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1st Annual WMNF GrooveFest

Sunday Aug 30 3:00PM Add to Calendar
Skipper's Smokehouse [map]

This first Annual WMNF GrooveFest is gonna be a jam band spectacular!

Advanced sales are now closed ~ $15 Tickets will be available at the door

These fabulous bands will appear:

COPE
BURNIN SMYRNANS
EARTH BOMB MARS
MIDDLE RHYTHM SESSION
SOULSHINE
SHAK NASTI

SHAK NASTI
Florida's own eclectic, jazz, and funk groove ensemble, Shak Nasti, provides an escape from your every day, run of the mill band with pop-infused melodies that co-exist with experimental interludes of pure funk delight. In the world of Shak, infectious grooves and pulsating rhythmic flow dare you to remain seated.

An evening with the powerhouse that is Shak Nasti is truly a unique musical experience. The musicians skillfully navigate through a gamut of musical styles leaving the listener electrified and wondering if there's anything this band can't play.

What sets Shak Nasti apart from many bands is the variety of sounds and styles coming from the same group of people. There's the monstrous thumposaurus bass funk of Matt Lapham, the jazzy afro beat sense of Rion Smith ( drummer for Grammy nominated Sam Rivers' RivBea Orchestra), all tied together by Tim Turner's skillfully crafted compositions and soulful guitar playing. The Shak has a kettle corn effect...a dirty, Nasti rhythm section on the bottom and an ethereal, melodic sense on top. The more you listen, the more you hear. Through a bouillabaisse of influence comes a sound all of its own... the sound of SHAK NASTI. The band has shared the stage with such acts as George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, Col. Bruce and the Codetalkers, The Fiji Mariners, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Spam All Stars, Moonshin Still, Pnuma Trio, Brothers Past, and a host of other regional acts as well as being a Florida music festival favorite.

MIDDLE RHYTHM SESSION

In three short years, Middle Rhythm Session has played in 9 states(NY, NH, NC, GA, OK, LA, TX, MO, CO) and all over the state of Florida to decent crowds and excellent reviews. The Florida Chapter of the 2005 Florida Grammy's acknowledged the band as a semi-finalist. Yamaha Commercial Audio/Nexo selected Middle Rhythm Session as its band to demo this years newest speakers on the largest portable soundstage in the world for the ET-Live/ LDI conference in Orlando, Nov. '05. Their song, "Ragamuffin," has been downloaded close to 700,000 times in the calendar year of '05 and their website has been hit 3,000,000 times and... and to think it all started from a napkin in a wine bar in Minneapolis, spring of 2000. Jake Hunter was working as a recording engineer/producer in the twin cities when he was convinced by a close friend to start a band and perform again. They got to talking and came up with the essentials to what is now Middle Rhythm Session. Jake moved to Florida ("we all decided to be warm if poor...") and bought a sizeable piece of property to build a state of the art recording and rehearsal studio (to be used as a venue as well) called Crooked Tree (70 acres; 5000 sq/ft). The rest of the guys moved down in 2002-2003 and their first gig was April 26th , 2003. Since then the band has worked hard to refine their songs and show adding the latest in sound with Bose PA System and a level one endorsement from Audix Microphones. They have played close to 300 shows in the last 3 years and are on track for playing 150 shows in '06. With already having met with the likes of Infinity Broadcasting, MTV, and Atlantic Records who knows what is in store for the boys in '06... Besides working harder on their roots style fusion, incorporating a light show is certainly in the near future. Hear what others have to say in Tampa Bay Illustrated, Tampa Bay Times, Live New Orleans.com, TampaGold.com, and JamBase to name a few.

