Bonerama
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Bonerama

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | INDIE

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | INDIE
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"Bonerama Horns on R.E.M.'s New Record 'Collapse it Now'"

By David Fricke
February 7, 2011 5:30 PM ET

Last September, R.E.M. wrapped up the final session for their new album, Collapse Into Now, in Nashville. The next morning, guitarist Peter Buck started driving cross-country to his home in Portland, Oregon. "I like to drive, it allows you to decompress," he says. "I got in my car at 6 a.m. and listened to my iPod for four hours. Then I decided to listen to our record. I remember thinking, 'This is, song for song, the best thing we've ever done.'"

Bassist Mike Mills agrees, calling Collapse Into Now, out March 8th on Warner Bros., "our best record since Out of Time," the group's 1991 hit. "We took the shackles off and wrote whatever sounded good — balls-to-the-wall rockers, slow sad songs, great mid-tempo songs in the tradition of R.E.M. We had quality, top to bottom."

The album also marks a crossroads for Buck, Mills and singer Michael Stipe. It is their last record for Warner, their label since the late Eighties. And after spending 2008 on the road for that year's Accelerate, the trio chose not to tour behind the new album. "We don't tour to prop up records — that's not why we play live music," Mills says. "That's the thing about R.E.M. If we don't feel it, we don't go."

"We were pretty sure we weren't touring, going into this record," Buck says. "There was nothing to distract us. And it felt really good." As for R.E.M.'s free-agent future, "we've talked about it a little bit. There's no rush. This record isn't even out yet." Mills puts it this way: "We have the option of doing anything we want — and no pressure to do anything."

Buck and Mills began working on new material in March 2009, recording demos in Portland with guitarist Scott McCaughey and drummer Bill Rieflin, then passing the tracks to Stipe for vocal and lyrical consideration. The band cut the album's 12 songs in four three-week bursts, two of them in New Orleans and one last summer in Berlin. Collapse Into Now veers in mood and velocity from the drone-and-stomp opener, "Discoverer," and the high-speed sparkle of "Mine Smell Like Honey" to "Oh My Heart," a hymn of love to the Crescent City with deep-blue brass by the local band Bonerama, and the melancholy drive of "It Happened Today," which features the ecstatic moan of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

But, Mills insists, "they're all pretty much first or second takes," noting that the backing track for the piano-based ballad "Walk It Back" was actually a rehearsal. "When we cut it again, it sounded formal and strained." The action-poem fury of "Blue," the album's closing track, came out of a last-minute idea Buck had in Berlin. The band played it once. "Then Michael said, 'I've got something that goes with that,'" Buck recalls. Patti Smith added her chantlike vocal in Nashville.

"I want to be proud.... This is my time," Stipe declares in "Blue," and that faith in something better, waiting just around the corner, runs throughout the album. Mills cites the song "Überlin": "That character is in trouble but doing his best to get through it. He's gonna make it. But it wasn't easy." Buck feels that way about R.E.M., who issued their first single in 1981 and endured a rough decade of rebirth after the 1997 exit of drummer Bill Berry. "This represents who we are now, in a great way," Buck says of Collapse. "A lot of people say we did our best work in the early Nineties. But 15 years later, here we are again." - Rolling Stone


"Bonerama at Chico's House of Jazz in Asbury Park"

The title of Bonerama's latest album is "Hard Times," and while the New Orleans-based, trombone-heavy band has made plenty of inroads at festivals and clubs around the U.S. in recent years, it remains a struggle to make a living as a musician in New Orleans.

Fortunately, the band members, led by co-founders Craig Klein and Mark Mullins, don't have to depend on their New Orleans income to make their home there.

Formed in 1998 at Tipitina's French Quarter Club on Decatur Street in the Crescent City, the band now features three college-educated trombonists — Mullins, Klein and Greg Hicks — backed by Bert Cotton, guitar, Jason Jurzak, bass and for this tour, guest drummer from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Terence Higgins.

Bonerama will be bringing its incredibly unique sound and road show — which combines blues, roots rock 'n' roll, traditional jazz and good ol' New Orleans funk — to Chico's House of Jazz in Asbury Park at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.


During the past three summers, the members of Bonerama really hit the road, hard, Mullins said by phone from his Crescent City home. Aside from the prestigious New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival each spring, the band has played the High Sierra Music Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Portland (Oregon) Waterfront Festival and the Ocean Beach Jazz Festival in San Diego.

The act also made a sweep of northeast clubs and theaters that included stops in New Jersey, New York City, Boston and Maine.

Yes, the word has gotten out about Bonerama, and what a fun group it is. At the band's shows and on its three live recordings, aside from original compositions, Bonearama offers up trombone-heavy arrangements of classic rock and jazz tunes including Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," Led Zeppelin's cover of "When The Levee Breaks," Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression" and "Crosstown Traffic," Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," the Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post" and fellow Crescent City native, pianist Allen Toussaint's "Certain Girl."

On the group's third live recording, "Bringing It Home," recorded post-Katrina, the band members seamlessly segue from John Lennon's "Yer Blues" to Thelonious Monk's "Epistrophe."

"We're always looking to do more festivals," Mullins said, but in New Orleans and the rest of the country, attendance at many festivals has fallen off, as disposable income levels drop.

Mullins, who plays trombone with Harry Connick, Jr. when that singer is on the road, was born in New Brunswick but moved from New Jersey to suburban New Orleans at a young age. He began playing trombone as an 8-year-old, drawn to it by the Big Easy's brass band scene. He graduated from Loyola University with a degree in music performance.

Mullins said he works closely with Klein and the other members of Bonearama in creating arrangements for songs they all can live with.

"In college, Craig and I were both playing gigs at night as well as our classes during the day. To play gigs around New Orleans with musicians of all sorts of backgrounds was a great thing," Mullins said. "It was when I was playing with a cover band for a time in college that I got my head turned around about how horns can fit in. In that band, we did all kinds of rock music not normally associated with horns."
Mullins said he also learned about arranging by listening to New Orleans musicians suh as Allen Toussaint. "He never gets credited, but he is a helluva horn arranger, both he and Wardell Quezergue," Mullins said. "Listening to them in clubs and listening to their recordings helped me learn the technical aspects of arranging."

After doing a few experimental gigs with a four-man trombone lineup at Tipitina's, theband members came up with their name and then began a long residency at a bar across the river, in Algiers, the Old Point. It was at the Old Point that they began to develop a devoted following and realized they had something special to offer.

Later, they played their first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the international audience that festival draws helped them get bookings elsewhere.

