St. Louis brass bands get louder as popularity marches on | Entertainment

St. Louis’ top three brass bands — Funky Butt Brass Band, Saint Boogie Brass Band and the Red & Black Brass Band — have been tooting their own horns all over town. Now, for the first time, fans will be able to see them together on the same bill. 

The bands will perform Feb. 12 as part of Cherokee Street’s Brass Band Blowout. The event serves as the opening for the Golden Record, in the space that had been home to 2720 Cherokee Performing Arts Center.

“It’s about time,” says Tim Halpin of Funky Butt Brass Band. “All three bands are just different enough to make it an interesting show of music. It’s an interesting mix of styles and sounds and approaches to the brass band thing.”


Tim Halpin of the Funky Butt Brass Band performs Feb. 5, 2022, at Off Broadway in St. Louis.




He emphasizes that the Brass Band Blowout is not a competition.

“When it was first announced, they were using language like ‘battle of the bands’ and things like that,” he says. “The Red and Black Band tweeted it’s not a battle, and the language went away. We don’t see it as competition. It’s an opportunity to get three bands that haven’t played together on the same stage.”

Funky Butt Brass Band and Saint Boogie Brass band are both veteran St. Louis acts; the Red & Black Brass Band is a newcomer.

Aaron Chandler of Funky Butt Brass Band says he’s often asked whether he views the other local acts as competitors.

The Red & Black Brass Band strolls through the Old North St. Louis neighborhood on April 19, 2020. At the start of the stay-at-home order, two friends — Dominique Burton and Benjamin Kosberg — took to the streets of Tower Grove South with their instruments and played for their neighbors. After a video of the men went viral, they began playing more and invited their musician friends to join in. Video by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com






“For a long time we were the only ones in the game,” he says. “I think it’s great. I’m happy to see them come along and start making noise. I’m glad we get to do this show together.”

Chris Tomlin of Saint Boogie Brass Band says the bands share strong connections, but “there’s always a little friendly competition.”

Ravie Junior is part of the Red & Black Band but used to perform with the Saint Boogie Brass Band.

“Speaking for myself — and probably for the other bands, too — for us, it’s not a competition,” he says. “Every single day we live by ‘music is love.’ We just wanna have a good time, and hopefully everyone kills it. Let’s just party and have a good time with everybody sweating and dancing and drinking.”

Funky Butt Brass Band
Funky Butt Brass Band

The Funky Butt Brass Band performs Feb. 5, 2022, at Off Broadway in St. Louis. The show was an anniversary concert celebrating the group’s album “You Can Trust The Funky Butt Brass Band.” 




The brass band scene in St. Louis is booming, and the Funky Butt Brass Band has been a big part of the growth.

“It’s nice to be at the forefront of that here, and I hope it continues,” says Tim Halpin (guitar, vocals).

The band also includes Aaron Chandler (trombone/vocals), Adam Hucke (trumpet/vocals), Cody Henry (sousaphone), Bryan Fritz (saxophone/vocals) and Ron Sikes (drums), with auxiliary players Dave Grelle (keyboards), Jim Peters (guitar/vocals) and Matt Henry (percussion).
Funky Butt Brass Band

Tim Halpin (left) and Aaron Chandler perform with the Funky Butt Brass Band on Feb. 5, 2022, at Off Broadway in St. Louis.




“We’ve got three solid brass bands playing, and hopefully that leads to more wanting to do it,” Halpin says. “It’s a great tradition. You go to New Orleans and you can’t swing an old cat without hitting a brass band. Having the three of us play together (at the Brass Band Blowout) is a great start to making that happen.”

Funky Butt Band and Saint Boogie Brass Band have done a couple of shows together, including Summer Gras at the Old Rock House, but they’ve never been on a bill with the Red & Black Band. They admire the newer band’s ascent, marching through the St. Louis streets during the early months of the pandemic.

“I was feeling jealous about the Red & Black Brass Band,” Halpin says. “They jumped out there and did it and made people happy. They brought some notoriety to the brass band tradition.”

Funky Butt Brass Band formed in 2008 after Halpin and Sikes, who were in boogie-woogie/Zydeco band Gumbohead at the time, asked each other why there were no brass bands in St. Louis.

“We had to start one, and we pulled together the original six members,” Halpin says. “Nobody was doing it at the time. It helped us get off to a great start.”

The band was enthusiastically received.
Funky Butt Brass Band

Bryan Fritz (left) and Cody Henry of the Funky Butt Brass Band perform perform Feb. 5, 2022, at Off Broadway in St. Louis.




