The band
EARL serves up a freewheeling idiosyncratic sound, morphing musical genres
and ending up with some strangely wonderful songs, such
as the Klezmatic polka called "ladybug". The musical landscape
of ranges from funkified tales of modern folklore; check out "Joe
Frank" a tribute to KCRW radio storyteller Joe Frank, to the poetic
ballad "In the smallest Jar of Honey lives the sweetest universe".
Weaving
it all together is Earl's, electric finger picking & quirky poetic
lyrics.
"A
golden-yellow, hollow-body electric guitar. A sleek, thumpy-sounding stand-up
bass. Vibes. Custom drum set. Tap dancer. Trashcan percussion. Not to
mention influences as far ranging as Tom Waits, Tori Amos,
Fela Kuti, and Brian Eno. They’ve been described as "Talking
Heads meets Frank Zappa at a Bar Mitzvah" Throw in a brown fedora,
a spotted dog named Lola, and a new self-titled CD, to be released Sunday,
December 7, at the Wildcat, and you have the wacky and brilliant family
of Earl and the Expanding Polka Funk Experience.
Fronted by blues-funk-man Earl Arnold, the Experience is the energetically
zany collaboration of vibes player Mathew Talmage (of the Mades fame),
bassist Jeff Kranzler (of Antara & Delilah fame), and drummer William
Pasley. If Talmage’s mad-scientist flare on vibes offers carnival-esque
melodies to the group, Kranzler’s deep-in-the-pocket bass lines
are the anchor. And Pasley is all over the rhythmic map: bossa nova, samba,
jazz — not to mention the tap dancing interludes and junkyard experimentation
that are his specialties. Then there’s the visionary leader, Earl
— a mix of goofiness and sincerity, hard work and happy accidents,
the glue that holds it all together. The resulting sound is “uncategorizable,”
said Arnold. A fiercely original, joyously funky genre they make up as
they go along."
"Santa
Barbara has been blessed with a brilliant freakshow, an original fearless
group with the songs and expertise to back ’em up"
Johanna Reed, Santa Barbara Independent
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