The Freetown
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The Freetown

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The best kept secret in music

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"Party Jams and Luaus on Roosevelt"

So last night I was headed to a “luau party” in the U-District, and I was pretty stoned. Stoned enough that I saw a big party and walked inside without checking the address, assuming it was where I was supposed to be. The place was packed with a young crowd, much younger than I’m used to, mostly recent high school graduates. The whole scene was pretty typical – bros playing pong and chugging Coors, flocks of giggly teenage girls. But then there was this band playing in the living room, and they stopped me right in my tracks. As far as party bands go I don’t know if I’ve seen a more appropriate or tastefully discerning group than these guys. They call themselves the Freetown, and they play “Rock, Soul, and Funk,” which theoretically should be the recipe for a bullshit cocktail, but somehow these guys were not only pulling it off, but excelling at it. Their set was a mix of original tunes and a handful of covers molded into their own style. The keyboardist had an amazing high-pitched soulful croon, accompanied nicely by a female backup singer. They were all young kids, early twenties, but they had legitimate chops. They covered songs everybody knew, but changed them enough to keep from being too clichéd: Some highlights were Radiohead, the Pixies, and Outkast, performed with just the right amount of party jamming and soul. It could have - should have - been poison. But it wasn’t. Color me surprised.

Since there was hardly anyone at the party who was 21, beer was something of a scarce commodity, so I walked down the street to the Plaid Pantry to get myself something to drink. It was on the way back that I passed a fenced off yard full of people in Hawaiian shirts and leis and realized I had wandered into the wrong party. Inside the luau a middle-aged woman was singing one of the songs from Shrek, and through the fence an old guy in a funny hat totally mean mugged me. Fuck that shit. I went back to catch the rest of the Freetown; they were doing a spot on Otis Redding cover. Well done, crew. You are on your way to mastering the art of the party jam. If this review turns out to be any way helpful to your band, don’t thank me, thank my weed.

I eventually made my way over to the luau, and it also turned out to be a blast, though at that party I was the youngest guy instead of the oldest. The host Kevin had a massive wall of vinyl, and played me David Faustino (“D” Lil) from Married With Children’s rap record circa 1992. He also played me Brian Austin Green from 90210’s rap record from the same era. It was a valuable and enjoyable learning experience. This was a legitimate adult party, Samantha and Kevin’s 10th luau, so it was decked out with a huge spread of delicious food and free liquor. I spent the night hopping back and forth across the street. Outside of the illegal party I asked the Freetown which member of the band would sacrifice his life for the good of his band mates, and they unanimously chose guitarist Jordan Platz. I rewarded his possible altruism by taking him over to the luau to take some shots. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about me bringing this guy in, so we entered the gate stealthily and shot straight to the kitchen. Shortly thereafter an overzealous “bouncer” who thought we wandered in from the bar next door tried to throw us out. He really looked like he wanted to beat us up. He did not give shit one that I was there to “crash the party.” After he calmed down I stole his soul with my digital camera. Then we drank.

- The Stranger


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Still working on that hot first release.

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