008:

From the "Taos News"
By Deonne Kahler

Get down to that funky groove:

Albuquerque band still has what it takes to get a joint jumpin'


The party is at Shadows Lounge and Grill Saturday (April 19), when the Albuquerque band Felonious Groove Foundation brings its groovy goodness to town.
A melange of funk, R&B, and Latin music, the sound is perfect for shaking off the work week. Lead singer and guitarist Cali Soberanes has been quoted as saying, "If the audience can't bust into a 'Soul Train' line at any moment, then we're not doing our job right."
Amen, brother.
The Foundation's third album, 2005's "Paper Tiger," garnered them quite a bit of attention, including 12 nominations at the 2006 New Mexico Music Awards, where it took home Best Musical Production in Folk/Americana for the track "I Miss My Girl."
Soberanes was also a John Lennon Songwriting Competition finalist for the Paper Tiger track "Porcelana."
The band plays Taos about once a month. "We like Taos a lot," Soberanes said. "The crowd up there is different. Maybe it's because there's less going on in Taos, so it seems a little more special. People seem over-saturated in Albuquerque. Taos locals really enjoy live music, which is great, because we're able to reciprocate a good vibe."
Soberanes and bass player-singer Todd Lovato founded the Felonious Groove Foundation in 1999.
The current lineup includes Colin Darby on tenor sax and vocals, and percussionists Mike Jaramillo and Rick Moraga. The band is approaching its 10th anniversary, and Soberanes joked, "We're thinking of doing something really cheesy to celebrate, like a 'Decade of Hits' album." Soberanes and Lovato met in high school in Santa Fe, then moved to Albuquerque for college.
"We weren't planning to start a band here, but we started going to this old blues club when we were under 21, and we'd sneak in to play the open mics," Soberanes said. The owner thought the guys were of age, and encouraged them to start a band.
"So we did. We found some musicians through the (University of New Mexico) music department, and that was the beginning of Felonious Groove Foundation."
At first, the guys played house and warehouse parties, and any bars that would let them in considering their underage status. Since then, they've stuck to their danceable sound, but have become better songwriters.
Soberanes said, "We're still a party band, but 10 years later we're trying to write songs with more lyrical depth." Soberanes said "Paper Tiger" was the beginning of the band's evolution to a new sound, a departure from doing only funky party songs.
That departure became Soberanes and Lovato's newest band project, Fantastic Planet.
For Fantastic Planet, Lovato dumped his bass and instead plays banjo, mandolin, slide, lap and acoustic guitars, and synthesizer.
Soberanes remains guitarist and singer, and they've added Paul Striker on bass and Ragon Powers on drums. The band is working on its debut album, and will play Taos later this year.
The sound is more rootsy Americana than groove, though it's not entirely funk-less. "We still can't escape adding the groove,"Soberanes said. "It's cool to do something different, but we still enjoy Felonious a lot; we still like to get a hot dance party going."
The band releases its own albums on its own label, Penguino Records, and though Soberanes said it would certainly entertain major label offers should they appear, the band is quite happy going the indie route. He said they've had friends who moved to Los Angeles to do the big-time music thing there, but it's a brutal town and those friends have had a tough time making any headway. Soberanes said Albuquerque suits him and his cohorts just fine - there are plenty of music venues, the pace is more manageable, and the cost of living is much lower.
In addition to Felonious Groove Foundation, Fantastic Planet and Penguino Records, Soberanes and Lovato also perform with the hip-hop collective Skinnyfat, and are collaborating on film projects. Did I mention their full-time non-music careers? Soberanes is a Web developer and teaches guitar and piano to children, and Lovato is the new director of public relations at Santa Fe Community College.
"We always tell ourselves we're going to take it easy," Soberanes said. "We all have day jobs, which are a necessity. So we work Monday through Friday, then play on Friday and Saturday, sleep as much as we can on Sunday, then do it all over again. We find it harder to say no than yes."


Feb. 21, 2008:
Keep an eye out for Fantastic Planet.




Noon, Nov. 8: Thanks Albuquerque The Magazine for naming Felonious Groove Foundation its 2007 "Local Band Band Headed for Stardom." It's nice to know that, while we've been traveling diligently, our hometown is still behind us. When we do get rich and famous we promise to move to Portland immediately, disavow our ties to Albuquerque, not give interviews to the local press and... oh, sorry... that's The Shins. (Just kidding James, I heard you rocked Popejoy.) Thanks to all the readers who voted and keeping us in your thoughts. Now
********
order "Paper Tiger" dammit, we're almost platinum. (Actually, my wife is getting sick of the cardboard boxes hogging up the garage.)





