Galactic is an American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a sextet of: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, Hammond organist Rich Vogel, Theryl DeClouet on vocals, and later adding saxophonist Ben Ellman. The group was started when Raines and Mercurio, childhood friends from affluent

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place ( Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...

, moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Tulane and Loyola Universities, became enamored of the local funk scene, populated by such legendary acts as The Meters and

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpor ...

and inspired by local legends such as Professor Longhair. There they teamed with noted New Orleans drummer Stanton Moore, saxophonist/harmonica (now producer) Ben Ellman, Rich Vogel, and Theryl de Clouet. In 2004, the band parted ways with vocalist DeClouet, and continued as an instrumental group until 2007 when they released ''From the Corner to the Block'' featuring rappers ranging from

Juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

Chali 2na Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971), better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone and quick delivery rapping style. Personal life Early l ...

Boots Riley Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971), is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial ...

, and

Lyrics Born Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura (born September 2, 1972), better known by his stage name Lyrics Born (formerly Asia Born), is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker. Early life Shi ...

. They continue to tour with different vocalists: 2011 and 2012 with

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band ...

, 2011 through 2014 with

Corey Glover Corey Glover (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Living Colour and has toured as the vocalist for the funk band Galactic. As an actor, he played Francis in the 1986 war m ...

, 2014 with Maggie Koerner, from 2015 with Erica Falls. They have also toured with trombonist Corey Henry from 2009 through 2016 and trumpet player Shamarr Allen from 2016. They have been releasing albums consistently since 1996.

Musical style

The band has developed a unique sound as a result of their influences, including: rock, funk, brass band, blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, hip hop,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, and world music. Many of their songs include performances by other artists of various styles of music, like hip-hop artists

(of

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned politica ...

), Gift of Gab (of

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful p ...

) and

(of

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart ( Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic ( DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas ...

), to vocalists

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Dur ...

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

, David Shaw, Mystikal,

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

, and JJ Grey & Mofro. On the European version of From the Corner to the Block there are two tracks more than on the US version. One of those tracks ("Valley Of Pain") features the German rapper Dendemann.

Evolution

The band's sound has evolved from organic New Orleans funk to a more modern style, incorporating elements of hip hop, electronica, fusion, and jazz. This change has been largely characterized by the increased use of electronic effects on guitar, bass, saxophone, and drums. Drummer Stanton Moore uses phrase samplers to sample a rhythm which he can then play over, producing intricate and layered drum sounds. Ben Ellman, saxophonist and harmonica player, often distorts his instruments to the degree that they sound similar to an electric guitar. In 2007, the band began to produce their own albums (mainly Ben Ellman and Robert Mercurio). This opened them up to more studio experimentation and exploration resulting in their loop, edit and production heavy album ''Ya-Ka-May''.

Tipitina's

The band has long considered the legendary New Orleans music venue

Tipitina's Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977.New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

, and a yearly "sunrise set" on Lundi Gras (the day preceding

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "F ...

), appropriately playing until the sun rises on Mardi Gras day. In 2018, the members of the band made their association with the venue official, purchasing the venue from the previous owners, Mary and Roland Von Kurnatowski.

Live performances

The band is also noted for inviting guest musicians from New Orleans to perform onstage with them. These include: the Soul Rebels Brass Band,

The Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/ funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. ...

, Brian Seeger, Corey "Boe Money" Henry,

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then We ...

of The Meters,

and Skerik (a saxophone player who is actually based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, but is part of Stanton Moore's side project Garage A Trois). The band is often on tour, and have shared the stage with acts including

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist ...

, the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People * Allman (surna ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimm ...

Fusebox Funk Fusebox Funk was a funk/ hip hop group, formed in Jacksonville, Florida. Fusebox Funk played at clubs and festivals across the country from their debut in 2001 until late 2016. History Originally formed in 2001 and funded by ex-drummer Pete Boo ...

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...

, B.B. King,

Mike Doughty Michael Ross Doughty ( ; born June 10, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and author. He founded the band Soul Coughing in 1992, and as of ''The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns'' (2016), has released 18 studio albums, live albums, and E ...

(formerly of

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed ...

), Gift of Gab (of

, Jack Johnson, Gov't Mule, The Revivalists, The Record Company, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave,

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, and

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

. Galactic performed "I Got It (What You Need)" on

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lea ...

in 2007. They also performed "Back That Ass Up" and "Rodeo" as

's band on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2006. Galactic toured North America in 2012 with

and Soul Rebels Brass Band. On March 29, 2012 Galactic appeared with Soul Rebels Brass Band and

on Conan show on TBS . In 2015, they performed Summer Festivals in the US, Canada, and Japan with vocalist

. While on their 2016 tour, Galactic performed on marine themed call-in talkshow, FishCenter Live. They correctly guessed the coloration of a squirrelfish and won points for a zebra moray eel, Eel

Hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

. They will be headlining the 11th annual Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival in Martinsville, VA in May 2019.

