Lakeport >> About five years ago, Larry Thompson created The Funky Dozen, a full-fledged band with singers, percussion, a keyboardist, guitarists and a horn section, Thompson put the group together as a way to play some music with his son, a 14-year-old saxophone player. A year after its inception, Thompson’s son left the group, but The Funky Dozen lived on thanks to a large following gathered along the way.
The band will be performing a special Christmas show at the Soper Reese this Friday.
In the beginning, Thompson and Derek Soderquist, a talented bass player, collaborated to put together the band. “I knew Derek and he was a great bass player. At the time we couldn’t find a good drummer so Derek moved to drums and we found a bass player,” said Thompson. “We looked around and found a keyboardist and we just started putting it together and auditioning people and trying to find the right fit locally.”
What they’ve ended up with is an entertaining group full of talented musicians. “We hand picked some of the finest musicians that we could find around here,” said Thompson.
Today the group is comprised of three founding members, Thompson on guitar, bassist Soderquist and Monte Brill on keyboards. Other core members include lead vocalist Shelly Mascari, Garry Miller on the trumpet, baritone Nick Biondo, vocalists Steve Pulido and Roseanne Wetzel, Larry Platz on guitar and drummer Andre Williams, who is a recent addition to the group after the death of a long time drummer.
However, the line up isn’t strict and often undergoes minor changes when needed. The group will pull horn players from the area for various shows. “Different members from the Lake County Symphony and the Ukiah Symphony rotate through on different parts of our horns section when we need subs,” explained Thompson.
At their high-energy events, The Funky Dozen performs both covers and originals. “We have some originals and we’re working on more,” Thompson said.
As the band’s name suggests, the group is inspired by and performs covers of 70s disco funk artists. Among their influences include Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and James Brown. “The music makes you wanna dance and has a really unmistakeable groove,” said Thompson.
The song-writing process is a collaborative one, with all members of the group contributing. “There’s been contributions from our keyboardist. There’s been contributions from our bass player. And then our vocalist, Shelly Mascari, has put vocals down over the top of our music,” explained Thompson. “It’s been a group effort though.”
But when it comes to covers, Thompson makes most of the decisions, due to his experience behind the turntable. “I’m a local mobile DJ and I’ve been DJ-ing for years. And I’ve picked out most of our cover songs for their dance-ability .. .and how the audience reacts to them.” Thompson’s experience ensures that there is never a dull moment at any of The Funky Dozen’s performances.
The group performs all over Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, at wineries, concert series, corporate parties and weddings. They perform for an excited crowd at the Soper Reese a few times a year. For the last two years they’ve sung and strummed their way though the Lakeport Concert Series and the Hidden Valley Lake Concert on the Greens.
“One of our proud moments is, we just played for the Lake County Wine Alliance Auction and we helped raise almost 100,000 dollars for them,” said Thompson.
At the Soper Reese, audience members are in for a treat for both their feet and ears. “Our shows are high energy dance music … very, very entertaining,” assured Thompson. “Someone just wrote about us on Facebook, saying ‘wildly entertaining band.’”
The Funky Dozen played a party at the Thurston Auto Plaza in Ukiah not too long ago and the reaction was very positive. Thompson said that people who didn’t even like to dance stayed late just because they enjoyed watching the band in their element.
“I love the energy that the band and the audience exchange,” said Thompson.
Thompson attributes their successful performances to the chemistry of the band. He says that the group enjoys rehearsing together just as much as live shows. “We have almost as much fun together, just the band, because we have a really super good chemistry,” he said. “And when we play for an audience that chemistry shows and it’s fun for the audience.”
Anyone planning on seeing The Funky Dozen on Friday should be prepared to get up and moving. “Bring your dancing shoes!” advised Thompson.
The Funky Dozen will be performing at the Soper Reese Friday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are on sale at soperreesetheatre.com. They can be purchased at the Soper Reese box office this Friday from 10:30am-5:30pm or The Travel Center in Lakeport through Friday, 9:30am-4:30pm.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