11:14 a.m., Nov. 8:


The full-length album "TuMan Presents Darbstar" drops Nov. 10 at the Launchpad. The album was conceived by FGF's Colin Darby and Mike Jaramillo and Skinnyfat's Matthew Lowe. Darby (Darbstar) is the rapper and songwriter; Jaramillo and Lowe (together TuMan Productions) are the beat scientists.

I've heard this gem in its many evolving forms. Here's why you need it: It's Golden Era hip-hop, alternative underground, hip-hop soul and an essential piece of any New Mexican's music collection - especially those locals who throw up "support local music" (we need a gang sign that depicts that, by the way).

Cop it Nov. 10 and keep checking Darbstar's MySpace page for upcoming online order availability.

Noon, Sept. 5: Many venues, media outlets and promotional flyers have misspelled the band's name over the past seven years of the band's funky existence. (Felonious Group Foundation, Felonius Groove Foundation, Cali & the Felonious Groove, Felonious Grove Foundation are just a few.)

But this year's New Mexico State Fair spoonerism has to be the best gaff ever. Here's the schedule pasted from the fair Web site. Spoonerism (the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow) indeed.

"Felonia, what. Felonia, right. Why does she have to rhyme so damn tight? I don't know woman, I don't know woman, I don't know woman. I don't know, I don't know." Thanks Mari, for pointing this out.

Saturday, September 8

12:00 - 1:00 Ben Hawthorne

1:30 - 2:30 Evone Ulibarri Y Café Mocha

3:00 - 4:00 Felonia's Groove Foundation

4:30 - 5:30 Felix Y Los Gatos

6:00 - 6:45 The Jenny Marlowe Band

7:00 - 7:45 Good as Dead

8:00 - 8:45 The Gregg Daigle Trio

9:00 - 10:00 The Ground Beneath



4:25 p.m., July 17: It's official, F.G.F. and Skinnyfat will both perform at this year's Santa Fe Muzik Fest (see gig side bar for show details.) The three-day event, held Aug. 10, 11, 12 will feature such notables as Public Enemy, George Clinton, Wu Tang Clan, Burning Spear and Blues Traveler. Underneath the star power, however, underground electronica and hip-hop groups like Busdriver, The Hieroglyphics and Noda Funk and local acts like the 2Bers and Crazyfool are the meat beneath what is poised to become the largest music festival in New Mexico's history. The website is here: YoYoYoYo.

10:15p.m., May29:
Crackberry is in the works. Testing it out. Albuquerque wine festival was ill; thanks Vivac winery for the key. Keep it locked.




1:15 a.m., May 22:
Felonious Groove Foundation made an appearance on local TV airwaves tonight. It was on the late night talk show "The Scott Conner Show," which aired on KRQE Channel 13. FGF - the house band for the show was part of half-a-dozen episodes for the show's local TV roll-out. Members of Skinnyfat helped out for three episodes.

No word on the status of future episodes on KRQE but Comcast Channel 99 will have upcoming shows and YouTube is chalk-full of clips. Get it all here at The Scott Conner Show Web site. The show is now looking for sponsors. Interested? Click here.

May 21:
Colin Darby, Mike Jaramillo, and Matt Lowe of hip-hop collective Darbstar took home a trophy for "Best Recording in Hip-Hop" from the New Mexico Music Awards last night. The song was "So Long," the first track on the group's forthcoming full-length album. The album features Colin Darby of FGF fame as emcee and songwriter and was produced by TUMAN productions Jaramillo/Lowe) in Albuquerque. The award marks the third year straight that an FGF affiliate has taken home the hip-hop award. (FGF did it in 2005 for "C-Spot", Skinnyfat won in 2006 for "Bigger Than You" and Darbstar for "So Long," this year.)

The Darbstar recording is f*cking tight - I've heard the unmixed tracks. Holding it down. Represent and keep the trophies coming fellas.




MORE FIRE:

April 23, 2007:
Emcee Darbstar - aka Colin Darby, saxophone/vocals of F.G.F. - has been nominated for two awards in this year's New Mexico Music Awards - the Grammys of NM. The nominations are in the hip-hop and R&B categories. The songs are from Darbstar's forthcoming full-length solo project - yet to be titled - which was produced by TUMAN Productions (Matthew Lowe, Mike Jaramillo) in Albuquerque. Check out the NMMA comp by clicking here: DARBSTAR



March 16, 2007:

Earlier this month, Felonious was part of the pilot filming of the Scott Conner Show, a late night local talk show that is slated for air later this summer. Felonious signed on as the house band - you know, Paul Shaefer, Kevin Eubanks, Max Weinberg - and laid down the funk for commercial breaks, shot banter back-and-forth with Scott, punctuated jokes with slides and drum punches - "Bow-chicka-bow-bow?", coordinated choreographed songs with lovely dancers and drank rum. Look for F.G.F. on your local airwaves later this summer.