Aside from Toussaint and Quezergue, Mullins also credits bass player George Porter, Jr, a founding member of the Meters, as an inspiration.
"I began playing with George toward the end of my years in college, but I was heavilyinfluenced by his approach and his playing," Mullins said, "I didn't know a whole lot abut him initially, just that he was the bass player with the Meters. It was only later I came to know how unmistakably unique his style is."
Bonerama will perform two sets at Chico's House of Jazz, 631 Lake Ave. Visit www.chicoshouseofjazz.com or call the club at 732-774-5299. - Asbury Park Press


"Bonerama provides brass boom with a big trombone sound"

April 4, 2009
New Orleans is the home of some of the greatest jazz musicians and is also regarded as one of the genre's true birthplaces. Great musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Fats Domino call New Orleans home, and these musicians helped to give New Orleans such strong roots in music that carries on today. Such traditional New Orleans jazz music heard today is unmistakable because of the distinctive brass in every song. One New Orleans band, however, has taken the brass roots of jazz music and raised it to a whole new level.

Bonerama has been around since 1998 when trombone players Mark Mullins and Craig Klein brought together other trombonists and band members at Tipitina's one Wednesday. Since that night, Bonerama has been bringing together a fusion of rock and power brass music that is fun, energetic and irresistible to listen too.

One thing that has pushed Bonerama to be known around the area is their use of multiple trombones and other brass instruments to play rock riffs and songs like Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" or Black Sabbath's "Paranoid."

"You know, I've always been a big fan of rock music, but I could never play guitar," said Mullins, lead trombonist of Bonerama. "I would emulate a lot of guitar riffs and rock songs on my horn, and there actually are a lot of similarities between trombone and guitar."

Mullins and the band often take rock songs and transfer them through their powerful brass sound. The result is a cover of the original song by trombones, bass and other instruments that just sounds raw and alive.

"When you double any type of guitar riff especially with multiple trombones, it can be really sick. So, it's fun for us," said Mullins.

Bonerama is also known for their recorded EP with their friends of the band OK Go. Around two years ago, Bonerama played with a charity at Tipitina's where they originally met the band OK Go. The two bands ended up hitting it off and recording an EP that includes OK Go's quirky rock sound mixed with Bonerama's brassy sound. The two bands played together after their EP and even made an appearance on the David Letterman show.

Bonerama is known most of all for their live shows, and as Mullins puts it, "Our shows can be unpredictable, fun, exciting and bombastic. We like to mix it up nowadays, and we all just have a good time when we play. We just want to have a fun brass throw down party unlike anything you have ever seen before at every show."

Bonerama plays live at Jazz Fest on the Gentilly Stage this Saturday, May 2 at 1:40 p.m. - Tiger Weekly by Charles Nunmaker


"Midnite Disturbers: A Jazz Fest supergroup"

May 01, 2009
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- At the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, some of the best music happens miles from the Fairgrounds, hours after the crowds have gone and the last of the crawfish bread has been consumed.
Shamarr Allen, Mark Mullins and Ben Ellman sport the Midnite Disturbers T-shirts as they perform.

Shamarr Allen, Mark Mullins and Ben Ellman sport the Midnite Disturbers T-shirts as they perform.
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It happens with the arrival of Midnite.

At 1:18 a.m., Bonerama -- a brass-funk rock band lead by three trombones -- has just finished a 90-minute set that started with a soulful, passionate original tune written by bandleader Mark Mullins, and concluded with a cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Crosstown Traffic," complete with the trombones running through wah-wah pedals.

Suddenly the crowd of about 75 clears out of the way as a dozen musicians parade in the room. Dressed in black shirts, they are the Midnite Disturbers, a Jazz Fest supergroup whose appearance is as infrequent as a lunar eclipse. Each member of the Midnite Disturbers fronts his own band, and the artists are rarely in the city at the same time.

The band was started by New Orleans drummers and longtime friends Stanton Moore and Kevin O'Day. In the weeks following Katrina, O'Day had moved into Moore's house, where the two hit on an idea.

"We realized we had never had our own band together, and we decided to invite all of the best horn players we know to play with us," O'Day said.

Each artist has a name, printed in red, on his shirt, following the command "Listen to": Smokey Johnson ... Brian O'Neill ... Henry "Red" Allen. They're the band's predecessors and mentors. Although probably little known outside the Crescent City, they're the musicians who shaped New Orleans music: masters of their craft.
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Modern-day masters in their own right, the Midnite Disturbers live up to their name, splitting the night with their loud, hard, funky jams. There are up-and-comers Troy Andrews and Shamarr Allen, and veterans such as Mullins from Bonerama, Stanton Moore and Ben Ellman from Galactic. Their black shirts are drenched with sweat by the time they finish playing.

"Its an honor to play with such veterans because it's confirmation that I'm doing my thing on a level to where people are noticing the hard work that I have been putting in," said trumpet player Shamarr Allen. "Playing with this kind of band keeps you on your toes. It's more interesting and challenging to try to understand everyone's musical approach and find a spot for yours to fit.

"That's the beauty of it," he said. "How to sound good, have fun, listen to each other, entertain a crowd, and stay on the same page at the same time. It lets me know, if I'm not there yet, I'm on my way to being one of the big boys."

The Midnite Disturbers will be at Jazz Fest -- of course -- holding down a 5:55 p.m. slot Saturday afternoon. And then, when it's over, they'll be gone -- ready to get together when the moon beckons. - CNN by Jessica Rosgaard


"Blues fans pack downtown for fest"

May 30, 2009


One of the largest crowds to attend the Western Maryland Blues Fest packed into the city’s central lot Saturday for what many called “a good variety” of music at the 14th annual music event.

“It’s a wonderful day after all the rain,” said Susan Scarvalone, who traveled from Baltimore with her friend, Kathy Ruble, primarily to see The Kelly Bell Band, the first act to perform Saturday afternoon.

Scarvalone had also seen one of the performers, Janiva Magness, perform at Rams Head Live in Baltimore.

Saturday was Ruble’s first Blues Fest.

“The people are friendly. Hagerstown is just wonderful,” she said.

The Derek Trucks Band was clearly Saturday’s main attraction.

The entire crowd got to its feet when Trucks, who also plays with The Allman Brothers and is a relative of one of that band’s founding members, got on the stage.

“People told me I should hear him. That I got to be here for Derek Trucks,” said John Mathias of Frederick, Md. Mathias, who hadn’t heard Trucks’ music before, was at Saturday’s Blues Fest with his girlfriend and little sister.

“He’s got phenomenal ability. The technical skills. He’s off the charts,” Mathias said. “And he’s mellow on stage. He rocks the show.”

