The Elastocitizens

excerpt:

The crowd was transfixed to the stage.They lead, we follow. They bring down the funk, we follow in practical silence charged with anticipation, awaiting the next sexy flute and brass riffs that flirt with the dirty guitar and bass.
They bring the crowd to their knees; save for those that were dancing all night long- and there were plenty.
You must check out this group.
Do it for your children. - torontoexclusive.com

(excerpts from Dec 17/07)
The Elastocitizens stretched themselves into new musical with their first studio disc. The Toronto-based group, which features four Sault Ste. Marie natives, recently released the 11-track ALBUM.
"We were trying to do something very big with very limited means," said frontman Steve McCarthy.
"It pushed us all a little bit."

....McCarthy did know he wanted the entire band to perform every song together.
"It's like the old Motown. You don't play one track at a time. You don't plan the drums and bass," he said.
"You play everything so everyone can look at each other and feel that live feeling. You don't say yes until the song is good." - Sault Star

So, Souljazz finally leave the stage for the Elastocitizens to take over! Eye-Candy Over the Top Funk-Rock... (The rock was provided by a guitar player who dipped into the odd power chord and country slide solo). Horns, Keys, a Monster drummer (hidden in the back), a bevvy of Barkers Beauties singing, chorus lining, rapping, and just looking good up front ... and it was all lead by the "Grand Pubah of Funk", who was part Tinsel Jesus, part Elvis, part Mick Jagger, part Ace Freshley, part George Clinton...

This show was definately an "I was there" moment! Great entertainment... one Hot Night! - jambands.ca

The Elastocitizens are redefining Toronto's independent music scene one funkified performance at a time. ....They are the physical epitome of funk music. Their mission is simple: funkify Toronto and get people moving and dancing.
"Funk music is about sex," said McCarthy."It's about rhythm on top of rhythm on top of rhythm. It's about feeling sexy."
The Elastocitizens profile in Toronto. has been steadily growing over the past two years. The group has recorded its first CD, opened for the Philosopher Kings and had gigs at the El Mocambo, Drake Hotel and the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern... "We never expected it to be so great," says Dottor of the positive reaction the band has been receiving. " We never had any expectations going into it. People crave to see a live band and they want to dance all night."
And dance they do, adds McCarthy. - Town Crier

(excerpt:)
The main group of the night was The Elastocitizens, a funk band.
There are 10 members in the band.
When I saw the main vocalist of The Elastocitizens, he reminded me of the vocalist of So-On-Ji.
They're the very entertainer.
I could dance to their funky music.
But I don't want to see them every Saturday.
It could make me tired.
I paid just eight dollars. - jugem (japanese online paper)

They rock and roll you over and then funk you from behind. - Radio interview-CIUT

The Elastocitizens are redefining Toronto's independent music scene one funkified performance at a time. ....They are the physical epitome of funk music. Their mission is simple: funkify Toronto and get people moving and dancing.
"Funk music is about sex," said McCarthy."It's about rhythm on top of rhythm on top of rhythm. It's about feeling sexy."
The Elastocitizens profile in Toronto. has been steadily growing over the past two years. The group has recorded its first CD, opened for the Philosopher Kings and had gigs at the El Mocambo, Drake Hotel and the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern... "We never expected it to be so great," says Dottor of the positive reaction the band has been receiving. " We never had any expectations going into it. People crave to see a live band and they want to dance all night."
And dance they do, adds McCarthy. - Town Crier

The Elastocitizens are a ten-piece old-school funk band. They've got a full,
(usually) tight sound and they recently played at Toronto's ("legendary")
Horseshoe Tavern on Queen West.

They're a fun band to watch. Steve aka The Grand Poobah runs the show. He
changes from fringey western suit to bright red suit (a la Reverend Horton
Heat) to a skin tight shirt to no shirt at all... He's a wild man and a good
vocalist.

The band also consists of three female backup vocalists, dressed in sequen
dresses and bow-ties who do synchronized dancing, a great guitarist, a
rumbling bassist, and some jazzy/funky horns.

The encore involved a friend of the band (who I understand is part of the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra) coming up and jamming with his flute. That was
definitely the highlight of the show, and well worth the price of admission
on its own.

I think these guys have the potential to go far. They're releasing their
first full-length CD at a "party" on November 1, and they already have a
live disc available. (I look forward to listening to the copy I just
bought.)

Go check them out. You'll have fun.
Some good funk fo' yo' face!
- jambands.ca

George Clinton, the mastermind behind American funk music, once said: “Disco is fine if you like making love with one stroke.”

But this isn’t disco.

This is funk. And funk — a polyrhythmic, instrumental dance-party — follows the ElastoCitizens, a Toronto-based band, on stage every night.

The band, which is made up of seven men and three women, went through the psychedelic motions Feb. 8 at the ByWard Market’s Mercury Lounge.

This ensemble of down-to-earth friends set out to make organic, dirty funk music when they were teens in Sault Ste. Marie. From the get-go, they decided they wouldn’t settle for anything less than a pulsing dance floor every time they hit the stage.

“When people come to see a band at a bar, they come with the hope that they’re not going to be able to resist putting their drink down and saying, ‘I’ll finish this later because right now I need to dance,’” said ringmaster Steve McCarthy, also known as Grand Poobah Groove.

The ElastoCitizens’ name is a combination of the idea of flexible body motions and the parliamentary formation of their group.

The members of the band came together three years ago when they decided that pop culture needed to funk it up.

“So much that you hear and see today is about making people feel smaller than the people on stage,” said McCarthy.

“We are all about stepping back and watching the audience do their thing.”

