Jive Turkeys on Colemine Records

Who doesn't need the funk in the hot lazy days of summer. Once the sun goes down you need to get off of that couch or rocking chair and put on the singles, one after another. These Colemine releases seriously have you covered in all areas, the dirty almost obscene funk that makes you jump in the shower or a mellow groove like this Jive Turkeys single that Terry himself plays bass on.

"Straight Fire" comes in with a stuttery muted double strum electric, a stepping bassline and high hat fever but the real core of this one is a groovy hammond which grabs melody duty from the third measure in and runs the show completely. Going through the gears, everything from long sustained quivering chords to miniature breathy jabs. The bass line is right behind that organ in perfect time. Something of a slower tempo than I remember Jive Turkeys coming at you, but this is their equivalent of a slow jam. I hesitate even including that youtube video down there because tiny computer speakers do NOT do this justice. It's a poppy groove carnival, you aren't going to find anything ominous or pessimistic about their sound, this is another prime cut.
"Thumpin'" gets back into their hyper jittery sound and the four piece trades off solo pieces, with an extended warm hollow body solo before the bass expands on it's own riff. Like an ocean of people in midtown, this has all the energy of a bustling city. A long exposure shot of the streets blurring into red lines of cars, burning right angles into the film. I like when these singles have their own indirect narratives...well I guess like a book, it's better when you have your own more intimate picture. With a feel like this, you've got to imagine your own lyric narrative, but it's not like your dad's be bop boring jazz. Thumpin' actually has a lot of blues elements, simmering electric blues, almost a Funkadelic sound fronted by Buddy Guy, that sort of eyes tightly closed emotion.

Pick this up from Colemine Records, who also have the best t-shirt in existence. The title of that Gabriel Roth article "Shitty is "Pretty" - get the PDF here.

The Jive Turkeys on Colemine records

For Colemine Records and The Jive Turkeys it’s the perfect time to start thinking about Christmas, it’s getting hotter, summer is here and Santa needs a funky time soundtrack on 45, you know who else needs one? Jesus. It’s his birthday and he’s going to shake his ass if Colemine Records has anything to say about it.

A-Side’s "Get Down Santa" brings back memories of the first single I reviewed from these guys with this signature smooth organ grove. I found an old xerox article recently about creating monster funk 45s (found it at stevemalkmus online of all things) by Gabriel Roth. The thing that stood out was how perfect his advice was, in every way this essay is genius. You have to record SHITTY and have musicians who ignore the past 30 years of music and “…will do exactly what the fuck you tell them to do.” There’s no room for the showboating, or individuality, you just have to nail that groove, hit the simple raw sound and stick with it. If you need to keep adding your own flourishes then this isn't the style for you. Advice that the Jive Turkeys follow every measure, they take a holiday classic and hint around at it, at the end of verses, the cracks between notes. The heavy groove separates for a split second and you immediately recognize this. The make it alright to be blasting this juicy track around the holiday, deck the halls and sleigh bells are mandatory but are now delivered in a groove, almost blues sound that in the hands of these guys, breaks off into their heavy funk. Only the Jive Turkeys would to be able to work this (or probably anything I'm sure) into their particular jazz funk. It’s like they’ve been given this funk problem and turn it right into an opportunity. An old worn out holiday standard? Give it here sucka.

B-Side’s "Funky Jesus" - At least with this track title they make no bones about being a little tongue in cheek. They LEAN into this throwback church organ sound and come out the other side into an uplifting spiritual place. You can see the opening credits to a '70s sitcom just starting to fade with its solid bass line and heavy on the snare, meticulous fills. Seriously, if anyone is looking for a period soundtrack, look these guys up. They trade down to the guitar looping around a bluesy bent melody, but that organ is scooting its way into the gospel side of the funk, acceptable any Sunday, I was honestly always jealous to see those churches that made service look like fun, as a kid. Actually being able to rock out in church? With a band? It seemed like they were having a good time and making music - sure it was for Jesus on Sunday but it was for themselves as well. This slows to a stop comes back in with new beats and goes into a full freak out dance spazz party. When everyone gets a little bit louder now and a little bit LOUDER NOW. The kind of abandonment that made fanatics ban dancing because you can hear the frenzy it whipped up - Real Grapes of Wrath stuff. Proving that the funk is everywhere, there’s nothing The Jive Turkeys aren’t able to make funky and like Mr. Roth says “Two hands on the hi-hat, unless you are actually in Ghana and it's still 1970”

Colemine Records has just started to repress his first releases on color vinyl and talks about it in this latest article in Blues and Soul mag. Pick up this record now before you forget and then try to get it in December and it's long gone.

The Jive Turkeys on Colemine records

Terry from Colemine Records got in touch the other day about his soul & funk label he's been running out in Middletown, Ohio. Seems his dad was a big time 45 collector and Terry grew up trying to get his friends in second grade to listen to the Heartbreaks instead of NKOTB, the label eventually started as a way to legitimize his band's release, but it worked the other way around and he's stuck with a serious label pushing twenty releases at least...and a sweet hammond organ t-shirt which I have to remember to order before they sell out. The first one I grabbed was from Cincinnati locals the Jive Turkeys, a four piece who've been playing together as Soundscape, a hip hop project for years until their love for the raw stripped down break beat narrowed that one element of Soundscape down to instrumental FUNK and The Jive Turkeys. Leave everything else behind, focus and the beat and getting down in a pitch perfect homage to the late '70s porn soundtrack.

"B.A." made me say" oh good god damn I need this old dirty jam" completey instrumental, jamming on that high register wah sound. The soul guitar and that groovy organ working together perfetly in sync, hitting the end of that measure stopping...just...a....second and DOWN on that final beat, solo out the electric, this is nailing that superfly, across 100th street sound. You have to move to this. Jzzy strumming, I'm hearing crazy fashion, and bellbottoms. Such a killer drum break on this, and played live, it's too much, couldn't there be room for a kind of pimp Tortoise sound out of Cincinnati? Well, there is now. I keep asking myself if this is a reissue or cover version because they'r hitting this style dead on. Give me an old VHS player, I have to pimp slap someone.

"Chicken foot" is just as full of groove, but a little bit looser with a hefty bass line and guitar noodling with that airy hammond organ, jabbing around, almost taking on an electric guitar feel... a slower groove than that A-Side but this one is going a new direction with that organ driving this one. The wacka guitar is just to support that head shaking organ. Live, there would be applause after these solo's like an old jazz record. Lots of false stops and starts, all playing second position to this expert drum rhythm. You find a guy like this that can deliver a solid, delicate and complex beat like this you better treat him right, he's a hard one to come by. Expert dirty funk, not precious at all with this raw party. Hell yes.

Plain sleeve, big hole 45, should have found a scratched dusty copy years ago, but no this was presssed up recently...spinning below:



Get it from Terry at Colemine who learned it from watching YOU dad!