the funky meters

Yeah THEY Right!!! aka The Funky Meters @ Brooklyn Bowl, 2/15-17

FIVE YEARS. Seems kind of crazy but when somebody said to me the other night that it had been five years since the most popular version of N’awlins’ original Funk band had played New York, I had to think about it for a minute. And then I responded with what any true fan would say: “Yeah, you right.”

[Photos by Marc Millman]

The Meters formed at the tail end of the ’60s. They released Cissy Strut  and Sophisticated Cissy in 1969. And with those songs, the four original members of the group (Art “Poppa Funk” Neville on organ, George Porter Jr. on bass, Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums and Leo Nocentelli on guitar) helped to create a new genre in American music. Funk was born out of James Brown’s shift in style in the mid ’60s. And The Meters along with Sly & the Family Stone, George Clinton and other seminal acts like Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, the Ohio Players and Kool & the Gang brought a whole generation to the dance floor by getting people to dance “On the One,” as James used to shout at his band.

The Meters were THE backing band in New Orleans the way the Funk Brothers were at Motown or Booker T & the MGs were at Stax. But the band broke up in the mid ’70s during a dispute over recording contracts. Just over 10 years later, Porter decided to put a new version of the band together that would feature himself with Neville & Russell Batiste on drums. Guitar would be played by Brian Stoltz and sometimes by Nocentelli. And this is the version of the band that most of us grew up seeing regularly in the ’90s and beyond. But then…IT HAD BEEN FIVE YEARS!

• Marc’s Funky Meters Videos: Ride Me Dunky, Soul Island, People Say, Be My Lady, Sing A Simple Song > I Want To Take You Higher, Cissy Strut > Love The One You’re With, Fire On The Bayou, Midnight Rider, Sing A Simple Song > Funky Stuff, Hey Pocky Way > Little Liza Way,

READ ON for more from Marc on The Funky Meters…