This weekend’s crowd was probably the biggest Blues Fest crowd ever, Hagerstown Police Sgt. Kevin Simmers said Saturday afternoon. But everyone was well-behaved, and about 10 police officers were on duty throughout Saturday’s portion of the festival, he said.

Jennifer Kerns grew up in Hagerstown, but had never been to a Blues Fest until her friend, Kane Staley, convinced her to see Derek Trucks. She drove from Baltimore for Blues Fest.

“I’m a big Allman Brothers fan ... If he jams like the Allman Brothers, I want to see him,” she said.

Staley had one word to describe Derek Trucks.

“He’s a phenom. That’s it.”

Truck is the youngest player to make Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and has been called “the anointed one” by Carlos Santana, according to Blues Fest promotional materials.

People crammed in between the stage and seating area long before Trucks’ performance. About 30 people also set up lawn chairs just outside the gated area for the evening’s final performance.

Jennie Avila and Steve Wright were among a group of local musicians chatting Saturday afternoon.

Wright has been to all of the Blues Fests. He played the first one, and two or three subsequent ones, as part of The Blue Comets. He lives in the area and sees a lot of people he knows during the festival.

“It brings everybody out,” he said.

Avila started attending Blues Fest in 2004, when she played at the Grille at Park Circle as part of the festivities.

“It’s like a big reunion, meet all your friends. The music is fabulous. I always hear some really interesting new folks,” she said.

Both enjoyed Bonerama, a band described on its Web site as a brass funk band from New Orleans, made up of five trombones and a tuba.

Blues Fest organizer Carl Disque described Bonerama as “immensely exciting.” It’s one of his favorite bands, he said.

“They didn’t let us down at all,” Disque said after Bonerama’s afternoon performance.

For Disque, the Blues Fest is a community celebration.

“It’s that people come together in music and just realize we’re all human beings trying to get along,” he said.

Dan Wallace of Williamsport is a local musician who has been to the Blues Fest three or four times, he said.

“It’s always good quality music here. It’s the real deal, and you don’t have to drive far,” he said. - The Herald by Erin Julius


"Fall Tour & New EP On Tap For Bonerama"

September 18, 2009
With the release of a new five-track EP, Hard Times, the introduction of the fan-funded Boner Donor program, and a trio of multi-gig residencies on the horizon, New Orleans' inimitable Bonerama has never been busier. The trombone-centric funk-rock troupe is all about checking off milestones right now, conjuring up new ways to spread their boner-ific mojo and enhance the Bonerama experience for their loyal fan base.

Hard Times, available beginning September 29, includes the first-ever studio recordings by Bonerama, once described by Rolling Stone's David Fricke as "the ultimate in brass balls." Those who've caught them in concert during their decade-plus existence treasure the group's live recordings, and now Hard Times recasts Bonerama music in a whole other context. The four studio tracks on the EP include the title track, "Hard Times," the instrumental "Folly" and "Lost My House," co-written by Craig Klein and Dave Malone of New Orleans' legendary Radiators. The last studio recording is a ferocious cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" (who in the Big Easy can't relate to that?), while the sole live track is a raging rave-up of the Bobby "Blue" Bland soul classic "Turn On Your Love Light," captured at last year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The release of Hard Times will be supported by a month of Northeast residencies and tour dates running from Oct. 1-30. The residencies include three consecutive Wednesday nights at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA, four Thursdays at Club Metronome in Burlington, VT, and four Fridays at Sullivan Hall in NYC. The whirlwind tour will also make stops in Pittsburgh, PA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Wilmington, DE; Londonderry, NH; Rockland, ME; Manchester, CT; Northampton, MA and Lancaster, PA with more cities to be announced. See below for the current list of fall tour dates. - Glide Magazine


"Bonerama to get minds out of the gutter"

October 02, 2009
The words “Pittsburgh” and “funk” are not used in the same sentence very often, but a band native to New Orleans hopes to change that. Just be careful when you search its name on the Internet.

Bonerama plans to bring the funk to the city on Oct. 3, when it showcases at the Rex Theater. The band labels its genre “brass funk rock.” Take rocked-out lyrics, mix in a little New Orleans funk, lead it all with trombones and you get Bonerama.

As for finding Bonerama online, “You have to be careful where you search on the Internet for us,” said co-founder Craig Klein. “You can come across some eye-openers.”

While minds might sink to the gutter, Klein said that the band’s name comes from his instrument of choice: A trombone is known as a “bone” in music terminology.

When Klein and Mark Mullins founded the band in 1998, they were fresh off a tour with Harry Connick Jr. (“P.S. I Love You,” “New in Town”).

“Mullins and I had always dreamed of putting a trombone band together, so we did,” he said. A little over a decade later, Bonerama had released three live albums, toured the nation and opened eyes to New Orleans culture.

“New Orleans is one of the meccas of music in the world,” Klein said.

Music and culture go hand in hand for Bonerama, and the band would like to bring that mentality to Pittsburgh.

“Music has been a part of the culture of New Orleans for hundreds of years. Music is part of life in New Orleans. We celebrate life with music. We

celebrate death with music,” he said.

A steady, uphill climb embodies Bonerama’s 11-year lifespan. That climb, according to Klein, is nowhere close to being finished.

Bonerama recently dropped its third live album, “Hard Times,” and is currently promoting it with a tour in the Northeast. Tour stops include Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Burlington, Vt. and Sullivan Hall in New York. “We’re really excited about playing there,” Klein said of Pittsburgh’s Rex Theater. “We did a little research on it, and it turns out it is over 90 years old and the sounds are great in there. We love playing in places like that.”

A legacy like Rex Theater’s is what Klein hopes for the future of Bonerama.

“We’re in the studio now recording our first real studio album,” he said. “This new record is going to be a pretty intense studio effort.

“With the rich heritage that we have here [in New Orleans], we sort of feel like we’re trying to put our own little taste on it,” he said.

This “taste” includes a band member playing his horn through a guitar amplifier so that it sounds exactly like an electric guitar — shredding included.The electric guitar feel adds more rock appeal.

“We also do a lot of vocals, but the three trombones are the voice of the band,” Klein said.

And with those leading bones comes the funk.

Funk-rock, like any other genre, comes at a price.

“The whole music industry has totally changed,” Klein said. “There’s not support from record labels anymore. You’re on your own.” In search of a way to keep doing what they love, the band created the Boner Doner program.

Through Boner Doner, Bonerama gains both financial support and loyalty from their fans. Fans have the option of buying certain packages with rewards attached. For example, with a $50 donation, Bonor Donors receive an autographed copy of the new album and a limited edition “Hard Times hard drive” that can be refilled with new Bonerama music.