Recent releases

''Ya-Ka-May'' was released on February 9, 2010 on ANTI-. The album includes guest performances by a range of New Orleans musicians. Long-established performers such as

Rebirth Brass Band The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1983 by Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, Kermit Ruffins,Skelly, RichardAllMusic Profile Retrieved 2013-02-9 and classmates from Joseph S. Clar ...

, Big Chief Bo Dollis of The Wild Magnolias,

and Walter "Wolfman" Washington are represented, along with younger performers in the traditional vein, such as

Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

and Corey Henry,

John Boutté John Boutté (born November 3, 1958) Boutté studied business at Xavier University of Louisiana where he was in ROTC. After he graduated, he was commissioned in the U.S. Army where he served for the next four years. When he returned, he start ...

, Josh Cohen and Ryan Scully of

Morning 40 Federation Morning 40 Federation is a rock band from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans which formed in 1998 and a took a six-year hiatus in 2008. The band cites as influences King Oliver, Tom Waits, and Jon Spencer. They have also recorded as The New Orleans ...

, and Glen David Andrews, and also Bounce artists Cheeky Blakk,

Big Freedia Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper and performer known for his work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popu ...

, Katey Red, and

Sissy Nobby Terrelle Gallo (known by his stage name, Sissy Nobby) is an American bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, ...

. Galactic released a live album in May 2011 titled ''The Other Side of Midnight: Live in New Orleans''.This album includes live versions of many songs on ''Ya-Ka-May''. On February 21, 2012 Galactic released a new studio album titled ''Carnivale Electricos'' which focused on the theme of Carnivale. They invited artists from New Orleans to flesh out the diversity of the town's music in a virtual Fat Tuesday strut across town: the battle chant of Mardi Gras Indian War Chief Juan Pardo and the Golden Comanches; the voice of Mystikal; and the 40-piece Kipp Renaissance High School marching band. For "Voyage Ton Flag" they sampled the late accordionist Clifton Chenier and carnival-rock number "Hey Na Na (Hey Na)" with David Shaw of New Orleans's Revivalists. Brazil is represented by samba poet Moyseis Marques on "O Coco da Galinha" and by Casa Samba, who retake the forro "Magalenha..." The LP has been described by the band as "a tour" through New Orleans' various styles of music. On July 17, 2015, Galactic released a new studio album titled ''Into the Deep''. It featured

, J.J. Grey, David Shaw,

Maggie Koerner Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

, and

. On February 7, 2020, Galactic released a new single titled "Float Up". The track features Anjelika Jelly Joseph.

Discography

* '' Coolin' Off'' ( Fog City, 1996) * ''

Crazyhorse Mongoose ''Crazyhorse Mongoose'' is the second studio album by the New Orleans, LA-based band Galactic. The album reached No. 24 on the ''Billboard'' Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. Critical reception The ''Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () ...

'' ( Capricorn, 1998) * ''

Late for the Future ''Late for the Future'' is the third studio album by the band Galactic, released in 2000. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard magazine, Billboard Billboard charts#Albums, Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard (magazin ...

'' (

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

, 2000) * '' We Love 'Em Tonight: Live at Tipitina's'' (

Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

, 2001) * ''

Vintage Reserve Vintage Reserve is a compilation album by the New Orleans, LA based band Galactic. It features tracks found on their three previous records, as well as two live, unreleased tracks. Track listing # "Welcome to New Orleans" – 0:14 # "Something ...

'' (Volcano, 2003) * '' Ruckus'' (

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

, 2003) * '' From the Corner to the Block'' (2007) * '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

, 2007) Performing "Going to the River" with

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

and "So Long" with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux. * ''Ya-Ka-May'' (

Anti Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of '' Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology *Áńt’į, or ...

, 2010) U.S. ''Billboard'' Chart No. 161 * ''The Other Side of Midnight: Live in New Orleans'' (Anti, 2011) * '' Carnivale Electricos'' (Anti, 2012) - Charted at No. 118 on ''Billboard'' * '' Into the Deep'' (Provogue, 2015) * ''Already Ready Already'' (Tchoup-zilla Records, 2019)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Authority control American funk musical groups Rock music groups from Louisiana Jam bands Musical groups from New Orleans Capricorn Records artists Anti- (record label) artists