The Kazoo Funk Orchestra

Infobox musical artist
Background = group_or_band
Name = The Kazoo Funk Orchestra

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Img_capt = The Kazoo Funk Orchestra performing at the "Queen Margaret Union", Glasgow, Scotland.
Years_active = 2005–present
Genre = Indie, Pop, Experimental rock
Origin = Glasgow, Scotland
Label = Unsigned / Planet Groucho Records
URL = [http://kazoofunkorchestra.com www.kazoofunkorchestra.com]
Current_members = Little Beard, Big Beard, Mechanical Monkey, Smalls, Herbal Gerbil, Boyce, Mr Bruff, The Boy Blunder, El Baterista, Part-Time Dave, Glowstick Girl, Mia Funkyslice, Glitter Girl, Country Bumpkin and Loop de loop

The Kazoo Funk Orchestra are a band from Glasgow, Scotland.

Biography

The Kazoo Funk Orchestra are an alternative indie pop collective from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2005 during a finger painting session attended by chief songwriters Little Beard and Big Beard. Taking inspiration from various artists and genres, they created a unique mesh of indie, pop, rock and hip-hop. Within a couple weeks, the duo formed the backbone of the band with some local musicians and had already begun recording tracks for the debut album Midnight Finger Painter.

Out of the blue, an impromptu set was performed at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut when Misty's Big Adventure pulled out at the last minute. The urgency of this set brought together two new members of the band, Grum and The Boy Blunder who joined baby with no eyesLittle Beard on stage for the Kazoo Funk Orchestra's first ever live performance. With no set songs, a guitar, a toy roll out keyboard mat and a couple kazoo's, the brightly clad trio took the audience through a 20 minute set of improvised music to a bewildered audience.

As the recording of Midnight Finger Painter continued the size of the band grew with various musicians appearing at sessions including renowned scratch DJ Krash Slaughta. Once the album was nearing completion, members of the band facilitated finger painting sessions at local music venues where anyone in attendance could join in and create a unique finger painting, which would be given away with the first 500 copies of the album. In May 2006, Midnight Finger Painter was released online and in selected record shops under the band's own label Planet Groucho Records.

With great feedback from the album and finger painting sessions, the collective decided to book a few shows with the new lineup, featuring Boyce, battery powered radioJim 'n' Tonic, Smalls, Mechanical Monkey, El Baterista and the aforementioned. They played the local student union and a few respected venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The response from these gigs was so good, bookings started coming in for more shows.

Late in 2006, Krash Slaughta and Jim 'n' Tonic left the band to work on their own material. This was around the same time that Little Beard and Smalls relocated to Toronto, Canada in search of melody. So the collective decided that it best use this gap to do some more recording and started work on Adventures In Fuzzy Felt Land a 13 track E.P. featuring a more laid back side to the collective. The majority of the record was recorded by passing audio files back and forth over the internet, sometimes taking only 20 mins each to come up with new parts for a track. The E.P. was released online and in selected record shops, January 2007.

As the summer of 2007 approached, the Kazoo Funk Orchestra booked up their first full UK tour featuring a couple festival dates and took their show on the road with the addition of new scratch DJ, Mr Bruff. In an explosion of balloons and confetti, they turned each gig into a party, inviting the crowd to join in on the fun. And with standing room only outside the Solus tent at the Wickerman Festival, the collective secured the closing slot for Wickerman 2008.

During the winter months of 2007-2008, work began on the Kazoo Funk Orchestra's second full length album, This Album is Self Titled. The sessions were recorded cross atlantic, in Scotland, Canada and online between the two countries, using the band's own studios and a variety of instruments. With an ear quenching 50 tracks, This Album is Self Titled, makes use of every available lazer groove on the CD. The album is set for release on the 26th July, where the band propose to launch copies of the album attached to helium balloons into the crowd at the Wickerman Festival.