With a $500 donation, fans receive unrestricted access to two live online concerts from the studio during the production of the new CD.

Klein and fellow members of Bonerama are pleased with the results of the Bonor Donor program thus far.

“It helps support our art and keeps the music coming. It’s also a way for us to get to know our fans. It’s an interesting idea, and we’ll see where it goes,” he said.

Pittsburgh is not just a small stop on a multi-city tour for Bonerama. Instead, the city serves as a semi-milestone. As it is the band’s first time performing here, it is excited to meet, play for and educate fans in Pittsburgh.

“We know that if they come out and hear it, they’re going to like it. They’re going to have a good time. That’s a track record of ours. We just want to share our music with them,” he said.

Check out Bonerama's Myspace page - Pitt News by Sierra Starks


"Bonerama: A Brass-Band Force Of Nature"

March 01, 2010
"When the Levee Breaks" was first recorded by Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song originally referred to the great Mississippi Flood of 1927 — a natural disaster that destroyed communities up and down the banks of the river, but mostly spared the city of New Orleans. Of course, Hurricane Katrina created a whole different image of what can happen when the barriers between humans and the elements come down, so it makes sense that the New Orleans band Bonerama would bring the song forcefully into the present.

Mark Mullins and Craig Klein met while playing in the trombone section of Harry Connick Jr.'s Big Band, and together they created the core sound of Bonerama — reminiscent of street-tromping brass bands, avenues of jazz clubs and heavy-pulsing rock. Naturally, "When the Levee Breaks" pulls from the famous version on Led Zeppelin IV, complete with sly re-renderings of harmonica solos on swaying trombone. It moves with a heavy groove, dominated by the pounding wave of sound created by the slides of the trombone. The effect is edgier and more mournful than Led Zeppelin's lightly bluesy version — not only for its rich brass and darker, harder strung arrangement, but also because every bit of the performance comes from deep in the chest cavity, from a time and place when "Cryin' won't help you, and prayin' won't do no good." It feels like a force of nature, and as such, it threatens to sweep away everything in its path. - NPR by Claire Blaustein


"The New Music Biz: Throwing a Bonerama Birthday Party"

November 02, 2010
The New Orleans trombone rock band Bonerama is playing a private show for Julia Lunetta's thirtieth birthday. It's part of a program that offers fans unique experiences with the band at premium rates. - Time Magazine by Jacob Templin


"Big Easy Music Awards Toast Year’s Best in New Orleans"

April 25, 2008
The 20th Annual Big Easy Music Awards honored the musical lifeblood still pulsing through New Orleans Monday, April 21 at Harrah's Theatre. Winners, performers and presenters featured a bevy of BMI legends: Entertainer of the Year Terence Blanchard and his band delivered a jaw-dropping performance; revered piano man Allen Toussaint presented the 2008 Lifetime Achievement in Music honor to beloved funk innovator Eddie Bo; newly-anointed Best Female Performer Irma Thomas handed out jazz and gospel honors alongside the Thelonius Monk Institute's Jonathan Bloom; and the Tipitina Foundation's acclaimed Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino received Album of the Year bragging rights.

All BMI 2008 Big Easy Music Award Winners

Entertainer of the Year
Terence Blanchard

Lifetime Achievement in Music
Eddie Bo

Ambassador of Music
Donald Harrison, Jr.

Best Blues Artist
Little Freddie King

Best Rhythm and Blues
Jon Cleary

Best Rap/Hip Hop
Lil' Wayne

Best Traditional Jazz
Tom McDermott & Evan Christopher

Best Contemporary Jazz Artist
Terence Blanchard

Best Traditional Brass Band
Treme Brass Band

Best Contemporary Brass Band
Soul Rebels

Best Roots Rock Band
Happy Talk Band

Best Rock Band
Rotary Downs

Best Funk Band
Galactic

Best Zydeco Artist
Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience

Best Mixed Bag
Bonerama

Best Female Performer
Irma Thomas

Best Emerging Artist
Shamarr Allen

Best Album
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
Tipitina's Foundation - Vanguard Records
Produced by Bill Taylor, Adam Shipley & Chris Finney - BMI News


"Bringing It Home Review"

Bonerama brings it home and captures what a real New Orleans party and night out at the world-famous Tipitina’s sounds like on their new CD, Bringing It Home. Recorded live September 7 and 8, 2006, at Tipitina’s and later mixed at the Music Shed by local Chris Finney, the listener hears the atmosphere, energy, my personal screams from being in the audience on both nights, and the flavor of these local favorites. Bonerama shows just why they’re taking the world by storm with their sensational New Orleans style with songs like “Bayou Betty” by Matt Perrine and “Mr. Go” by Arabi Wrecking Krewe VP Craig Klein. With the most spectacular brass section in the country, including Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, Rick Trolsen, Steve Suter, and Matt Perrine, along with Bert Cotton on guitar and Eric Bolivar on drums, the guys bring down the house with their bad-to-the-bone rockin’ funk brass band sound that only Bonerama can produce. Local drummer Stanton Moore guests on the album and gives the guys a hand in “Sprung Monkey,” a fun tune written by Moore showcasing the brass section and his classic New Orleans street-beat style. Another captivating tune is the colorful bad-ass arrangement by Mark Mullins of the John Lennon and Paul McCartney classic “Helter Skelter,” in which Cotton works the guitar into a psychedelic rhapsody while the guys blow up the harmony with their cool brass style. “The Ocean,” a Led Zeppelin classic, becomes another killer arrangement by Mullins, leaving the listener wanting more from the first note of the unforgettable bridge that sounds extremely sexy when played on the trombone. This CD as a whole is incredible and definitely one you’ll want to add to your New Orleans CD collection for all those great N’Awlins parties, or whenever you want to think you’re at one.

- whereyaat.com by Sheri McKee


"Fricke's Picks"

May 31, 2007
... Yet for airborne pow, there was no beating the four-trombone front line of Bonerama, which made dirty blues and swamp gas of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" and the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" with crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls. (Co-founder Mark Mullins plays an electric horn.) Both covers are on the group's third album, "Bringing It Home" (bonerama.net) - like the first two, tapes live ith no overdubs and a while lotta mule kick - along with brass-tornado pins through the Meters and Thelonious Monk and a sox-pack of originals. The results definitively answer the age-old musical question: What would Black Sabbath sound like with the P-Funk horns instead of guitarist Tony Iommi?
- Rolling Stone by David Fricke


"Bonerama on Letterman on Monday"

February 07, 2008
As longtime members of Harry Connick Jr.'s band, trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein made multiple appearances on "Late Show With David Letterman" over the years. But on Monday, they're scheduled to appear on Letterman for the first time with their own band, Bonerama.

