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Blues rock group Smoke Stack Rhino have announced a national tour to accompany the release of their version of John Butler Trio song ‘Funky Tonight’. The band will be playing their first Melbourne headline gig for the year at George Lane St Kilda on Saturday 25 May with support from local legends The Dead Amigos and Olivia Lay.Following on from their last album The Mojo Funk which reached #2 on the ARIA Blues & Jazz Chart in 2023, the band deemed ‘Australia’s most exciting up-and-coming blues & roots rockers’ by Beat Mag have paid tribute to one of their influences while showing their musicality and creativity.
Originally released as the first single off the 2006 John Butler Trio album Grand National, Funky Tonight is an upbeat roots-rock song that’s a current staple of the Smoke Stack Rhino live set.
Comprising singer-guitarist Ash King, bassist Shane Andison and drummer Matt Berg, Smoke Stack Rhino have stayed true to the earthy essence of Butler’s original while giving the song their own twist. Their version incorporates a slap bass solo, revealing inspiration from ‘lead bass-players’ like Flea, Marcus Miller, Les Claypool and Thundercat.
“We call Shane ‘The Funky Thumb’,” Ash explains.
“There’s only three of us in the band, so we have to cover a range of sounds to thicken it up and keep it interesting,” he says.
After a raucous slide guitar solo the song continues to unfold into a more organic second verse, the band dropping back to embrace some light-and-shade which allows Ash’s bass-baritone voice to hit a low B. The song builds back up for a final chorus and heavy outro riff.
“I saw a video where John Butler was talking about his guitars and demonstrating their different sounds, and when he kicks on his Marshall amp he mentions something about the sound being ‘Black Sabbath-mode’”, Ash says.
“The way we play the end of the track definitely taps into that old-school energy… we love going off when playing it live”.
Recently, the band has taken that live show to festivals around the country, including Grampians Grape Escape Festival, Blues at Bridgetown and St Kilda Blues Festival. Over the coming months they’ll be touring Funky Tonight across Australia, with shows in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.
The synchronicity between blues, roots and hard-hitting rock n roll on Funky Tonight has resulted in a track the band are proud of.
Funky Tonight is out on Thursday 23 May via Smoke Stack Rhino’s own label, JAMALAMA, and they play at George Lane in St Kilda on Saturday 25 May.
Tickets to Smoke Stack Rhino at George Lane St Kilda on Sat 25 May via https://www.georgelane.com.au/events-1/smoke-stack-rhino
Listen to Funky Tonight via https://gyro.to/FunkyTonight
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
George Lane St Kilda, Grey Street Dentist, 20 Grey St, St Kilda VIC 3182, Australia,Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Tickets