About Me
A fusion of funk, soul and rock - driven by infectious grooves and led by stunning vocals - this is the unique sound of Rapid City. Rapid City loves to generate live energy with music that gets an audience on its feet. Fronted up by the powerful sound generated by three brothers, weaving vocal melodies and harmonies together in a style all their own; the whole is completed with drums and bass driving an ever-changing pulse of grooves, overlaid with raw guitar licks.
Rapid City is a convergence of inspiration from musicians of varied roots, which perhaps goes some way to explain their unique sound. As well as funk, soul and rock the band also draws influences from a range of r&b, jazz, reggae and latin music. They have evolved their original material over the years to a sound which is both contemporary and derivative, combining a looseness of form with tightness in delivery - a combination which betrays its origins in the original funk movement.
The Butler brothers, Dave, Dennis and Ryan, cut their teeth in the 80's in the Sound Systems in London, singing reggae and soul revival. They also honed their studio talents recording advertising soundtracks. Soon they were writing their own material and singing a cappella at local venues. They broke away from studio duties to perform their first proper gig as a band in 1990 at the Red Lion in Brentford (which has played host to, amongst others, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Rod Stewart & Go West). Joined by bassman Trevor Pennant virtually from the start, they have featured various guitarists over the years. Regular drummer to this day, Andy Barkley, joined the outfit in the mid 90's from which time the band have had a busy gigging schedule, interspersed with recording sessions for two white-label releases: The Arrival (90's) and Urban Graffiti (2003) and even a couple of TV appearances. However, following Trevor's sad and untimely death in early 2004, the band had to regroup and only started performing again in 2005, with some memorable dates at venues including gigs at the Jazz Café and a session for the South Bank Centre's Jazz on a Spring Day series in 2006. The band is currently working on new material and gigging around the UK.
Rapid City has been gigging leading club and festival venues in the UK for over a decade. They’ve also had the privilege of supporting many well-known leading R&B and jazz acts such as the James Taylor Quartet; Courtney Pine; Dennis Rollins; Snow Boy and the Latin section; The French Funk Federation; Sherman Robertson; Gloria Gaynor and Sister Sledge.
