Track By Track: Steez – Creepfunk Crusade

This song is a classic example of how many Steez songs are formulated, starting with a very simple groove and built slowly piece by piece with the musicians each adding their own unique interpretation through their instrument and often solidified through live experimentation. This song also resurrects many of the old funk sounds created by the likes of Bootsy Collins, which is one reason we had so much fun in the studio on the album. It is great for using finicky old vintage pedals like the Akai deep impact. Matt Williams’ use of the Moog Voyager is also featured in this track which consistently adds color and cohesiveness throughout the album.

Wrappin It Up

One of the most eclectic sounding songs on the album, this one immediately calls on the influence of Bob James, one of keyboardist Matt Williams’ favorite artists and really pulls people together with happy funk synth chords. Ironically, this part of the song was actually written by Matt Williams while recording this part and has since been added to the live shows. Steez songs are always a work in progress and the door is always open for improvement and improvisation.

Although, it’s often considered a cardinal sin for a musician in a band with a small budget to go into the studio without their parts completely written, it’s that loose perspective that paid off in this particular song. The opening part turns into almost a surf-rock bridge featuring Steve Neary’s guitar tone calling on the likes of Dick Dale. Although almost chaotic, the song is brought back down into the funk – another common theme in Steez songs. Our songs are not necessarily confined to musical theory “rules” and we can usually find ways to mold non-traditional parts into something cohesive and catchy.

Rufio

This is one of those songs that fans tend to love and the band never really understands why it is a fan favorite. It can be argued that this song is somewhat neglected when played live, but that also probably adds to the fans’ desire to hear it and makes for a nice little treat. This song is definitely a change of pace track, opening with Steve Neary getting wild with an interesting studio guitar opening and breaking into a Latin vibe. This song kind of epitomizes the depth of the album.

For a song that is very simple in structure, it contains some of the most intricate studio work that probably will go un-noticed by the average listener. The song features multiple tracks from almost every instrument which much like the rest of the album, made mixing quite challenging. The lyrics to Rufio are again a playful spin of pop culture and although humorous, have a truly whimsical feel. There are over 20 vocal tracks alone on the end part which features the likes of Kelly Maxwell. Though some people might not understand the contradiction between the playful lyrics and the somewhat serious vibe/melody of the song, its things like this that Steez enjoys… keeping the audience off guard and maintaining a fun/carefree musical experience.

This track ends with four sax tracks laid together in harmony by Andrej Benkowski, which again accentuates the detail oriented nature of the disc. These tracks fit in well in the mix during the end part, but Chris Sell (bass, me) and Andrew LaValley (producer) thought the lick was so strong that it would be a good way to take out the song and thus utilized modern recording technology and added that to the end of the song. This song also gets Latin flavor from percussionist john doing’s use of the castanets.

Scoring Position

This song perhaps more than any other, really found its identity in the studio. The structure and the majority of the song is very similar to the live version, but subtle changes that developed through working with producer LaValley really brought out qualities that make this song a solid studio track. This song also features a 3rd element that is a consistent theme of Steez songs and more so Steez jams, that improvisation and live show dynamics create a great atmosphere for experimenting. Often Neary, Benkowski, and Williams use their ears to either trade-off mirroring licks, or come together with solo type harmonies together. Both of which are featured on this track. Often these licks are worked out and perfected live and being able to have that experience with these songs has allowed Steez to be able create these extremely dense/polished tracks.

Saz >

These songs are almost always played together live, much like the predictable Scarlet > Fire or Mikes > Weekapaug, but as these songs have been in our rotation for years, almost every combination of the songs/segues have been thought of and executed (sometimes not very well, ha). It’s easy to assume that with a older songs that have been played hundreds of times, that it’d be cake to go into the studio and just lay down what you do live, but that is not the case with this triage. Between the three songs there are over 100 tracks! And the fact that this song dates back so far, only lent itself to a more creative atmosphere. It got so dense at one point that LaValley had to find creative and innovative ways of mixing the album as even with top of the line recording software and computers.

Regardless, Saz, which was originally named, “Don’t Eat at the Saz” was a restaurant in Madison. When I first moved to Madison I asked my friend who lived in Madison for advice… his only advice, “whatever you do, don’t eat at the Saz.”

Most instrumental songs from jammy bands tend to have serious titles that add to the mystery of the song, and somewhat lead listeners into a certain direction. For us, honestly, we just needed something to call the song, instead of, let’s play that one with the half-step climb, yada yada… the song speaks for itself and although the name really has no significance, does it really matter?

Boss Theme >

Again, instrumental song with no name… I think someone mentioned at practice shortly after jamming what would end up being Boss Theme, that it reminded them of a video game when you get to the end guy, or the boss (specifically the Ninja Turtles video game). Anyway, this song displayed the creative harmonies that the likes of Neary, Williams, and Benkowski can create, giving it a very powerful melody.

Duderfunk

This song started as a jam off of a simple bass riff which opens the door for drummer Rob Bessert to show off his tremendous ability to create space and pockets, making for an incredible funky track. Again, this is a track where Matt Williams loose mentality spawned creativity. By throwing his keyboard through a Mini-Marshall portable amp that probably has a 3 inch speaker and LaValley’s meticulous attention to and excitement about detail, the mini-amp was mic’d and thus created the hook that accentuates the pockets. Percussionist John Doing also played off of drummer Rob Bessert’s beats in a very tasteful and unselfish way. Funk tunes such as this one that display really how powerful and creative and unselfish Steve Neary’s rhythm guitar playing can be. It just goes to show you that funky rhythm guitar is under-appreciated.

