John Viviani & Filthy Funk is the live band that currently performs in Rochester. They are performing music from John Viviani's self-titled CD - "Tasty Licks", as well as other hot music. These shows are mostly instrumental.
Performances listed as Filthy Funk are more vocal-based. These shows feature two extremely talented vocalists we are working with, singing sensation - Danielle Ponder, and emcee extraordinaire - Ric Rude.
Filthy Funk Productions is the production end of Filthy Funk. We write music with and record other artists. We recently released a CD called Filthy Funk - Beats of Fury, which is a compilation of production material from the past seven years.THE REAL HISTORY OF FILTHY FUNK
Filthy Funk Productions was born in 2000, the brainspawn of two life-long musicians - John Viviani, and Nick Murray. The group was initiated when they went in on an Akai MPC 2000 and started producing with local emcees and singers. Around this time Filthy Funk began putting together a makeshift recording studio along with their already growing collection of guitars, keyboards, and amps. Filthy Funk's first production was an EP by emcee, Many Styles. This CD was played on local radio and created an instant buzz in the local underground hip-hop scene. The Many Styles EP was followed by two more releases, which saw Filthy Funk's production style mature and the rep grow bigger.
Always seeking to diversify their creative pursuits, the duo began playing with a drummer, Miguel Urbina, and the band version of Filthy Funk was born. This group started performing as an instrumental trio in Rochester and quickly began tantalizing audiences with their unique blend of funk, jazz, and hip-hop. The group delighted in using their wide knowledge of hip-hop music by stringing together medleys of the original tunes that were sampled, and throwing in a TV theme or two for kicks. Soon after, the group started to give special performances with talented emcees such as Raks One, Hassan Mackey, Ric Rude, and local RnB legend Tyler Owens. This was a fruitful era for FF and saw the release of their first CD of instrumental music, "Gotta Say", which quickly sold out. The production end of Filthy Funk stayed busy as well, producing tracks for Raks One (released on Universal Japan), the Foundation, and many others.
Not long after, the band's drummer moved away, and a new phase of music was ushered in. With the addition of Dom Calabrese on saxaphone, Erik Telford on trumpet, and Phil Close on drums - a thicker, jazzier, Filthy Funk band was born. This group began performing around Rochester and Syracuse, and held down a monthly live radio show on Jazz 90.1. The best recording of this phase of the group can be found online as the "Dali" podcast, a series of songs inspired by the famous artist.
As time went by, this phase of the group also came to an end and Filthy Funk turned its attention to producing a funk/jazz guitar record by founding member John Viviani. This recording represented a new level of quality (both musicianship and recording) and has generated an astounding level of interest in Filthy Funk's production abilities. Released in late summer of 2007, "Tasty Licks" has generated some great reviews, an amazing CD-release show, and regular rotation on local jazz radio.
Filthy Funk also continued working with other musicians in the Rochester area, most notably, the talented smooth jazz vet - Jimmy Highsmith Jr.. Filthy Funk had the pleasure of playing on and co-producing Jimmy's excellent 2007 release - "It is What it Is". This album is enjoying regular rotation on Rochester radio and is available on iTunes.
During the creation of John Viviani's CD, Filthy Funk met up with a new drummer, Devon Tramell, whose superb playing and listening skills created an instant chemistry within the group. After flirting with some performances as Filthy Funk, the group has decided to perform as "John Viviani & Filthy Funk", in support of John's self-titled album. This change of name will help distinguish these mostly instrumental performances from future Filthy Funk shows that will feature more vocals.
Last, and most importantly, Filthy Funk Productions has just released a new CD called "Beats of Fury" which is a compilation of over seven years of music production featuring various emcees, singers, the Filthy Funk band, and more. It's 19 tracks deep and quite an experience. These CD's will be available at John Viviani performances, local record stores, and online very soon.
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