Bonerama and Damian Kulash of OK Go are to showcase material from their new collaborative EP, "You're Not Alone."

All proceeds from "You're Not Alone" benefit musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina, including Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, who appears on the recording.
Damian Kulash of OK Go

"We can barely contain our excitement," Mullins said of Bonerama's upcoming "Letterman" turn. "We're very, very excited for the band and for the light it will shine on New Orleans and the cause. We're humbled and grateful for the opportunity."

"You're Not Alone" is available exclusively on iTunes. "Late Show With David Letterman" airs Monday at 10:30 p.m. on CBS. - The Times-Picayune by Keith Spera


"Hard Times Interview: Mark Mullins of Bonerama"

September 22, 2009
If you’re a Northeast-based fan of the gobsmackingly excellent Bonerama and its brass-based approach to funk, rock & R&B, October’s your month.

The New Orleans trombone brigade will be spending almost the entire four-week stretch playing in Northeastern markets, from Baltimore to Maine, including three weekly residencies: four Thursdays (Oct. 1, 8, 15 and 22) at Club Metronome in Burlington, Vt., four Fridays (Oct. 2, 9, 16 and 23) at Sullivan Hall in New York, and three Wednesdays (Oct. 14, 21 and 28) at Johnny D’s in Somerville, MA. This is a big-bonin’ deal.

Though founding ‘bonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein still anchor the lineup, Bonerama’s changed a bit from its horn-heavy beginnings, and in the past year made a seismic adjustment to its sound, beginning to use an electric bass instead of a sousaphone on the low end. In addition to Mullins and Klein, the October touring lineup includes trombonist Greg Hicks, organist Joe Ashlar, guitarist Bert Cotton, drummer Eric Bolivar, and bassist Nori Naraoka.

Hidden Track caught up with Mullins to find the band busier than ever - and the residencies are only the tip of the tentacle. It has a new EP on the way - check out a meaty When the Levee Breaks - and is also launching a new fan donation service, the Boner Donor program, that offers exclusive content and even an opportunity to go on the road with the band based on tiered donation levels. As Mullins suggested, it’s all part of evolution.

HIDDEN TRACK: Those of us in the Northeast are going to be seeing a lot of you in October, and that’s awesome. Why the residencies and why now?

MARK MULLINS: It’s a nice problem to have. People are always pulling on us, asking when are you coming to the west coast, or Colorado, or New York, or whatever. And when we pass through those places it might be once or twice a year. So, instead of visiting a place and taking off, we’ve got like two years’ worth of NYC, Vermont and Boston appearances crammed into October. I do the setlists, and I’m a big fan of keeping things interesting and progressing, and to be able to use that creatively in a one month period and really mix it up, well it’s very exciting for us. It’s going to allow us to reach a whole new bunch of fans I think.

HT: Will we see guest musicians at your northeast shows?

MM: Absolutely. We’re trying to pull together as many special friends and guests as we can. I’m not prepared to announce anything - really, we’re seeing just who’s passing through town - but that’ll be part of creating something fun, different and evolving.

HT: Why the northeast in particular, of all those areas who’d obviously like to get more Bonerama? Why not, say, California? Or Hawaii?

MM: [Laughs] Wow. You want to be our manager? [Laughs] Really, there’s so many big markets so close to each other. For routing purposes, it makes sense. You can hit a lot of markets and cover some serious population without worrying about 10 or 12 hour drives in between.

HT: You guys have a lot going on right now. Tell me about your new EP, Hard Times. Am I correct in that it’s the first studio release of Bonerama’s career?

MM: Yeah, more or less. We worked hard on our live records but those were really about capturing those performances as they were at the time. Those were fun. But going into the studio gives you a whole different palate. We have been in the studio before - we did a collaboration with Damian Kulash and OK Go [2008's You're Not Alone EP] - but it’s the first straight ahead stuff we’ve ever done in the studio of ours. We’re going to begin work on a full-length CD, but for now this is four studio cuts and a live cut from Jazz Fest last year. It was some stuff we’ve had in our back pocket, and we’ll have a new full-length coming up.

HT: And the full-length will be entirely new stuff?

MM: There might be some things Bonerama fans have heard before, but it’s a whole bunch of stuff - a mix of originals with carefully selected covers. There’ll be more than enough to keep people on board. It’s been three years since our last official release, and while we have our live download series, those don’t get the post-production as our official live records.

HT: I understand you’ve just launched the Boner Donor program, where you’ll be inviting fans to invest in your upcoming projects. We’re seeing a lot of this type of program these days, both for the funding aspect but also because it brings a band closer to some of its hardcore fans.

MM: It’s a byproduct of the times we’re in and the industry changing by the day. Touring has never been harder for a lot of bands than it is right now. It’s not like the old days where it’d be easier to book a string of 30 dates to support a record. The models of the past are changing and a lot of them are basically gone. For artists to survive, we have to step back and reassess our role. We can’t rely - and don’t want to rely - on record companies and record dea - Hidden Track by Chad Berndtson


"Brassy Rockers Play Monday Blues"

October 1, 2009
ROCKLAND (Oct 1): New Orleans' Bonerama, perhaps the only brass band to win a Best Rock Band award (Big Easy 2007), will show what it does with the blues Monday, Oct. 12, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Time Out Pub, 275 Main St.

Even in a city that does not play by the rules, Bonerama is something different. The band, repeatedly recognized by Rolling Stone, can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set — maybe even the same song.

New Orleans' fertile club scene was directly responsible for Bonerama getting together. Trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein were both members of Harry Connick's band, and both were looking to supplement this gig with something a little less structured. The big chance came in the summer of 1998, when Mullins had a weekly residency at Tipitina's in the French Quarter and he and Klein staged ar trombone super-session

"It seemed that half the trombone players in town showed up," Klein recalled. "At the end of the night we had them all onstage, maybe 15 trombones at once. It sounded like a freight train; a big wall of sound coming right at you."

Along with his jazz connections, Mullins is Bonerama's resident rocker and instigated the offbeat classic rock covers that have become a band tradition. Indeed, the sounds Mullins makes by playing through a guitar amp and wah-wah pedal may explain why he names Jimi Hendrix as one of his favorite trombonists.

"It's great to grab people with the rock songs, and then turn them on to some New Orleans music at the same time," Klein said.

