By Malcolm Kennedy Bump Kitchen are one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier funk/R&B outfits and one listen to 2009’s
Who Ordered The Waffle? will quickly inform you why. Tony Harper’s soulful vocals, Mark Bittler’s keyboards, the deep rhythm groove of Everett James on drums and Joe Bevens on bass along with the funky guitars of Jho Blenis and David Broyles make a powerful unit that fills the dance floors from Vancouver, Canada to Eugene, Spokane to Seattle and beyond.
The infectious funk groove of “
Don’t Doubt” had me dancing in my seat and the mellow “Back In The Day,” which brings to mind such indelible R&B classics as “That’s The Way Of The World” and “All Day Music,” had me singing along. Yes, I am saying that Bump Kitchen has that killer funky sound of yesteryear, which is not to say they are mired in the past. It’s just that they have a real knack for putting the essence of a classic sound into the heart of their music. The jazzy keyboard driven instrumental “4th Monkey” has a percolating pulse which is offset by the stinging lead guitar solo. “Mona Lisa” has a rocking edginess highlighted by the blistering lead guitar licks throughout.
Bump Kitchen shows their collective humorous sides with the title track a true life story for which they thank Club Crow in the credits for asking the question,
who ordered the waffle? That of course was Everett. This is just flat out a fun band and their music is fun to listen too. Go ahead and order up your own waffle today from Bump Kitchen.
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