********

FANTASTIC PLANET, FANTASTIC PLANETE, FANTASTIK PLANET, FANTASTIQUE PLANET, FANTASTIK PLANETE, FANTASTIQUE PLANETE, L.A. BAD DUDES, THE MUD BUTLERS - had to see it in writing. You be the judge.


********

FGF takes home a trophy at the 19th annual New Mexico Music Awards.

The song was "I Miss My Girl," the album is Paper Tiger and the award category was "Best Musical Production in Folk/Americana." One of the judges of this category was Paul Tookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Thanks Paul!




********
Paper Tiger has been nominated for 12 New Mexico Music Awards! Award Ceremony to be held Sunday May 21st at the Marriot Pyramid Hotel. Below is a list of the 12 nominations.

-Best CD Of The Year
-Best Producer
-Best Song (Porcelana)
-Best Remake (Founkey Roads)
-Best Novelty (Cruiseline)
-Best World Beat (Russian Song)
-Best Rock Alternative (War & Love)
-Best Rock Alternative (Scorpion Child)
-Best Rock Adult Contemporary (My Sky)
-Best R&B (Too Beautiful)
-Best Hispanic (Porcelana)
-Best Folk/Americana (I Miss My Girl)

Tickets to the Ceremony are available at newmexicomusicawards.com

Strictly fa my search enginezz:

"Britney Spears" not "Kevin Federline"

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, third world orphans.
Tomkat
Dick Cheney + quail, shotgun, pepper spray
"Apollo Anton Ohno"
MySpace.com
pornography + hot robot on robot action - Mariah Carey and ODB.
Google Search
type-French Military Victories;click-I'm feelin lucky
*****
Skinnyfat's Playlist:
Read Penguino artists Skinnyfat's current playlist at MADSKILLZ.com Peep what's in subwoofers son.

*****
Pick up a copy of Hyperactive magazine's most recent issue. You can subscribe to it at Hyperactivemusicmag.com or (according to Hyperactive's My Space page) you can pick one up in Borders, Tower Records and Virgin music stores across the country. It features Felonious Groove Foundation alongside bands and people like Gang Of Four, Iron & Wine, Silverstein, Esthero, Gooding, Margot And The Nuclear So And So's, The Only's, Panic! At The Disco, Nevermore, Japanesian Barbie, The Decemberists, TomVek and Billy Bob Thorton.

****
This is the latest review of Penguino Records recording artist Skinnyfat and his award-winning album posted on http://www.madskillz.com/mainrail2.html and the madskillz.com Web site. It received 4.5 stars out of 5. Read the review below and go visit the Mad Skillz Web site. More to come......

Article Below:

"Skinny CD with Fat Beatz ...


By DJ Diego De La Vega,
madskillz dot com


For the Albuquerque-based hip-hop band, Skinnyfat, politics seems to be in their lyrics and most definitely on their minds. Not that these guys are considering careers in politics, even though the group did open for President Bill Clinton at a John Kerry rally at the Albuquerque Hispanic Cultural Center. And an added bonus? The group got to meet and chat with the former president/musician.

The band's message rings loud and clear in their debut CD, Great Great Great Gran'pa. The CD is a depature from the commercial hip hop likes of Nelly, Ludacris and Snoop. No, they aren't faded by West Coast rappers such as The Game and Chicago based Kanye West. Oh no ... the group is a straight throwback to the Genesis of hip hop. When the potent, politically motivated lyrics of Public Enemy and NWA constantly caused controversy.


What Skinnyfat has done with this release is mix hip hop, jazz, old skool funk into a musical gumbo. The aftertaste more than likely will leave you begging for more helpings.


The album, produced by Todd Eric Lovato of Albuquerque, features 13 tracks of baam-in-yo-face lyrics running the gamut from hangin' with the homies to Mr. 'Mission Accomplished' George W. Bush and everything in between.


There were a couple tracks that really stood out -


1. Track 2 - It's hard to grow up features riffs and rhythms that are obviously a nod to the 70s funk scene and old skool rock.
2. Track 3 - Tsunami like me has old skool hip hop rhythms and a lyrically delivery reminiscent of the 80s pioneer group, The Beastie Boys.
3. Track 8 - Jim's Black Market features an old skool drum session sampled from The Ohio Player's hit 'I wanna be free.'