EARTH BOMBS MARS

Earth Bombs Mars (aka EBM) combines elements of America's roots music genres (rock, jazz, psychedelic, country/bluegrass) to conjure its unique improv-Americana sound. This adventuresome quartet with a penchant for improvisation truly shines in the live context. Rich Whiteley's distinctive voice brings life to his rootsy/ethereal compositions, morphing from plaintive and haunting to swaggering throughout the course of a show. His rhythm guitar work provides textural interplay for lead guitarist John Zias. A soulful, articulate improviser, Zias caught the attention of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh in 2000, who invited the guitarist to San Francisco to rehearse for a possible future collaboration. EBM's mercurial rhythm section features in-demand bassist TJ Glowacki (SW Florida Symphony, Webbed Feet, Tiny Tim), who brings considerable classical and jazz expertise and smoothly shifts the harmonic floor, and drummer/vocalist Dan DeGregory, a musical chameleon whose slinky cymbal work and supple grooves have supported the likes of the late bluesman Rock Bottom, world-beat percussionist Jim Donovan, and rock-n-roll icon Bo Diddley. 2007's CD release "Earth Bombs Mars" was engineered by Zen Recording's Steve Connelly who also lends his pedal steel prowess to the release.

BURNIN SMYRNANS

Logging in over 40 festival performances in the past 3 years including Langerado, 10kLF, Wakarusa and Bear Creek, The Burnin Smyrnans strive to gain national recognition at all corners of the globe. The music is "Diverse, Festive and Organic". The Burnin Smyrnans began in 2002, when multi-instrumentalists Jeff White and Jason Wigley joined forces. They started out both playing acoustic guitars for friends at parties, they threw some hand drums in the mix and found instant chemistry. Jeff had already written a bunch of songs that Jason spiced up with his tasty riffs. They wrote new material and played with various rhythm sections for about a year or two, then Jeff switched to Bass in Late 03 and they did several mini tours from Florida to the Carolinas. When their Drummer Chris Reeves returned to college In early 2005, they recruited Anthony Diaz, former drummer of "Octopus Friendly" and everything seemed to start falling into place. After their latest release, "Travelalong", the Burnin' Smyrnans have been touring constantly to establish their grassroots following. They have been adding members along the way and now have a tight five piece crew, featuring Jason Rogers with his soul lifting guitar solos and Eric Christian on his super-smooth sax and Back-up vocal Harmonies. They have performed over 400 shows with this lineup, so come experience their Undeniable Vibes and Musical explosion live and see what all the hype is about.

COPE

COPE Started as a rock band in the mid 90's. Then, brothers Kenny and Dennis Stadelman, and cousin Roger Pinkerton, had already been playing together for ten years. Growing up in a musical family in northeast Ohio, they all learned about music at an early age. In the early 2000's, they took a different approach towards the music, focusing more on melody and harmony (which they learned from years of listening to the Beatles), and less on riffs and speed. In 2004, COPE met up with drummer Dave Gerulat, who was playing with the local band Boon. After filling in a couple of times there was an obvious chemistry and it was only a matter of time before Dave was a permanent fixture. Hailing from Richmond Virginia, Gerulat had lived a musical life of his own. Not only playing with several prominent bands in the area, but also studying music in school, watching players like Stuart Copeland, Dennis Chambers, and fellow Virginia drummer Carter Beauford, and playing drum line to learn the chops he wows the audiences with today!

Recently, founding member Roger Pinkerton left the band. They tried to go on as a three piece, however, the complementing melody and leads of Pinkerton were missing. Juan Montero had already been playing the Tampa, St Pete scene for a decade with bands such as Grin, Positivity, and Buffalo Strange, and had sat in with Cope on several occassions on sax and keyboards (as well as sitting in with legends such as George Clinton and P funk, up and coming bands like Big Sam's Funky Nation and more.) So when he learned of the tonal void left in Cope... he jumped on it! and the current sound of COPE was born. The live show is incredible and not to be missed!

Here's a great article that provides an in-depth look at the band and their sound.

and a video of Middle Rhythm Session playing live on WMNF in June.

object width="560" height="340"> Tickets are $10 advanced & $15 at the door...and are not yet at our outlets