“From our first show, we felt we got all the love we could ever want, from top to bottom,” Chandler says. “We make magic, and people showed up for it and loved it. And we got to experience that for years before other brass bands came around. We can’t play every show. It’s nice to have other bands around that can do their thing.”

Halpin says audiences also took to the Funky Butt Brass Band because “there’s always been a connection between St. Louis and New Orleans. It’s just a sharing of the culture. Both cities are on the river. The musical thing is a little different, but people here embrace New Orleans food, music and culture.”

Funky Butt Brass Band played its annual Holiday Brasstravaganza in December at Delmar Hall — just before the spreading omicron variant started shutting down shows. 

“People were happy to be out hearing live music again,” Halpin says.

Last weekend at Off Broadway, the group celebrated the 10th anniversary of its second album, “You Can Trust the Funky Butt Brass Band.” Its 2009 album is “Cut the Body Loose.” 
Funky Butt Brass Band

Bryan Fritz performs with the Funky Butt Brass Band on Feb. 5, 2022, at Off Broadway in St. Louis.




“We were looking to do something different leading into Mardi Gras,” Halpin says. “We thought it would be a fun way to celebrate the first anniversary of the record, and we haven’t played Off Broadway in a while. We wanted to break out those songs again.”

Last year, the Funky Butt Brass Band had the distinction of being the only brass band to perform at the three-day Music at the Intersection festival; another brass band, the Soul Rebels, canceled. The Funky Butt Brass Band played at the Big Top.

“I thought it was impressive to put on that scale of an event for the first time in St. Louis,’ Chandler says. “As an inaugural event, it was such a big deal to be a part of it. It felt good as a local band — a local institution — to be a part of that.”

Saint Boogie Brass Band
Saint Boogie Brass Band

The Saint Boogie Brass Band leads a small Fat Tuesday procession across Euclid Avenue on March 5, 2019.




When it comes to St. Louis brass bands, Saint Boogie Brass Band lays claim to being the “party band” of the bunch.

“Just listen to the name — it’s as simple as that,” says bandleader Chris Tomlin (sousaphone). “We specialize in getting you on the floor dancing.

“We’re very funk influenced. We’re the party band. All the grooves are heavy on the one (the first beat of every measure). We live in the funk era, and we bring that. And we implement that into a lot of the other things we do.”

The band also includes Yuki Aono (alto/tenor saxophone), Terrell Gladney (trumpet/trombone), Kevin Johnson (baritone), Keith Clair (trumpet), Marvin Bell (drums), Ryan Johnston (auxiliary percussion) and Ryan Bouma (tenor/baritone saxophone).
Saint Boogie Brass Band

Keith Clair with the Saint Boogie Brass Band leads a small Fat Tuesday procession down Euclid Avenue on March 5, 2019. 




Tomlin says Saint Boogie Brass Band’s grooves are a mix of originals, covers and remixes. Part of its magic might be, for example, the band playing a bassline to one one song, the melody to another song, while a singer is performing a whole different song.

The band’s repertoire includes selections from a diverse group of artists — Rick James; Gap Band; Earth, Wind & Fire; Maze; Cameo; the Beatles; Daniel Caesar; PJ Morton and more.

Saint Boogie Brass Band formed in 2010, not long after Tomlin and a cousin attended Mardi Gras festivities in Soulards. He says they left the celebration wondering where the bands were, so they started their own band with the intent to perform at Mardi Gras. 
Saint Boogie Brass Band

A musician from the Saint Boogie Brass Band plays May 16, 2021, during the livestreamed Annie Malone May Day Parade.




Tomlin initially wanted to get the band from Roosevelt High School, where Tomlin worked at the time, into the Mardi Gras Grand Parade, but that wasn’t possible because the students were underage.

Since then, the Saint Boogie Brass Band has has performed in the parade with the Gateway Precision Lawn Chair Krewe.

“I think the only band to march in the Mardi Gras parade is Saint Boogie Brass Band,” Tomlin says. “It doesn’t have any bands in it — just floats. We love doing Mardi Gras, especially me. I’m from New Orleans, so I feel like I’m home. It’s our closest thing to being in New Orleans.”

The Mardi Gras Grand Parade is 11 a.m. Feb. 26 in Soulard.

Saint Boogie Brasss Band is a regular at Broadway Oyster Bar, where it performs four-hour sets. The band has also played at the Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl.

Tomlin says the Brass Band Blowout is important because it shows young musicians that there’s band life after high school graduation.
Saint Boogie Brass Band

Members of the Saint Boogie Brass Band dance down Broadway during the Mardi Gras Grand Parade on Feb. 10, 2018, in Soulard. 