This up-and-coming band is most definitely representing the 505 and showing love their the local spots. Not that their group needs any help, but next time President Clinton rolls into ABQ, you all should invite him to your next jam session and give homie a guitar ...


4.5 stars out of 5.



Are you a music group/singer/beatmaster flash looking to get your music heard? We invite your CDs/DVDs for reviews here on 5 Minutes on madskillz.com. Hit us up at musicreview@madskillz.com or the contact form for more details. We will contact you when the review runs. Due to the volume of media sent our way, we can't return the media. Thanks again!

****************

Congratulations to Calimon.
He is a finalist in the "John Lennon Imagine Songwriting Contest" for the song "Porcelana" featured on FGF's "Paper Tiger" album.

****
(This if from the Peace Talks Radio Web Site http://www.deaconlight.com/goodradio/grs_05oct.html#board)

"Meet Our Board
Todd Lovato is one of six volunteers on the board of directors of Good Radio Shows, Inc. Todd grew up in Tesuque, New Mexico and attended the University of New Mexico, graduating in 2003 with a degree in Communication and Journalism. For his entire tenure at UNM, he worked as a production assistant at KUNM. He's also the founder of the popular Albuquerque funk-fusion band Felonious Groove Foundation which plays throughout the southwest. Lovato produced the bands two CDs as well as releasing his own solo CD (www.fgfband.com.) Presently, Todd is in graduate school seeking a business degree while he works full-time as a writer for the Albuquerque Journal. Todd Lovato, an amazing modern renaissance man and valued member of the Good Radio Shows, Inc. Board."



****


Local Renaissance man Kevin Hopper has launched the phattest Web site in town. Here's what it's all about:

"The Dish is a weekly, online magazine focusing on dining, shopping, travel, music, art, health, beauty and culture.

Covering the Greater Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas, our mission is to provide subscribers with FREE information and entertainment options they might not know about via weekly e-mails."

Head over to www.whatsthedish.com, register and get wired to your town kid.

Bueno,
Skinnyfat

****RECENT PRESS****

****Web log excerpt from inkstain.net****

by Albuquerque Journal Science reporter John Fleck


September 27, 2005
Daybook

"music: Paper Tiger, the Felonious Groove Foundation. I am so tragically unhip that it was only recently that I grasped my own fondness for the funk. Plus, you've gotta love an album dedicated to Malcolm Gladwell and John Denver."

http://inkstain.net/fleck/

********************************************

Also...check out this slightly fecetious comment from the Sub Pop records Web site (you know, Nirvana dude.)

THE SHINS ARE SO FAMOUS THAT THEY’RE IN THE BRITISH TABLOIDS!
The Sun, the UK’s National Inquirer-with-boobs, recently covered everyone’s favorite band from Albuquerque (not counting Felonious Groove Foundation, naturally). These same Shins are touring all over Europe right now, and they’re even playing ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES!

*****************************************


Check out the four articles that have been written about the band and the new "Paper Tiger," album. These have all been published in the last month. Watch out for more media to come from other neighboring cities including Boulder, Colorado Springs, Littleton, Tucson and Phoenix - all locations where the band has established itself and will be visiting soon.

****Article Featured in The Santa Fe New Mexican****

From: Pasatiempo, a special section of The Santa Fe New Mexican
By: Rob DeWalt

Friday Sept. 2, 2005

Lookin' for fun 'n' feelin' Felonious

...This weekend, Santa Fe satisfies my petrol-strapped musical multiple personalities just fine. Felonious Grooge Foundation, an Albuquerque ensemble of funk-fusion fanatics, celebrates the release of its newest album, "Paper Tiger (2005, Penguino Records)...
...FGF has poured more than just the obligatory funk ingredient into its latest studio elixir. Reggae, R & B, blues, and Latin influences make the well-produced record worth a visit to the release party.
The last track, "Down Syndrome," takes FGF back to those George Clinton-esque influences that helped create the Felonious sound nearly six years ago. What's the definition of a superfreak? Go to El Farol tonight to find out...