Along with the new album, 2008 saw the departure of Grum and the arrival of Herbal Gerbal, Part-Time Dave and the Kazoo Funk Dancers. Creme Skateboards used Baby You've No Eyes, Lizards on the Back Porch and Roasted Underbelly on their skate promo video Trailer Trash taking the Kazoo Funk Orchestra's sound to a new audience. Bloc Sonic released a compilation entitled, Kills 99.9% of Bacterium Poppus Radiolus!, featuring The Second Slice and Oddio Kids released Silly Songs, a compilation of silly songs for kids, featuring The Jagables. The Kazoo Funk Orchestra also received a nomination for the Indy Awards.

In addition to playing various shows in Scotland this summer, The Kazoo Funk Orchestra will make their debut appearance on BBC Rapal in September and will be collaborating with Creme Skateboards on a range of skateboard designs.

Achievements

* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra were nominated for a 2008 Indy Award.
* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra performed at the Connect Music Festival 2007 which boasted a line up featuring Beastie Boys, Björk, Modest Mouse, Primal Scream, Polyphonic Spree, Hot Chip, The Aliens and Super Furry Animals.
* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra headlined the Solus tent at the Wickerman Festival 2007 alongside The Proclaimers, Fun Lovin Criminals, The Orb, Hayseed Dixie and The Yardbirds.
* CREME Skateboards used The Kazoo Funk Orchestra's tracks in their promo skate video Trailer Trash.
* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra were featured on the Your Sound compilation album 'Best of Term One' which also featured acts such as We Are The Physics and The Dykeenies.
* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra were interviewed as part of Greek TV show Art Uber Alles.
* The Kazoo Funk Orchestra have received radio airplay on XFM Scotland and BBC Radio.

See External Links for newspaper articles and video clips.

Discography

*Midnight Finger Painter (2006)
*Santa's Dead (2006)
*Adventures in Fuzzy Felt Land (2007)
*This Album is Self Titled (20008)

Members

Current members

* Little Beard
* Big Beard
* Mechanical Monkey
* Herbal Gerbil
* Smalls
* The Boy Blunder
* El Baterista
* Boyce
* Mr Bruff
* Part-Time Dave
* Glowstick Girl
* Mia Funkyslice
* Glitter Girl
* Country Bumpkin
* Loop de Loop

Past members

* Grum
* Krash Slaughta (II Tone Committee, All Time High, Monkey Mafia)
* Jim 'N' Tonic
* T-Bone (aka Nunny Boy of All Time High)

Gig History

* 29/11/07 The GRV - Edinburgh, Scotland
* 26/11/07 Queen Margaret Union - Glasgow, Scotland
* 02/09/07 Connect Music Festival - Inveraray Castle, Scotland
* 06/08/07 The Bongo Club Edinburgh, Scotland
* 04/08/07 The Kelburn Garden Party - Fairlie, Scotland
* 29/07/07 The 13th Note - Glasgow, Scotland
* 28/07/07 Firebug - Leicester, England
* 27/07/07 Kings Head - Chepstow, Wales
* 26/07/07 Mr Wolf's Noodle Bar - Bristol, England
* 25/07/07 Dublin Castle - London, England
* 23/07/07 The Harley - Sheffield, England
* 20/07/07 Wickerman Festival - Dundrennan, Scotland
* 28/06/06 King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow, Scotland
* 02/06/06 Nektar Bar - Edinburgh, Scotland
* 25/05/06 Paisley Student Union - Paisley, Scotland
* 19/12/05 King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow, Scotland

External links

* [http://www.kazoofunkorchestra.com The Kazoo Funk Orchestra] Official Website
* [http://www.myspace.com/bigbeardlittlebeard The Kazoo Funk Orchestra] MySpace Profile
* [http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/timesout/display.var.1865976.0.new_band_spotlight_the_kazoo_funk_orchestra.php Band Spotlight Article] in the Evening Times
* [http://www.skiddle.com/music/articles/the-wickerman-festival-2007-review--_270707.php Live Review] from Wickerman Festival 2007
* [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/music/music-reviews/2008/03/07/sound-check-demos-and-unsigned-bands-march-7th-86908-20342742 Album Review (Midnight Finger Painter)] in the Daily Record
* [http://www.gotcreme.com/trailertrash/ Trailer Trash] CREME Skateboards promo video featuring The Kazoo Funk Orchestra