SEVEN ELEVEN
INTERVIEW UK version
SEVEN ELEVEN INTERVIEW FOR FONKADELICA.COM (F)
1. Hello girl and boys! First question: how are you? Is the time funky for you actually?
SEVEN ELEVEN: We're fine thank you; we're busy like funkateers! And yes; it's star time, funk'o'clock, 7 past 11, It's 1 sharp. Time to raise your hands and drop your funk!
2. Could you explain, what are the plans with this new album 'Hot 'n' Funky'?
What did you try to do with this project?
SEVEN ELEVEN: With H&F we're doing what we're always doing; spreading da funk. And this time with a record company supporting us. So most likely it will now happen worldwide.
3. Could you speak about your collaboration with handieMan for the production?
How is it to work with him?
SEVEN ELEVEN: HandieMan is da man! He can juggle with computers and samplers like no one we know. These days a lot of stuff in the studio is done by computer and he's terribly handy with them. Besides being a friend of the band, he's a great funk musician and understands where we're coming from and where we're going. Yesterday we saw him play a game of bass on stage with Dutch saxophone player Hans Dulfer. So he has this funk family feeling with us for years now. We couldn't have done it this way, without him.
4. Why did you release the new Seven Eleven cd and the new Dodge cd at the
same time? Why not doing that in two times this year? (By the way, both cd's
are excellent)
SEVEN ELEVEN: Thank you, thank you. It seems that people are experiencing a feeling of happiness, when they have the opportunity to choose. So now they can choose between the P(arty)funk of Seven Eleven or the low down starbassfunk of Dodge. We don't feel where Peeing in each others pond. We couldn't, because we are the Pee, ànd we are the pond. To make people even happier: we just re-released and upgraded the first Seven Eleven and Dodge albums. 'The New Come Out' and 'Mutronic Injection Deluxe'.
5. Question for Dodge: Could you explain your choice to do a solo album, in
parallel of the Seven Eleven work?
DODGE: Playing and recording with Seven Eleven is a privilege. But with nine musicians, the definition of the starbass sounds sometimes gets lost in the complex Seven Eleven monster mix. I wanted to put the bass upfront in the mix one time, ànd try out some ideas I couldn't do with the band. Some experiments ended up with up with nine star bass tracks stacked on top of each other. So the band let me out to take a flight in my star bass universe. Of course they wanted to help me out because I cannot sing like Jewl, play the guitar like dice does or rap like Are MC. Hurk helped me out with the rhythm. All sixteen tracks were produced by handieMan and Oh Jay.
6. How is to work with the funky Fred Wesley? How many times did you meet
him before doing these songs? Does he need a demo before coming to the studio?
And, tell us more about the first meeting with him...
SEVEN ELEVEN: That was great. He is an extremely
nice person to be around with. Always joking, creating a relaxed atmospere
and he is absolutely a very professional funk musician. This man has done
so many things, played with the finest musicians, and still is so down to
earth, you don't believe it. We met him a couple of years ago after a gig
in Holland. Jewl had the idea to ask him for our record and we got back stage
and asked him to do a track.
We had to send some music to his home address for him to listen to. And after
having heard 'The Come Out' he agreed. But it took a while before it actually
happened, but it was worth the waiting! After the recordings on that sunday
morning in July 2000 in Amsterdam, Dice and Dodge drove Fred and his tour
manager to Belgium for his next gig. So we had the chance to chat with him
about funk, funk and of course we talked a bit about the funk.
7. I heard about a project of a new DVD with Dawn Silva, live. How was that?
Is it real? More info for the French funkateers?
SEVEN ELEVEN: The DVD hopefully comes out soon. It has been recorded at the 2002 North Sea Jazz Festival. Dawn Silva featuring Seven Eleven. There are a few technical problems with the sound of the recording and that has to be recovered first. Besides that, some business details have to be ironed out between Dawn Silva and the record company. Just keep your funksigns crossed. When it comes out, you're gonna see one of the funkiest shows ever taken place in Europe.