Bonerama is sure to make for a memorable evening. Admission will be $15 at the door. Filling out the month in the weekly series is Harper Oct. 19, $10; and Nicole Hart Oct. 26, $10.
- Village Soup


"Scaring The Children"

Photographer Robert Chapman is a machine. He can go for hours without sleep to serve the music. After the show Chapman suggested we go to Sullivan Hall to hear Bonerama, who are in the midst of a Friday residency. There were some interesting guests on the bill, including Eric Krasno, Nigel Hall and The Colin Brown Band. I only first heard of Bonerama this year from a flier for the Bear Creek Music Festival. They are a New Orleans band who have actually been around for some time and are currently touring the North East.

Krasno was playing out of a Marshal Stack on a Gibson that looked very similar to Weir's semi-acoustic, but it was a solid body. I arrived just in time to see Nigel Hall and Krasno sitting in with Bonerama, along with members of the Colin Brown Band and RatDog's saxophonist Kenny Brooks, who was playing a tiny saxophone. They played an instrumental of The Beatles' "Get Back," one of Krasno's signature tunes, and a rendition of The Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post." The four horns from Bonerama played the part of what would be Gregg Allman's passionate vocals, with the brass set loose in the New Orleans style.

Heading out of Sullivan Hall with a peace sign and star stamped on my hand, I pondered the evening and how I got into this mess. The arrival of Brooklyn Bowl on the scene is certainly a game changer for the musical topography of Brooklyn, and as goes NYC so does the country. Perhaps with The Bowl fortifying good music in the city, improvisational rock will regain its proper place in the hearts and minds of urban Americans everywhere.
- JamBase


"Eric Krasno and Nigel Hall to Join Bonerama"

October 9, 2009
New Orleans based Bonerama is in the midst of a Northeast tour that finds the group with three October residencies. The band is spending Wednesdays at Johnny D’s in Somerville, MA, heading up to Burlington’s Club Metronome on Thursdays and then traveling to New York City’s Sullivan Hall on Fridays. This being Friday, New York City is the locale for Bonerama’s performance on a bill with the Colin Brown Band. Bonerama will draw in some guest players as well, with Eric Krasno and Nigel Hall confirmed to appear, while Brown and his group (which includes Will Bernard, Kenny Brooks and Johnny Durkin) likely to sit-in as well. Bonerama recently released Hard Times, its first studio EP. - Jambands.com


"Bonerama Rocks its Brass Sound with Fresh Faces"

November 6, 2009
It wasn’t Groundhog Day, but it was close.

In October, Bonerama performed in New York City on four consecutive Fridays. They hit Burlington, Vt., on four consecutive Thursdays. And they visited Boston on three Wednesdays.

The idea was to saturate those markets with trombone funk-rock. “It usually takes us two years to make four impressions in New York,” Bonerama co-founder Mark Mullins said. “We did it in a month.”

Until recently Bonerama featured, from left, Nori Naraoka, Steve Suter, Bert Cotton, Greg Hicks, Craig Klein, Eric Bolivar, Mark Mullins.

Suter is no longer in the band. After four weeks on the road — Bonerama played other northeast dates around the revolving residency — Mullins and his bandmates are glad to be home. They’ll do a free show on Friday, Nov. 6 as part of the “Back to the River” concert series at the Gretna Riverfront Amphitheater.

Local fans, like those in the northeast, will experience a retooled Bonerama. Since Bonerama’s 1998 inception, members have come and gone. Mullins and co-founding trombonist Craig Klein — they spent 16 years in Harry Connick Jr.’s band before quitting in 2007 to focus on Bonerama — always adjusted accordingly.

“It’s been our destiny to have change from the beginning,” Mullins said. “Every time something happens, Craig and I look at each other and go, ‘We’re not done. We have more to say. We left Harry’s band to do this. So how is this an opportunity?’ ”

Recent changes have been deliberate. To nudge the brass-heavy ensemble’s sound toward that of a more traditional rock band, Mullins and Klein added a keyboard. For practical and economic reasons, they wanted to remain a seven-piece band; that meant cutting back from four to three trombones. To that end, they recently parted ways with Steve Suter. Also, longtime sousaphonist Matt Perrine no longer holds down the band’s bottom end; New York electric bassist Nori Naraoka now occupies that slot.

The current lineup features Mullins, Klein, fellow trombonist Greg Hicks, drummer Eric Bolivar, guitarist Bert Cotton and Naraoka. Either Joe Ashlar or Brian Coogan handles keyboards. “The electric bass hits people in a different way,” Mullins said. “It’s a more powerful, rock sound. And with the keyboard, it’s a classic instrumentation. It’s a fat rhythm section that can cover so much real estate, and the three horns can play in unison or riff.

“The brass band elements are a large part of what gives this a New Orleans stamp. That won’t change. But when it comes time to be a rock band, it’s a more powerful presentation. We’re excited about the possibilities.”

Vocals figure more prominently in Bonerama’s new material. “We’re not singers first, but we’re spending a lot of time working on that,” Mullins said. “I like writing lyrics. But we still like to stretch and jam and change things on every tune.”

The taping community has taken notice of Bonerama’s no-two-shows-alike ethos. “They’ll latch onto things I’m not aware of,” Mullins said. “They’ll say, ‘Man, that “Frankenstein” you did the second week in New York was so cool.’ ”

Bonerama recorded its previous three albums on stage. Four of the five cuts on the band’s new “Hard Times” EP originated in a studio. “Hard Times” is intended as an appetizer for a full-length Bonerama studio album next spring.

Despite the title, “Hard Times” is anything but downcast. Even “Lost My House,” which Klein co-wrote with the Radiators’ Dave Malone,” is upbeat. Throughout, swaggering trombones share space with squalling guitar solos.

A trombone stomp through the Edgar Winter warhorse “Frankenstein” caught the ears of early Bonerama advocates such as Rolling Stone senior writer David Fricke. Bonerama previously raided the Led Zeppelin catalog for “The Ocean” and “Moby Dick”; the lift-off in “When the Levee Breaks” is the most visceral moment on “Hard Times.” A recording from the 2009 Jazz Fest of “Turn On Your Love Light” — Bobby Blue Bland, Van Morrison & Them, the Grateful Dead and Edgar Winter have covered it — concludes the CD.

Last month’s northeast adventure was Bonerama’s most ambitious road trip to date. As Klein and Mullins both have young families, they tend not to tour for a month at a time. But they don’t rule out another mobile residency, perhaps around Chicago or in California.

The northeast concert series left them exhausted but satisfied. Each week in New York, Boston and Burlington, they drew repeat customers and new fans. On past tours, if a fan couldn’t make a show, “by the time we’d get back nine months later, they’ve forgotten about us,” Mullins said. “This time, it was like, ‘Oh, you’re busy this week? Come back next week.’ And it made us a better band.”