Inspired by everyone from Parliament to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, this group of costumed characters put on an exhilarating and sweaty performance at the Mercury Lounge, sweeping the audience out of their seats and onto their feet.

They performed songs like the punky “Bubblegum Pink” and the dynamic “I Wanna Get Under Your Funk” paired with effortless choreography.

The larger-than-life alter egos showed that they know how to dazzle a crowd - The Charlatan - carleton newspaper

« We would just park the car down by St. Mary’s river, jump out, and have a dance party »

—Steve McCarthy, lead singer of ElastoCitizens


If you were to whip David Bowie, George Clinton, Prince and Beck into a blender, add a dash of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and serve up the concoction with the zaniness of Deee-Lite in an old Sly And The Family Stone pair of pants, you’d get the ElastoCitizens.


“I think our image is somewhere between depraved-orgy-revival meeting and Sesame Street live,” says lead singer Steve McCarthy (shown at left with a crown of roses in a white suit).


Like his nine other band mates — all of whom are aged in their 20s and 30s — he is baptized with a funk moniker. McCarthy reigns as Grand Pooh-Bah Groove, while drummer Gareth Bennett is dubbed G-Spot. Tenor sax-man Gordon Hyland goes by Geelicious. You get the idea.


Then there’s my personal favourite: The Ladies Foundation for the Motion of Hips, which encapsulates both the slick Motown moves and vocal prowess of the three gals in the band. And yes, I said band.


The 10-piece outfit sings, plays instruments, writes its own material and stages some serious kick-off-your-shoes dance fests, the most recent being a jam-packed gig at the Horseshoe Tavern.


Recovering from a broken femur, McCarthy was rocking the house in a wheelchair. Now that’s commitment.


Though the band was formed three years ago, McCarthy stumbled across the sounds of James Brown and P-Funk with his friends as a teenager.


“We would just park the car down by St. Mary’s river, jump out, and have a dance party,” he recalls.


“With a band like this, no one is doing it for the money,” explains McCarthy.


Still, the band’s following has generated enough cash to not only cover costs, but also enough to help finance its debut CD simply entitled: ElastoCitizens — Album.


Together with producer Adam Harendorf, the band opted to record the CD the good ol’ fashioned way: Straight off the floor to get the edge and the grit, the unclean sound.


Wires and guitar cables snaked through the ducks and vents of the producer’s East York bungalow down to the basement studio where the finished product was concocted.


The wild and wooly process, however, ought to leave listeners impressed, for the album embraces a maturity unsuspecting of a band playfully draped in ruffles, beads and sequins.


“No one is doing what we are doing,” adds McCarthy. “We are creating joyous, sex-filled, gritty rock and roll funk music that people can dance to. People lose their minds at our shows.”


For more on the band, check out www.elastocitizens.com.


ElastoCitizens — Album is available through HMV, Play De Record, Soundscapes, Rotate This!, Puretracks.com and iTunes.


ElastoCitizens’ next gig is at Lee’s Palace on May 10.

Lawrence Chau for Metro Toronto - metro toronto

« We would just park the car down by St. Mary’s river, jump out, and have a dance party »

—Steve McCarthy, lead singer of ElastoCitizens


If you were to whip David Bowie, George Clinton, Prince and Beck into a blender, add a dash of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and serve up the concoction with the zaniness of Deee-Lite in an old Sly And The Family Stone pair of pants, you’d get the ElastoCitizens.


“I think our image is somewhere between depraved-orgy-revival meeting and Sesame Street live,” says lead singer Steve McCarthy (shown at left with a crown of roses in a white suit).


Like his nine other band mates — all of whom are aged in their 20s and 30s — he is baptized with a funk moniker. McCarthy reigns as Grand Pooh-Bah Groove, while drummer Gareth Bennett is dubbed G-Spot. Tenor sax-man Gordon Hyland goes by Geelicious. You get the idea.


Then there’s my personal favourite: The Ladies Foundation for the Motion of Hips, which encapsulates both the slick Motown moves and vocal prowess of the three gals in the band. And yes, I said band.


The 10-piece outfit sings, plays instruments, writes its own material and stages some serious kick-off-your-shoes dance fests, the most recent being a jam-packed gig at the Horseshoe Tavern.


Recovering from a broken femur, McCarthy was rocking the house in a wheelchair. Now that’s commitment.


Though the band was formed three years ago, McCarthy stumbled across the sounds of James Brown and P-Funk with his friends as a teenager.


“We would just park the car down by St. Mary’s river, jump out, and have a dance party,” he recalls.


“With a band like this, no one is doing it for the money,” explains McCarthy.


Still, the band’s following has generated enough cash to not only cover costs, but also enough to help finance its debut CD simply entitled: ElastoCitizens — Album.


Together with producer Adam Harendorf, the band opted to record the CD the good ol’ fashioned way: Straight off the floor to get the edge and the grit, the unclean sound.


Wires and guitar cables snaked through the ducks and vents of the producer’s East York bungalow down to the basement studio where the finished product was concocted.


The wild and wooly process, however, ought to leave listeners impressed, for the album embraces a maturity unsuspecting of a band playfully draped in ruffles, beads and sequins.


“No one is doing what we are doing,” adds McCarthy. “We are creating joyous, sex-filled, gritty rock and roll funk music that people can dance to. People lose their minds at our shows.”


For more on the band, check out www.elastocitizens.com.


ElastoCitizens — Album is available through HMV, Play De Record, Soundscapes, Rotate This!, Puretracks.com and iTunes.


ElastoCitizens’ next gig is at Lee’s Palace on May 10.

Lawrence Chau for Metro Toronto - metro toronto