8. Do you plan to play more live, here in France? If not, what makes it difficult
to do that? What are the difficulties to promote the funk in Europe? Your
point of view?
SEVEN ELEVEN: Spreading the funk is like rolling the dice. We can only do what we do best and hope people like it and ask us to come & play. An absolute neccesity is the regular release of albums. Showing the fans we’re still around. If they don't know we're out there, how can they come and listen to our funk? That's why we also depend on people like Blaise ‘Wonder B’ Schmitter from FUNK-U Magazine and yourselves. You want to listen to our message through words and music and you feel inspired to convince people to have a bite of our funk croissant as well. We had some unforgettable gigs in France, and we love the French funkateers and like to play as often as possible in your beautiful country. It’s amazing how the crowds in France are already funked up even befòre we start the show! Touring is very expensive. In the end it all comes down to business. Everybody is trying to take a couple of Euros, and funk and business don't really mix. That's the never ending conflict and a never ending source of difficulties but with good promotion and support from FONKADELICA.COM and other French sources we’re confident our European tour in 2004 will include gigs in France.
9. What do you think about the funk actually, in Europe and in the world?
Is it missing something?
SEVEN ELEVEN: Yeah, Seven Eleven! No really. Very few musicians dare to take a shot at the funk these days. We've been around for 16 years now, and all the funkbands who tried in our time, disappeared. They stay around a couple of years and then parish. Our manager always says: "When the risk is little, the reward is little". So if you don't want to invest, you will most likely not get anywhere. Well, we became a close group of friends and besides that, musically and business wise have a strong connection and are willing to put every effort in Seven Eleven. Well, where the funk is going in the world; nobody really knows. Funkateers and funkbands hope for a worldwide revival, and all other musicians on the planet hope it doesn't; because it is such a damn good style of music, it scares them!
10. Please, tell us what are your favorit new albums you're listening to today?
And why?
SEVEN ELEVEN: The new Maceo Parker 'Made by Maceo' album is great, the Prince album ‘One Nite Alone … Live’, Bootsy's 'Play with Bootsy' of course. The new Slap Bak album ‘Ghetto Funkograpky’. And why? Listen for yourself! Ha!
11. Did the group try to have more contact with Bootsy Collins? Projects?
Dodge, could you speak a little about your collaboration with him ?
DODGE: There is no contact anymore between
Bootsy and me. I sent him 'Star Bass Invasion', but got no response so far.
I really like to hook up with him again, but I guess he's too busy keeping
the funk alive overseas. I’ve heard he's doing something in his studio
with Freakbass. Back in 95 he came over to Europe to play and we saw him.
When he stopped touring Europe, the contact stopped. I was running the Bootzilla
Fanclub at that time and hooked up with a motherload of funkateers. For instance,
I met handieMan at a Bootsy show. I had to abandon my fanclub activities in
1998 because it kind of became a one way street and that was it. I had a great
time though doing the Bootzilla Fanclub in Holland.
Without ever having played together live, we're together on one track of 'Star
Bass Invasion'. Richard Kush Griffith, original Horny Horns player agreed
on Dodge using one of the tracks of his own album. So 'Last Soul Man in the
Hood' was remixed by Dodge and handieMan into 'On the Hood' with Dodge on
the bass and Bootsy on guitar.
12. Just for the thanks! Thanks you all! Your album is a bomb! We really appreciate
your work for the fonk on this planet!
SEVEN ELEVEN: Seven Eleven like to thank Fonkadelica.com for all the nice words and digital love we received. And remember: "You got to bring some funk, to get some funk!"
FONKADELICA: Julien F (mpls)
SEVEN ELEVEN: Jewl, Are MC, Dodge, Capt. Hurk, Dice, Keyflow, 711 Horns.
FONKADELICA.COM
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