Brass-A-Holics: I Am a Brass-A-Holic (Independent)

These days the brass bands fall into two basic yet malleable categories, the raw, street parade bands and the more polished stage/club oriented band. Brass-A-Holics add keyboard, guitar, and trap drums to the basic brass band lineup, so they end up on the stage/club end of the scale. They bill themselves as the “Go-Go Funk Brass Band,” and the relentless go-go beat made famous by Chuck Brown and Trouble Funk is at the base of most of these songs. Given that go-go is to Washington D.C. as brass band music is to New Orleans, the genres mix well, and the Brass-A-Holics blend both with the funky lines of brass band, the heavy, short riffs and the wild solos of go-go over the unending syncopated rhythms. They also have a dynamic tightness that make it easier to listen to their record. Their riffs are also a bit more complex than most brass bands, though no less funky or jazzy. “Get In It” has riff that goes unexpected but never jarring places before the call and response starts in. This appeals both to those in the club dancing and those in the house who are simply listening.