“The three of us in the rhythm section were all in a heavy band which was pretty serious,” Inoue says, “but then we decided to go down the funk line. So we started the funk band, we got a horn section in and started playing shows.
“Because we’ve got that rock background, we’re a bit rawer than your average funk band,” he describes. “The music we play ranges, hence the Clusterfunk name. We go from James Brown one minute to Red Hot Chili Peppers the next. We’re trying to keep it more funk than anything else, but there’s no hiding the rock roots. We get some pretty fat riffs happening. It’s definitely funk, but it’s more raw and in your face.”
Inoue feels the band’s rock’n’roll history is what sets Clusterfunk apart from many other funk outfits doing the Melbourne rounds. “I think there’s a lot more energy in how we execute it than the average funk band,” he suggests. “Most [funk bands] come from a jazz background, so it’s more technical. We’re coming from that other side of the fence.”
Punters will be able to feel Clusterfunk’s onstage energy when they play on Friday May 1 at The Purple Emerald’s ‘What the Funk Fridays’ series; the High Street venue’s brand new funk night, running every Friday. Clusterfunk are next in line to bring their gutsy grooves to Northside audiences.
“Each week The Purple Emerald have been having different funk bands on,” says Inoue. “They kicked it all off at the start of March, and it’s been successful. It’s great to see a Northside venue promoting this style of music.”
Although Clusterfunk have been performing for just over a year, the band has big plans for the future. “We’re going to lay down a recording,” Inoue reveals. “We’re going to start promoting for the summer festival circuit next year. We’re also locking in a show for Beyond Blue. They’ve been travelling around Australia for the last six months, and they’ve got their final party on May 31 down at Luna Park, so we’ll be performing on that.”
Inoue feels the future is looking very bright for Clusterfunk. “Right now we’re just in a really good space with writing and enjoying playing live,” he enthuses. “The ball just keeps rolling. It’s a great place to be in with the band at the moment.
“I don’t think we’ve decided we’re going to dominate the world or anything, we just want to play shows to as many people as we can. We just like having good times, making good music and trying to get as many other people enjoying the music as we can.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