TKO >

Has its roots in the earliest days of Steez and calls on the influences of former drummer, Drew Brzezinski. As Drew decided to choose a different career path and move to San Diego, the band continued forward and still values the musically creativity spawned by good friend Brzezinski. The song’s unique three part structure lends itself to a become sort of an epic tale, with part one’s lyrics explaining a personal bout of Neary’s over a woman that ended in violence, which you feel escalate in part two with the funk energy and whispery vocals from Sell. Finally, that leads into the 3rd part and is almost the resolution or the dark reflection after an event of this magnitude… Neary’s multiple guitars along with Williams’ synth work make the end part of TKO a perfect addition of creep to the funk.

Electric Mr. Boston

Electric Mr. Boston is a funk song that really features Matterhorn’s ability to anticipate and hear harmonies before they are created. As you hear more and more of these synth tracks come in and weave on top of one another, you can’t help but admire the way he drew this up in his head and fully taking advantage of the studio process. His use of an electric guitar sound via his keyboard make for a real ’80s synth pop coupled with a ’70s funk rhythm gives this track uniqueness. This song intermingles eclectic changes back and forth with the overarching funk groove giving it its unique flavor to standard funk music. Benkowski also takes full advantage of the studio in the middle major section by overdubbing alto and tenor sax to really create a completely different vibe to the song before bringing it back to funk.

Hot N’ Sweaty

This is one of the few Steez songs that actually started from an idea lyrically. Sell and Neri were watching TV one day, kickin’ it if you will, when a line from the show caught the attention of them both… I believe it was something like, “wow, ________(insert name) you look really hot! Yeah, really sweaty…” It was a funny moment and as the two sat around and brainstormed ways to rhyme phrases with sweaty, the idea of the song came together as one that pokes fun of the grungy side of the tour scene.

The song is not meant to be offensive to anyone, I think anyone who has been to a music festival or some kind has achieved wookie status, so we’ve all been there, but a lot of humor within a group of friends, especially guys, is immature and at the expense of others and why this song relates to our generation. Anyway, its Kenny Leiser’s effortless violin playing that really brings this track some professionalism and adds some variety to the album.

So I Guess I’ll C Ya Part I >

This is the classic break up song… about a guy and girl who seemed like a great fit but the timing was just not right and things just didn’t work out. Unless you are one-for-one and married your high school sweetheart you can probably relate to this situation in one way or another, timing is everything and something you can’t control, which is the influence in the dark vibe of part I. It has a real “if only” type feel and uncertainty about the unknown. It’s no doubt that Kenny Leiser’s layering of fiddle parts makes this song one of the bands personal favorite, while adding a little sensitivity through the weepiness of the violins. Williams’ soothing synths really add color and his utilization of the mini-marshal amp gives the build that gritty distorted texture that really fits the vibe of the song.

So I Guess I’ll C Ya Part II

CYA II begins with a beautifully written change by Neary that almost makes one feel as if a storm has been lifted… cheesy but true, as it fits with the story, life goes on and like it or not you better make the best of it. The house beat and faster tempo really comes through and shows off drummer Rob Bessert’s ability to play virtually any style of music. This song which really shows off the beauty and creativity of Neri’s lyrics really finishes the story in a conversation with guest vocalist Kelly Maxwell. The intention was to have the verse go back and forth like a conversation to give context to the listener. Again, utilizing the ability to bring in additional artists in the studio and expanding on the ideas that originally spawned these works.

In the end these 12 songs summarize the early works of Steez and for a band the size of Steez that has taken a completely grass roots approach, the overarching theme from the band was to make this album as good as possible because realistically it might be our only opportunity to do this. We’ve been lucky enough to have stuck together this long.

With as many good musicians and creative people as there are just in our town of Madison, it’s really the friendship we’ve formed that has allowed us to stay together and let our creativity grow. We’ve probably seen 100 bands start and end in the 5 years that at least the three of us, (Neri, Sell, Williams) have been together and its always humbling to realize that we have at least gotten this far on our own merit and our support from friends/family/fans which in our eyes is a great accomplishment. Music may not be the path for all of us, and I don’t think that anyone can argue that it’s an easy field to make a living in, but we all love music, dream that it could be a career, and regardless it will always be a big part of our lives.

Being able to put an album back out into the world when so many albums have influenced my life, either on a grand scope or even influence me daily or even hourly basis, it’s a great feeling. Not everyone may like this disc, and it definitely isn’t perfect but that is not the point of this disc. The point of this is to just try to do something different something creative, expend all possible resources that the studio environment offers and hopefully give music fans hope that there can be music coming out that is fresh, danceable, and transcends the boundaries of genres. At this point, this is the best we could do, and as cheese-dick as it sounds, its satisfying to know you laid it all out there and now, it is what it is and nothing can change that.

Thanks again, to everyone who has supported us regardless of whatever questionable decisions we’ve made… and thanks to all those who give us a chance and listen to our album.

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