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"Yeah I've been to Hawai'i, I got my snorkel on," says Damon Crawford of LA's Wylde Bunch. You may have heard their high energy, alternative hip-hop band sound while watching top pro surfers rip on Board Stories and Billabong Surf TV. Or perhaps you heard their song "Yeah Yeah (Stomp the Bleachers)," which was the 2006 Fox Sports College Football Theme Song. (This will also be in Sony Playstation's MLB 2K7 The Show video game.) Their tunes are featured in the video game soundtracks for Madden 2005, NBA Live 2005, Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion and Gran Turismo 4. And if you're a basketball fan, you will hear Wylde Bunch's "On Top" as the 2007 NBA Theme Song on ABC/ESPN. Wylde Bunch seems to be the soundtrack to elite action sports right now.
From South Central LA, Wylde Bunch is comprised of family members and long-time friends who started off as schoolmates and marching band members. Growing up in a city plagued by violence and social ills, the boys rarely went out in the evenings or on weekends. Their nighttime activities centered around the band, which has evolved to a popular sound that infuses funk, soul, rock and world music into a one-of-a-kind hip-hop sound. Wylde Bunch has been together 10 years and is comprised of 11 members: Emcees Dame (Damon Crawford) and Speed (Brandon Jordan), emcee and trumpet Janey (Jenee Dixon), Ish (Ishmael Ferguson) on the drums, Creezie (Corey Hogan) on the sax, Big J on the trombone, VRay (Vernon Heard) on the bass, Daniel Crawford on keys, Popz (Chris Crawford) on guitar, Byg Sexy (Demont Crawford) and Kenfolk (Kenneth Jones) on vocals. "Even wehn we're not on stage, we're always together," Dame, on of the main producers for the band, says. "We are friends first."
After graduating from Washington High School, Wylde Bunch members played weekly gigs all around LA and collaborated with variety of artists, as well as going on tour with the Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas and MTV's "Rock the Vote Tour." In addition to being a part of a series of tours, WB has participated in numerous television appearances, major collaborations and of course, increasing opportunities in the sports and video game worlds.
"If you drink beer, you like us," Dame laughs. "We're a beer band." He says all the attention they've received from the professional sports industry makes sense because their sound is simply an extension of who they are and how they grew up. "We were all in marching band so a lot of the songs came from the football games," he explains. "it just took on a life of its own. Now We're the perennial video game band."
When they have any down time from the band, most of the Wylde Bunch members return to their childhood schools in Los Angeles, teaching music at inner city schools lacking in funds. Their story of giving back to their community and journey as a band even landed a spot on The Oprah Winfrey Show featuring Wylde Bunch member, Dame.
Dame's advice to aspiring musicians is simple, "Don't do it for the money. You have to love it. It has to be for the love. If you really have a passion for music, it'll be worth it, but there are a lot of ups and downs."
Their latest six-song, self-titles EP on Surfdog Records has Wylde Bunch busy and on top of their game. The lead track "Yeah Yeah (Stomp the Bleachers)" was an instant arena anthem, a great sports action soundtrack. "We put our heart and soul into the music," Dame says. "If you enjoy musicianship - real music - you can take the rappers out of what we do and still enjoy what we do. That's real music." - Tiff Hervey - FreeSurf Magazine
Discography
"Abuse Thys Substance" - Dropping Early 2008 on Surfdog Records
"Wylde Bunch" EP - 2006 Surfdog Records
Photos
Bio
THE STORY
To say the alternative hip-hop group Wylde Bunch blazes trails is an understatement. Comprised of family members and long-time friends, the South Central Los Angeles natives have pioneered a sound infusing elements of funk, soul, rock, and world music into an incredible hip-hop sound. "Nothing is what you expect and everything raises the hip hop standard" says 1340 Mag’s Mark Fisher. Strengthened by an amazing off-the-hook live show that rocks beyond description they have become known on the live circuit as the “alternative hip-hop band”.