********Article Featured in Albuquerque Journal*******

By: Ron Gonzales

Friday, August 19, 2005

Album Explores Genres Without Forgetting Funk

"It's going to take the band a year and a half of real steady, paying gigs to pay this album off," Felonious Groove Foundation bassist/vocalist Todd Lovato says of his group's new album, "Paper Tiger." He states this, however, without the least bit of lamentation, probably since FGF's touring itinerary is booked through 2006.
Better yet, he is privy to this nugget of information: "Paper Tiger" will soon be in the hands of music lovers, and they're in for quite a ride.
Thick with the funk that has been the foundation of FGF, "Paper Tiger," a work born of 300 hours of studio time, also spans more musical genres than some bands explore in an entire career. The mixed menu offers a fiery Latin workup ("Porcelana"), a taste of Jamaica ("Russian Song"), the swampy, banjo-soaked flavor of "I Miss My Girl" and the sweet doo-wop ditty "Cruise Line."
Top on the list, though, is the psychedelic pop of "War and Love," which may just be the furthest departure for the funksters.
"I definitely had a feeling that it was going to have that feel," Lovato says. "A song like 'War and Love,' which is really outside of our genre is just sketches that we brought into the studio that we saw evolve. The problem is, you listen to too much Elton John or Steely Dan and you go home and write a song and it comes out like that."
But what is happening, one might ask, to the funk— the bread and butter of FGF? Well, the funk has not disappeared, not in the least. It's just that while FGF remains untied to any sort of record label restraints, you can expect the band to continue to explore.
"A year ago, if someone heard us live, they would have heard us playing breakneck funk and that is definitely a big part of what we do," Lovato says. "But the point of any album is that you are obligated to move forward constantly. We start the album with funk ('I'll Be Allright') and we end it with funk ('Down Syndrome')."
Yet another dimension to "Paper Tiger" is the sheer aural experience that is contained within. Various samples and turntable scratching share space with guitarist/vocalist Cali Soberanes' watery wah-wah stylings. And the washes of slinky saxophone only add to the densely layered delicacy.
"Our inspiration was the albums we've listened to for years, those that you can hear something fresh every time you hear them," says Lovato, whose day job is in the Journal's newsroom. "The point is not to hear it once, but to find new things and to enjoy it in different ways."

Felonious Groove Founda-tion CD release party
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20
WHERE: Launchpad, 618 Central SW
HOW MUCH: $5 at the door. Over 21 only.
CD available at local music retailers.
Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal
Commercial reprint permission.


****ARTICLE FROM WEEKLY ALIBI****

Show Up!

By Simon McCormack

Felonious Groove Foundation

If you're in search of soulful funk and R&B in New Mexico, Felonious Groove Foundation is the best game in town.

Take nostalgic, brass and wa-wa pedal-driven grooves and update them with turntables and one of the best local emcees, and you've got a sound that makes danceaholics out of everyone; from funk fanatics to savvy music critics to anemic, skinny nerds.

After spending most of their recent weekends playing shows in Southwestern locales like Phoenix, Tucson, Denver and Telluride, FGF is returning to Albuquerque on Saturday, August 20, for their CD release party at the Launchpad. The show will feature special guests, who contributed to the new Paper Tiger LP, including Jeff Romaniuk of Simple and Orlandis Dawson and Emily Williams from the Buddha Betties.

Vocalist Todd Lovato (aka Skinnyfat) says Paper Tiger is FGF's most adventurous album, sending the band careening from traditional funk songs to doo-wop, salsa, bluegrass and reggae. "My favorite part about the new album," Lovato says, "is how these weird, diverse genres fit together into one work."

Lovato spent hundreds of hours with fellow bandmate Cali Soberanes, overdubbing and multitracking Paper Tiger to make it the band's most refined and talent-laden album to date. "The production process really forced us to examine our songwriting and playing, which made us more mature as a band," Lovato says.

Maturity doesn't begin to describe the polished sound of Paper Tiger. The increased production pays dividends for every aspect of FGF's sound. In particular, the vocals and record scratching are much stronger on the new record than on previous FGF releases. Lovato's voice is layered and thick, and on some tracks you can hear a little Anthony Kiedis in his reverberating vocals. Although scratching isn't overly prevalent on the album, FGF makes sure that when turntables are in the mix, they don't sound vague or dropped in.

The band adds some nice touches like slide-guitar and even banjo on one song. Not exactly what you would expect from a band that has previously been content, for the most part, to stick with straight funk. But FGF isn't about to leave its previously traditional sound behind. There are at least three tracks that make it clear the band can still funk things up in a more conventional fashion.

As good as the album is, nothing beats a live FGF show for raw energy and crowd-pleasing tunes. As Lovato explains, "our main goal [in making music] is to please our fans and make them get out and dance." While you're at the show, make sure you dance your way over to the CD counter and pick up a copy of Paper Tiger.










View felonious groove foundation's EPK




no gigs