funkharp
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funkharp

Band Pop Jam

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"ref: www.funkharp.com"

Please check the bio page at www.funkharp.com for press quotes and reviews - funkharp.com


Discography

Current Album: "I Pledge Allegiance to the Earth..." with singles "Perfect World" and "Sermon" finding radio airplay among college stations

Photos

Bio

In late 2008, funkharp, the solo singer/songwriter, formed funkharp: the band. In just a few months, funkharp has been honored as the Philadelphia representative for the International Music Festival, the first 2009 standout performer in the Cream of Philly Rising Series at the World Cafe Live, and will be announced as an artist on the rise in Relix Magazine's June/"Phish" Issue (to be circulated nationally with specific distribution at summer festivals such as Bonnaroo).

The Band:
The members of funkharp live together in a house/recording studio they built with their own hands. In true indie fashion, funkharp tours in a squeaky old conversion band and insists on giving their music away for free, citing that art belongs to the interpreter.

What is Funkharp:
Known primarily for his unrestrained harmonica solos, funkharp is a multi-instrumentalist who breaks into scat, beatboxing, whistling, and even duels himself -switching between flugelhorn and conch shell solos - during live performances. An eccentric singer/songwriter, funkharp adds his lyrical stoicism to the backbeat of his acoustic funk backup band.

The man behind the funkharp:
Joseph Randle, the name behind "funkharp," has worked as a journalist, jazz trumpet player, and professional opera singer.

Coining the term "funkharp":
Randle mastered the harmonica by transcribing solos played by John Popper and Charles Musselwhite ultimately hybridizing their funky styles with his own, effectively turning the standard bluesharp into a "funkharp."

Not your average rocker:
After studying improvisation with Philadelphia jazz powerhouse Roger Prieto as well as the formal and spiritual aspects of music theory with Juilliard alumnus Paul Hofreiter, Randle polished his chops at Peabody Conservatory. At Peabody, Randle continued his training in classical music theory but focused on jazz arrangement and composition while studying blues and gospel piano.

A motley repertoire with an artist's touch:
Attracted to jazz, the blues, funk, rock, folk, and classical music, Randle's influences make him an ecclectic writer while his reverence for songwriters like George and Ira Gershwin, who brought a higher sense of sophistication to the American songbook, allows him to bring songwriting into the realm of the "fine arts."

funkharp's oddest credential:
This one-man jamband has a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University.