Mullins insists that all that time away only reinforced Bonerama’s pedigree. “Everything that comes out of us is still connected to New Orleans. People say, ‘That doesn’t sound like New Orleans.’ But I see more and more as we travel t - Nola.com


"Hard Times Review"

December 1, 2009
Hard Times is Bonerama’s first studio recording after three live albums, and moving the band to the studio poses a number of challenges beyond maintaining the groove and vibe that comes with performing live. In concert, Bonerama’s as loud and physical as many guitar-based rock bands, partially because of similarities between the range of the trombone and the electric guitar, and because Bonerama plays loud. At Jazz Fest, the band’s music frequently bleeds over to adjoining stages, particularly when it’s windy. How do you capture something that intense in the studio?

To their credit, they don’t try. Instead, the five-song EP is an introduction of the things Bonerama does—a Mark Mullins song, a Craig Klein song, a funky instrumental, and two covers. One represents the sort of thing they’re known for—”When the Levee Breaks”—and one’s a broadening of their repertoire— Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn on Your Love Light.” They only roll out their piledriver weight for the Led Zep cover; otherwise, they’re content to be a solid funk band and are exactly that. Mullins’ title cut is a bit poppier, Klein’s “Lost My House” has a bit of a Neville groove, but those tracks move more nimbly than you’d expect after one of their classic rock covers.

Lyrically, Hard Times catches what seems like a transitional moment. Because of Klein’s association with the Arabi Wrecking Krewe and his own loss in the post-Katrina flood, the band has been heavily associated with the hurricane, and “When the Levee Breaks” certainly reinforces that connection. Mullins and Klein’s songs both reference hard times and loss, but both seem to be looking for where to go from here. Both lyrics get a little hazy, either in their vagueness or privacy, but Bonerama is one band that really has remained in development since conception, even though it found its sound fairly early. Hard Times hints at where a band in constant transition might go next.
- OffBeat Magazine


"Intermezzo: Bonerama @ Tips"

April 28, 2010
The second weekend of Jazz Fest is upon us and one of the more intriguing shows in the French Quarter takes place at Tipitina’s French Quarter late night on Saturday where Bonerama will be joined by Mike Mills and Scott McCaughey of R.E.M. Mike and the Bonerama boys have a bit of history after the R.E.M. bassist sat in with them last October at the Future of Music Coalition show in Washington D.C. for a few choice covers.

Tickets for Bonerama @ Tip’s are onsale now. - Glide Magazine by Scott Bernstein


"Bonerama: Bell of the Bar"

July 01, 2010
“Fuckin’ cab driver.”

It’s November 6, 2006 and Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, Tom Morello, Mike Mills and Bonerama have just finished a version of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Ohio.” The occasion is the first “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home” benefit concert at Tipitina’s and as a surprise to everybody, Bonerama’s Mark Mullins has called a pissed-off Tony Clifton to the stage. Clifton was an Andy Kaufman character, a bad lounge singer who’d inevitably end up at war with his audience.

Earle and Mills chuckle knowingly as Clifton complains about his “Pollack cab driver,” but as he continues into a series of Polish jokes, the crowd grows restless. Kaufman had been dead since 1984 (though his friend Bob Zmuda was conspicuously absent during the performance) so few in the crowd were thinking “comedy.” They just thought he was inappropriate (to be kind) until he asked, “How do you get a gay guy to have sex with a woman?”

The punch line’s too offensive and gross to tell comfortably, and even Earle took a step back. As Clifton’s battle with the audience escalated, a perplexed Morello asked, “What’s going on here?” When that got no response, he said dismissively, “Thanks bro. Thanks,” to Clifton, earning a “Fuck you.” When Clifton finally sang a flat, Vegas version of “For Once in My Life” backed by Bonerama, Bill Taylor from Tipitina’s Foundation tried unsuccessfully to wrestle Clifton back to the wings. After 15 minutes of theater at its most conceptual, Clifton left the stage to boos, but the mood lightened when the show resumed with a rousing version of the Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today” and a singalong on “This Land is Your Land.”

“It makes your stomach hurt,” Mark Mullins says, remembering that night. Tony Clifton had approached them a few weeks before, and he’d appeared at two of their shows. Neither was as raw or rude as that night at Tip’s, so no one in the band realized how real it would get. “These were guests here to help the city,” Bonerama’s Craig Klein says.

Bonerama. Photo by Elsa Hahne.

As outrageous as the night was, it set in motion the machinery that made Bonerama what it is today. In addition to being Andy Kaufman’s friend, Bob Zmuda founded Comic Relief and when the comedians’ activist organization held a benefit for victims of post-Katrina flooding, he asked Bonerama to be the house band. Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the Future of Music Coalition (FMC) continued their series of activism retreats in New Orleans, bringing interested musicians to the Crescent City to learn how they could better use their platforms for social causes, and each concluded with a “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home” concert (the sixth took place in March at One Eyed Jacks), and Bonerama has been the house band for all but one.

At the first show, their highlight was a radical reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” for Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, but they proved themselves indispensable when Mullins worked up a series of arrangements including five for OK Go singer Damian Kulash while the band was on the road in California, then showed up a few hours before the show due to flight delays and nailed it anyway, and studio versions of the songs in the set became I Shall Be Released, an iTunes-only collaboration EP between Bonerama and OK Go. At the most recent show, the largely indie musicians were so excited to have a horn section that Bonerama played on almost every song.

As a result, Bonerama has broadened its circle of friends, and Mullins, Klein and Greg Hicks have recorded with ATC/FMC workshop alumni Jon Langford, Alec Ounsworth, and through alums Mike Mills and Scott McCaughey, R.E.M. Los Lobos sax player Steve Berlin attended one, and he has called them for the albums he has produced in New Orleans.

“They’re consummate professionals,” Berlin says. “And they know how to play together. I’ve worked with some sections elsewhere where they might be virtuosos individually, but it takes a while for them to play together. Those guys have a wonderful singularity of mind where they can sound like one incredibly powerful thing.”

With all that going on, one question remains: What will it take to make other people talk about guesting on Bonerama albums instead of vice versa?

Bonerama. Photo by Elsa Hahne.

In a way, the Bonerama story started in New York City. Mullins and Klein were in Harry Connick, Jr.’s band in the late 1990s and they often played New York. “Whenever we were there, we would take advantage of the music scene,” Klein says. “There was a club, and every Monday night it was just salsa mix jams. And I went to this club, and I saw, I think it was Willie Colón, and it was a five-trombone Cuban band. That’s what started me up. Here’s this Cuban band that features the trombone, and I said I’d love to do that with a New Orleans band.”