“Having these adult brass bands shows you that being in a band can be done after high school on an adult level where they can make money,” Tomlin says. “I see a lot more horn players making money.”

Tomlin is an educator at Lift for Life Academy and says his band work paid for his college education. He wants youngsters interested in brass bands to know St. Louis has a thriving scene. 

“It’s building, and it’s very diverse,” he says. “Based off of seeing the brass band scene in New Orleans, the diversity of it here is nice, and the bands are all working a lot. The scene is definitely big enough to sustain itself, and it’s not even fully tapped into yet.”

Red & Black Brass Band
Red & Black Brass Band

Members of the Red & Black Brass Band stroll through Old North St. Louis on April 19, 2020.




In the early days of the pandemic, the Red & Black Brass Band hit the streets of St. Louis neighborhoods with a simple mission: to spread happiness and healing while residents dealt with stay-at-home orders and social distancing.

It started with just two musicians: Dmo Burton (trombone) and Ben Kosberg (sousaphone). A Tower Grove resident saw the pair performing, filmed them and posted the video to social media. The clip went viral, racking up 2.6 million views.

Trumpet player Ravie Junior says “the lady (who made the video) was saying how much of a blessing it was to have that live music when music was just silent. That rekindled the idea of us all putting together a brass band.”

The Red & Black Brass Band treated residents of the Central West End to a spontaneous walking concert on May 16, 2020. The band has been parading through St. Louis neighborhoods during the coronavirus pandemic. The group said they had been at Maryland Plaza playing for a birthday and decided to play in a few area neighborhoods. As the band paraded, residents watched from porches, lawns, sidewalks and the street. The band encouraged people to follow along but to follow social distancing rules. Video by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com






The players belong to the same music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha, which helped unite the Red & Black Brass Band, Junior says.

“It had been on the backburner for maybe five years,” he says. “(The viral clip) was like a sign from the heavens to make it happen.”

A week or so after the video hit Twitter, the band was up to six members marching through St. Louis neighborhoods four days a week.
Red & Black Brass Band

Kevin Spencer photographs the passing Red & Black Brass Band on April 19, 2020, on the 2800 block of North 14th Street.




The band also includes Walter Beckham (trumpet), Dee Coleman (tenor saxophone), Dominique Jordan (trombone), Legato White (bass drum) and J. Spence (snare drum).

“At first we were just trying to have a good time bringing joy to the neighborhoods, and they came out,” Junior says. “Then people started tipping us, and we made that an option. My grandmother always told me, when someone tries to bless you, you let them. You don’t want to take away from the blessing they will get from blessing you.”

After that, people started reaching out to the band, booking it for drive-by birthday events, porch concerts, weddings, funerals, fundraisers and more.
Red & Black Brass Band

Ravie Junior plays his trumpet with the Red & Black Brass Band on July 18, 2021, for an anniversary event at Ices Plain & Fancy. 




“Eventually, the word really began to spread,” Junior says.

The Red & Black Band performed at the grand opening of the “St. Louis Sound” exhibition last year at the Missouri History Museum and at the Arts and Education Council‘s 2021 St. Louis Arts Awards under the Big Top. It also performed at an NAACP event, along with a Bayou in the Lou event at City Foundry.

For the Red & Black Brass Band, Junior says, “it’s all about the love for the people and the love for the music. It’s not a deal where we’re being arrogant and ‘look at how well we play.’ 
Red & Black Brass Band

Kozzy Bear plays his tuba with the Red & Black Brass Band on July 18, 2021, for a seventh anniversary event at Ices Plain & Fancy. 




“Our whole journey is about healing people and helping people — and helping and healing ourselves. It’s humbling that we’re recognized.”

The band has a repertoire of about 50 songs, including traditional (“When the Saints Come Marching In”) and modern (TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” Wizkid’s “Essence”).

“One thing about brass bands: They will play the same covers,” Junior says. “We try to make it a little different.”

The band is working on its debut, St. Louis-centric album, which Junior says is “coming soon.” Songs will include “314,” “Tower Grove,” “Le Grand’s” and the band’s favorite, “Gateway Groove.”

And the band will drop that album on a scene he says is wide open.

“There’s still some room to grow, and it will be interesting to see how it develops,” he says.

What Cherokee Street’s Brass Band Blowout • When 7 p.m. Feb. 12 • Where The Golden Record, 2720 Cherokee Street • How much $15-$20; proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test required • More info eventbrite.com

Kevin C. Johnson • 314-340-8191

Pop music critic

@kevincjohnson on Twitter

kjohnson@post-dispatch.com

@kevincjohnson on Instagram

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