Reliving the Past Through Music

As this is my first ever blog post, I feel it's my duty to give you a little bit of background about who I am and what it is I do. Of course, as a 19 year old college student, I've done a decent amount of exciting things in my lifetime thus far, but they all pale in comparison to the events that I think started me on track to where I am now.

funkbandlove. A nonsensical, made-up word that probably means almost nothing to anyone... unless of course, you lived in southern NH between 2004 and 2007. In that case, you may have heard of All Rights Reserved, more affectionately known as Funkband. In which case, you know how my life as I know it now truly began.

4 guys from a small town met 4 guys from a big town at the regional high school. Out of 3,500 students at the school, it's a wonder these 8 students managed to meet, but more extraordinarily, they all shared a passion for the long lost art of funk music. A mixture of rock, jazz, hip-hop, and soul, funk had been hardly heard from since the 1970s, but to these 8 young men with influences like Tower of Power, Earth Wind & Fire, Confunkshun, War, James Brown, and Wild Cherry, it was still alive and more relevant than ever.

John, Justin, Andrew, JC, Chris, Dave, Andy, and I played together for the first time in Justin's basement, and from then on, it was magic. Our adventures were numerous and our deeds great, but more importantly, the friendships were enduring. I've maintained strong friendships with nearly all of these incredible young men, even over 5 years after we first got our start.

We went on to play at parties, pep rallies, opera houses, theaters, back yards, parks, and anywhere else we could broadcast our sweet, funky sound. We've had guest singers, percussionists, stage managers, and even someone dressed in a kangaroo costume; but one of our most legendary, and earliest, concerts--known only as "The December 3rd Show" among members of the band--is one of my fondest memories and always brings me incredible joy whenever I reminisce about that epic night.

The air was electrified that night from the start. To give you a sense of what it felt like that night, I'll use a passage from a paper that I wrote for English class shortly after the show:

"Heads are throbbing, audience screaming, as the discordant sounds of the piano pump through the room, accented by the sporadic beatings of a distant drum, both awesomely and terribly at the same time. The room is filled with darkness and all that can be heard for miles around is the pulsing roar of anxious fans. Pungent smells of sweat mix with the smells of overheating electrical equipment and the burning anticipation of what is to come. Epigrammatic flickering of the iridescent strobe lights provides brief glimpses of the impending riot. All of a sudden, lights flash on and an enveloping fog fills every pore. The funk band, All Rights Reserved, appears, seemingly from nowhere and everywhere at the same time."

From my personal experiences, there is no feeling like standing on a stage, or out in a field with my friends around me and an instrument in my hands that can control the emotions of everyone in the area.

Through the years, a drummer change (JC to Johnny B), and several crazy road trips, All Rights Reserved has expanded to include even more of my friends than the original 8. Affectionately known as Funkband Inc., we've traveled together, dabbled in making movies, done landscaping, moved furniture, hosted parties, and been DJs. Without Funkband, it's unclear if I ever would have done, or been able to do any of these things, and it's for that reason, that I say, it all started with Funkband...

Below, you can find several of our original songs/videos from the December 3rd show, including, in order, Who We Are, Time With You, Jamaican Goo, and Cat's Pajamas. In the videos, the band from left to right is Justin, John, JC, Chris, Andrew, Jared (me), Andy, and Dave. If you like what you hear, the entire discography of All Rights Reserved is available at this link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/210893637/All_Rights_Reserved_-_Complete_Discography.zip