At the first Bonerama show in 1998, there were seven or eight trombones including Lucien Barbarin, F - Offbeat by Alex Rawls


"Bonerama Sets Northeast Residency in November Featuring Special Guests Galore"

October 21, 2010
New Orleans-based funksters Bonerama won themselves many new fans last October during a month-long residency in the Northeast. The sextet will see if lightning strikes twice this November when they embark on a tour that includes three weekly residency stops and features a slew of special guests including Steve Kimock, Kyle Hollingsworth and Shmeeans.

Each Friday in November, Bonerama will perform at Sullivan Hall welcoming different guests each week. Saturday November 13th and November 20th, the trombone-based group hits Philadelphia’s North Star Bar while Sundays finds the brassy funk act at The 8 x 10 in Baltimore. A number of guests have been announced – such as two shows with Hollingsworth and Kimock joining in – but many more will remain undisclosed until just before the performances if at all. Here’s the full list of dates and announced guests…

November 4 The Stone Church – Newmarket, NH
November 5 Sullivan Hall – New York City, NY w/ Adam Smirnoff & Members of Morphine and Jeremy Lyons
November 6 Market Street Live – Wilmington, DE
November 7 The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD w/ Adam Smirnoff
November 10 Wonder Bar – Allston, MA
November 11 Narrows Center for the Arts – Fall River, MA
November 12 Sullivan Hall – New York City, NY w/ TBA
November 13 North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA w/ TBA
November 14 The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD w/ Cris Jacobs
November 16 Chico’s House of Jazz – Asbury Park, NJ
November 18 Church of Boston – Boston, MA w/ Nate Wilson Group
November 19 Sullivan Hall – New York City, NY w/ Nate Wilson Group, Kyle Hollingsworth & Steve Kimock
November 20 North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA w/ Nate Wilson Group, Kyle Hollingsworth & Steve Kimock
November 21 The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD w/ Nate Wilson Group and Kyle Hollingsworth

Head over to Bonerama’s website for much more information on the run including details on the band’s innovative Boner Donor program. - Glide Magazine by Scott Bernstein


"Bonerama's Horns of Plenty"

June 23, 2010
The trombone-funk band Bonerama were an expected pleasure in their Saturday- lunchtime set on the first weekend of this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The group's evolving fusion of local funk muscle, jam-rock improvisation and the horns' big-band harmonic movement has never disappointed on stage, since I first bumped into one of their Fest shows in 2002. The surprises this year came when Bonerama opened that day with a herd-of-bison charge through the Grateful Dead's "The Other One," from 1968's Anthem of the Sun, then paid tribute to their late neighbor, Alex Chilton, with a brawny medley of "The Letter" by the Box Tops and Big Star's "O My Soul," with the 'bones taking over for the guitars in the latter's growling off-kilter riff. For those moments alone, I had to get that set to go. Bonerama, April 24th, 2010 (Jazz Fest Live) is available as a CD or download at munckmusic.com, along with other great performances from both weekends of Jazz Fest 2010. - Rolling Stone Magazine by David Fricke


Discography

Hard Times - 2009 The brand new five-track EP includes the first-ever studio recordings featuring a ferocious cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks” and has been added to 157 stations.
Funky Kidz - 2008
You're Not Alone with OK Go - 2008
Bringing It Home - 2007
Live From New York - 2005
Live at The Old Point - 2001

Photos

Bio

Even in a city that doesn’t play by the rules, New Orleans’ Bonerama is something different. They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song. Bonerama has been repeatedly recognized by Rolling Stone, hailed as “the ultimate in brass balls” (2005) and praised for their “…crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls” (2007). Bonerama carries the brass-band concept to places unknown; what other brass band could snag an honor for “Best Rock Band” (Big Easy Awards 2007)? As cofounder Mark Mullins puts it, “We thought we could expand what a New Orleans brass band could do. Bands like Dirty Dozen started the “anything goes” concept, bringing in the guitars and the drum kit and using the sousaphone like a bass guitar. We thought we could push things a little further.”

New Orleans’ fertile club scene was directly responsible for Bonerama getting together. Trombonists Mullins and Craig Klein were both members of Harry Connick’s band, where they’d been since 1990. Both were looking to supplement this gig with something a little less structured. “Harry sets the bar pretty high, and you have to play it the same way every night for everyone to follow.”

The big chance came in the summer of ’98, when Mullins had a weekly residency at Tipitina’s in the French Quarter. The club was then turning weekly slots over to some of the city’s favorite musicians, including Allen Toussaint and Cyril Neville; Mullins got charge of Wednesdays. Word got out one week that he and Klein were staging their trombone super-session and everybody they knew wanted to get involved. “It seemed that half the trombone players in town showed up,” Klein recalls. “At the end of the night we had them all onstage, maybe fifteen trombones at once. It sounded like a freight train; a big wall of sound coming right at you.”

Along with his jazz connections, Mullins is Bonerama’s resident rock ‘n’ roller: It was Mullins who instigated the offbeat classic-rock covers that have become a band tradition. Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” was the first nugget to get the treatment and songs by Hendrix, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers Band have since appeared in their set right alongside the funk and jazz-flavored numbers. “There’s definitely something about the guitar and the trombone that are related,” Mullins figures. “You compare the fretboard to the slide; there’s a lot of similarity there.” Indeed, the sounds Mullins makes by playing through a guitar amp and wah-wah pedal may explain why he’s named Jimi Hendrix as one of his favorite trombonists. “It’s great to grab people with the rock songs, and then turn them on to some New Orleans music at the same time,” Klein says.

The buzz on Bonerama grew with hometown acclaim (with the band winning numerous OffBeat Magazine Awards; and Mullins regularly topping OffBeat’s trombone category), lots of roadwork, and three live albums – the first recorded close to home at the Old Point in Algiers; the second on tour in New York and the third album, Bringing It Home, recorded live from New Orleans’ world famous nightclub, Tipitina’s. The Boston Herald called them a “bonehead’s dream”; the Vail (CO) Daily noted that “the sound is fat and wet; sometimes downright lusty.” As hometown music zine OffBeat put it, “That nerdy kid in the band room with the trombone just might have the last laugh after all.”

The new EP Hard Times contains four studio tracks including the title track, “Hard Times,” the instrumental number “Folly” and “Lost My House” which was co-written by Craig Klein and Dave Malone from the Radiators. These three new originals along with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" marks the band's first ever studio recordings. A bonus fifth track features a live performance of "Turn on Your Love Light" captured live from the stage at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

“’Lost My House’ is a true story inspire