Afroskull profile picture

Afroskull

New Orleans/NYC Superfunk

About Me


Next Gig: Friday, March 21st 2008, at the Parkside Lounge, NYC
For more info and mp3s, visit:
www.afroskull.com
www.archive.org/details/Afroskull

"It's a high-powered groove generator, throbbing with jazzoid horns, all-around intense musicianship, pedal to the heavy metal tendencies (with Black Sabbath in the collective woodshed!?), and Zappa-esque compositional conceptualizing. Fused under extreme heat and pressure with a creative abandon and a gonzo attitude, Afroskull's music demands spirit-possessed body movements and has "Holy Shit!" moments of revelation aplenty."
- Home of the Groove blog
"With roots in both the Big Apple and the Big Easy, it’s no wonder that when the guys in Afroskull get together something special happens. They’ve managed to combine hardcore rock n’ roll (claiming Frank Zappa and Black Sabbath as influences) with a huge helping of good ole’ fashion New Orleans funk, reminiscent of The Meters and even Maceo Parker, giving them a sound all their own…"New Orleans/NYC Superfunk,” as they’ve so aptly titled themselves."
- Billboard's Mobile Beat blog
"You've got power up there - and it's funky too!"
- Leo Nocentelli of the Meters
“When Afroskull gets started up, they unleash a powerful giant . . . Unlike any other funk band in New Orleans, the ‘Skull produces a gritty, dark metal sound that can keep the house rocking the entire night.”
- Offbeat Magazine, New Orleans
“Afroskull is one of the most promising young bands on the scene -- by virtue of how hard they rock . . . Guitarist Joe Scatassa’s muscular guitar lines and solos differentiate Afroskull from its peers . . . [the band] sounds like a cross between a Curtis Mayfield score and a James Bond soundtrack.”
- The Gambit Weekly, New Orleans
“This is hard-core hard-bop with a thick, walloping sound that would certainly get you evicted if you cranked this stuff up higher than a 5 or 6 on your volume dial. Afroskull churns out intense funk-sludge that takes no prisoners.”
- Where Y’At Magazine, New Orleans

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/31/2005
Band Website: afroskull.com
Band Members: Joe Scatassa - guitar, vocals
Matt Iselin - keyboards, vocals
Dan Asher - bass
or Bearded Jon Stonbely - bass
Jason Isaac - drums
Seth Moutal - his dudeness, or el duderito if you're not into the whole brevity thing - percussion

With frequent help from:
Jeff Pierce - trumpet
Justin Flynn - tenor sax
Mark Nikirk - tenor sax
Jason Marshall - baritone sax
Steve Wiseman - trumpet
Jason Wiseman - trumpet
and a cast of thousands!
Influences: Zappa, Funkadelic, Black Sabbath, The Meters, Charles Mingus, The Headhunters, Gentle Giant, Neslort, Smilin' Myron, and all the great music of New Orleans
Sounds Like: the Zappa/P-Funk jam session you always wanted.
Type of Label: None

My Blog

return of the son of recording update

Hi everybody.  Since our last post here we have done another half-dozen recording sessions. I'm psyched to say that recording is just about finished.  No, really!  Joe is now ...
Posted by Afroskull on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:28:00 PST

recording update redux

    We spent another productive day in the studio today.  Horns are done for three more tunes, leaving only three remaining. We should be able to knock that out with one more sessi...
Posted by Afroskull on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:46:00 PST

recording update

The end is in sight.   It's still off in the distance, just barely coming over the horizon ... but we are getting closer. Tracking is basically done for three tunes (out of nine).  We a...
Posted by Afroskull on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:52:00 PST

Afroskull’s 10th anniversary parties!

AFROSKULL CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARYTwin blowouts in New York and New Orleans to commemorate a decade of hair-raising funkNew York based funk/rockers Afroskull have announced a pair of shows to cele...
Posted by Afroskull on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:10:00 PST

Billboard blog review + recording update

Hey y'all, check out this review of our last Parkside Lounge gig from a blogger with Billboard magazine. We thought it was a mediocre show by our standards but apparently it was pretty good after all!...
Posted by Afroskull on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:14:00 PST

New Orleans, get ready

The Afroskull 10-year anniversary gig will be held at the Maple Leaf Bar on October 20th.  Don't say you weren't warned.
Posted by Afroskull on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:18:00 PST

Matt got married!

    Hey everybody, our keyboard player got married tonight!  Congratulations Matt and Renee!  In honor of this festive occasion, we have posted another full live Afroskull sho...
Posted by Afroskull on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:29:00 PST

back in the saddle

We tore it pretty good at the Ace of Clubs last night.  It wasn't our tightest set ever but it was still pretty righteous, with some actual people actually dancing.  And Bearded John Stonbel...
Posted by Afroskull on Sun, 28 Jan 2007 09:48:00 PST

brief hiatus

We will be staying away from the live stage for the next couple of months while we continue to craft our next CD. Sorry for the inconvenience. We promise it'll be worth the wait.
Posted by Afroskull on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 03:26:00 PST

New mp3

    Now available for your listening enjoyment:  Band Soup, the creepy prog-funk masterpiece composed by Bill Richards.  This was a demo recorded in a couple of sessions at WN...
Posted by Afroskull on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 11:13:00 PST