Damon Foreman in Blue Funk can be best described as high energy Rhythm and Blues Band with Rock and Jazz influences. Most of the material that Blue Funk performs is original with some treatments of cover tunes. The artist's that this band are most influenced by are Prince, Hendrix, Santana and George Benson. Blue Funk is comprised of the following members.. Damon Foreman- Guitarist, Lead Vocalist, Band Leader- Damon has played guitar since the age of 8. He studied music at Rutgers University and throughout his career has played with many notables including Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath,Frank Foster and Millie Jackson. His influences include Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana,Wes Montgomery and George Benson. Ro Cube- Keyboards and Vocals- Ro has playing piano from the age of 4. He has an extensive classical background which accounts for his mastery of the instrument. Ro also plays guitar and has toured with the Rock Group Mannequin, Phil Flowers and Tough Act to Follow and many others. His influences included Prince, Chopin, and Bernie Worrell from the Parliament. Chuck Ferrell- Drums – Percussion- Chuck was born with a drumstick in his hand and has been beating on things ever since. He studied Music at VCU where he met and hung out with many members of the Dave Matthews Band. His performances include a very extensive list of notables including Melba Moore and Mary Wilson of the Supremes Martina Kearns- Dancer- Vocalist- Martina brings a fresh sound to Blue Funk with her roots in Hip Hop and Rand B. She is also our choreographer and helps Blue Funk to look fresh and funky. Michelle Woodward- Dancer-Vocalist- Shelly brings a new cutting edge contemporary sound to Blue Funk. She also has great dancing skills. Scott Paddock: Saxophones: Scott is a graduate of Towsen State University. He is a very insiteful and smooth instrumentalist as well as clinician. Scott is a major asset to Blue Funk Song Inspirations: 1. Love So Real- I felt a funky kind of Maxwellish groove and started playing an A minor 9 on my guitar. I had just started a new relationship at the time and was thinking about love as uniting force.” Love so Real” asks, if you have ever had the boundless ecstasy of falling in love. The feeling is amazing, as we all know and this song talks about having a real love. A love “SO Real” 2. The Way Home- This song was written while traveling. I had been out gigging for a few months and I was really missing my honey, this day in particular. So I pulled out my cell phone, and it said, “roam” and I made a call that was way too expensive but I told my baby I was on my way home. This song has a bit of an African beat with a rock feel, acoustic guitar feel. 3. All I Need- This song is a straight up love song, ballad in the spirit of the Isley brothers. This song was inspired by a really wonderful relationship that I am in. The song says “ All I need is you,babe I was lonely before but now it is all good. You helped me find myself. This song features the Saxophone of Scott Paddock and adds a real sexy feel to it 4. To Hold You- This song was inspired when I was over touring in England. I saw so many happy couples at the time, you know,holding hands talking with each other and happy to be together. I did not have this at the time so I put a message out to the universe to an imaginary lover, “to hold you, to love you to have you in my arms”. This was a calling out, looking for the intense love that I so wanted to experience but never got to until now. This stripped down tune featuring voice and piano. 5. To Love You: This tune is a folk influenced song with Jazz overtones. Another love song however more illustrative than some of the other tunes. This song has rock midtempo ballad feel. This song sings to the listener “ And the world goes round and round, and the sky never hits the ground, and as long as there is air, I will be there to love you”. This one has a little bit of a calypso feel. 6. Maria Elena- This song was written for Maria Elena. This one has a Santana feel featuring nylon string acoustic guitar along with some smooth lead guitar sounds. This song has been rewritten about 5 times, but I am happy the final version. I hope that you like it too. The vocalist sings furtively “Maria Elena, like an Angel, She comes to me, Maria Elena, like the sunshine, like a flower”. This song has a funk base with Latin overtones on top to make a delectable musical cuisine. 