g.i.c. & funkface

G.I.C. & Funk Face is the result of a friendship formed six years ago, when guitarist Pete Lewandowski, drummer Matty Amendola, and bassist Andy Attanasio started jamming together in Matty’s makeshift basement recording studio. Their writing style then was mainly rock influenced, so naturally they began their search for the perfect rock singer. They called themselves Feedback, and for the next five years they held countless auditions, but had no luck meeting anyone that clicked musically, or socially. The three musicians continued writing and jamming together, despite their lack of a front man. Andy had the broadest musical style and introduced Matty and Pete to jazz, funk, and hip hop. Their jams and writing evolved with their musical taste, and they renamed themselves Funk Face.

The idea of working with an MC was the result of Andy’s visit to a poetry reading at Five Towns college, where Andy heard Gods Illest Creation rhyme for the first time. Andy came to Matty and Pete with the idea of incorporating their freestyle jam sessions with an rapper. Curious, but unconvinced, they told Andy to find out more about this MC.

Andy introduced himself to G.I.C. and the two became fast friends. They lived in the same dorm building at Five Towns and had a lot of free time on their hands. Their love of old school hip hop provided a common ground for the two strangers, and it wasn’t long before they started writing together. At the time, G.i.C. was working on his solo album with traditional hip hop producers, but the thought of working with a band intrigued him. Andy eventually introduced Matty and Pete to G.i.C. at a dorm Halloween party which led to a drunken, impromptu jam session. The four musicians felt an instant connection that night and decided to start working together on an album.

They ended up back in Matty’s basement, jamming, recording and evolving their musical style. The band wrote songs by reviewing their taped jam sessions and picking out parts that sparked their interest. When it came time to record their work, the quartet transformed their raw live sound by adding horns, piano, organs, clavs and even a bassoon. Now, over a year and a half later, G.i.C. & Funk Face are ready to introduce themselves to the world with the release of “The Chapters of Life Ep.”