Bonded by blood, friendship and a love for music, most of the members of Wylde Bunch started off as schoolmates. Raised in a city racked with social ills and the complexities of a relentless gang culture, the boys rarely went to weekend and evening outings or parties. Nighttime activity always revolved around the band. Nevertheless, the group, known for their practical jokes, party crashing, and enough charisma to fill the Staples Center, found sanctuary during jam sessions at the family home of emcee and producer, Dame. Consequently, the frequent private performances began to produce some mind-blowing results.
By high school, the blossoming musicians became bored with playing standards and current popular tunes. They began writing and performing their own joints, as well as generating independent CDs. This early music impressed people to the point where they started receiving paid gigs. The mischievous bunch of teens, now maturing into men, moved their act to the club scene. This transition was carefully chaperoned by the band’s elder, “Popz,” who saw to it that the adult clubs did not unleash their various “distractions” on the band. Wylde Bunch rapidly grew into an established local hip-hop crew, garnering a solid following that eventually captured the interest of the music industry, leading to their critically acclaimed major label debut CD Wylde Times at Washington High on Sony.
Wylde Bunch has created an undeniable niche with their explosive sound. If there is perhaps a misperception by some that live bands aren’t a part of hip-hop, Wylde Bunch is seeing to it that myth is destroyed. Also, Ish and Dame, the main producers of the group, work through their own production company, The Drop Squad. When they have any down time from the band, most of the members have made a point to return to childhood schools in Los Angeles, teaching music at schools lacking in funds. Giving back to the community is of the utmost importance to this inner city band.
Their story and journey was even big enough to land a spot on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” featuring Wylde Bunch member Dame. They have since been a part of a series of tours, television appearances, major collaborations and features.
The Features
• 2007 NBA Theme Song on ABC/ESPN will be their song and video “On Top”
• European tour opening for the Beastie Boys
• 2006 Fox Sports College Football Theme Song – “Yeah Yeah (Stomp The Bleachers)”
• Tour with multi-platinum Black Eyed Peas
• Songs featured in the video game soundtracks for Madden 2005, NBA Live 2005, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion and Gran Turismo 4
• Collaboration with Maurice White from Earth Wind & Fire on their track “Kat Daddy”
• Horn section played on Grammy winner John Legend’s multi-platinum album, Higher
• “Yeah Yeah (Stomp The Bleachers)” will be in Sony Playstation’s MLB 2K7 game
• Featured on the Sly & The Family Stone tribute album alongside Steven Tyler, The Roots, Moby, Maroon 5 and more!
• MTV “Rock the Vote Tour”
• “Pepsi Smash” variety show performance hosted by rapper Bow Wow
• NBA All-Star Game’s “Club NBA” concert two years straight
• X-Games Live Performance for two years
The ep
Their latest six-song, self-titled EP, due out November 7th on Surfdog Records, finds Wylde Bunch at the top of their game. The lead track “Yeah Yeah (Stomp the Bleachers)” is an instant arena anthem and was chosen as the theme song and video for the 2007 college football season on Fox Sports.
The second track, “Dumb”, an enticing roots, hip-hop, and rock song deals with the experience of hard lessons learned, or coping with the truth that sometimes some lessons are, in fact, never learned. The track is an insistence to keep living and growing regardless of pitfalls or accomplishments, and is also a simultaneous confession that in the end, sometimes we really don’t know anything!
In “NaNaNa” Wylde Bunch spin a humorous tale recounting the classic cat-and-mouse game between males and females. The chorus is a driving horn section and a huge hook.
“Clash,” an infectious sing-along reminiscent of mid-1960’s pop, speaks of life’s unpredictability. One moment it feels as if our backs are up against the wall, but the next moment can change everything. In the end, the song is a reflective meditation on the agony and ecstasy of life’s experiences.
Tapping into a lineage that harkens back to early Beastie Boys, R
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