7. Don't Believe the Hype: This tune screams “ Don't Believe the Hype” that the television and radio spew out on a daily basis. We have to watch what we listen to as the establishment controls commercial radio here in the states as well as television. Sometimes I feel that we are willing participants in the programming of the mind to do what those in control want us to do instead of doing what is right. The feel on this song is James Brown in nature, Old School Funk with a message that says “ Don't believe everything you hear, look behind the story and get more information before forming an opinion” 8. Take my Time: This is the ultimate chill song. It is a very good song to put on while love making and relaxing. Imagine yourself on a beach (the waves in the background help), just feeling the enjoyment of the sun on your body as you do nothing more than look up the sky and clouds. This one features guitar and vocals. 9. What You Need: The world seems to be on a precarious precipice these days. I remember watching CNN and seeing the Middle East non-stop turmoil. This song is saying, give peace a chance. Peace is better that war, what in the world are we fighting for? An angel is speaking to the vocalist on this one. “ She spreads her wings and said, Try this way instead, LOVE, is All you need” This song features an easy rock type sound with acoustic and electric guitar, this one has conga and bongo percussion with various other percussion instrumentation. 10. Everyday: This song just came out of me. I live the funk lifestyle and tunes like this just manifest. This song is old School, George Clintonized Funk with Prince flair. This one says” Everyday in every way I want to make things better, Oh yes I do” This tune will get your head bobbing and fingers snapping. The verse breaks into a bit of a funky reggae feel, as it tells a story of helping folks on the street, the chorus then breaks out with a hard funk, Every Day, I'm gonna make it better. Just an expression of how I love folks endlessly. 11. Free: I was inspired to write this one when I became free in my mind. I made a personal decision to no longer be involved in any activity or relationship that does not feed my soul. I will no longer stand for anything that compromises my freedoms including corrupt politicians and a society that robs from the poor to give to the rich. The feel is rock with a house feel and chorus says “I'm Free, At Last I'm Free to Be, What I Want To BE” 12. Bad For Ya; This song has a double meaning. I wrote this one in a club that I play in a lot. I was imaging Playing and seeing someone in the audience that was devastatingly beautiful. She sitting all alone and naturally I wanted to go talk to her. She on the other hand was a woman with a wild side that had no limits, nothing but trouble, but like a rose she had thorns. She was so hot that I felt my heart drawn to her. I had it bad for her. But at the same time she was bad for me and anyone else. This one rocks hard, has an early Hendrix/Led Zeppelin rock. Lots of guitar solo work and interesting composition. 13. Alright: The events of September 11,2001 inspired the writing of this song. This song says that no matter how much we must endure, that in the end everything will be alright if we keep our attitude upbeat, spiritual and strong. If we don't give in to hopelessness and fear and dependence on governmental powers we will be alright. This song came to me while playing a gig at Basin Street in Northern Virginia. I remember being outside, playing solo and I just started playing these chords. This song has a Bruce Hornsby kind of feel, with a heavier guitar presence. The song has some harmonic changes that make this song similar to a Steely Dan number. This song was written with much heart an is dedicated to those who lost their lives at the Pentagon and Twin Towers. 14. Chuckies Blues: This song was written by our drummer, Chuck Ferrell. This one is real funky with a flavor of “Green Onions” Get in the time machine and head on back to the sixties. This is the only instrumental tune on the album except in the chorus where the chant “Chuckies Blues “ can be heard. 15. Day By Day: How to live life, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. I was given this idea by a friend of mine in Denmark, Lotte Aagard. We were talking about the illusion of time and how time is perceived to be so important that we allow it to control us. However the reverse should be true. We are under the impression that in this life it is our lot to be controlled however we in turn should be the controllers of our own collective worlds as we are the creators of all that we live. This song has a rock feel with a bit of a George Michael feel. Life is what we make it, and we do make it. If we are not happy with anything, we have the ability to change it. Blue Funk Experience Bio www.damonforeman.com www.mp3.com/dfp damonforeman@hotmail.com 443-956-9581