Mixmaster Wolf - Keeping it Funky with the Breakestra

Written by Sonia Almanza de Gambaro on Friday, 04 December 2009 22:35

Mixmaster Wolf - Image Courtesy of Pär Ljung

The man knows music inside and out, I'm talking songs, who produced them, where they were recorded, who was the producer, who were the original members, who came in to take over after they'd overdosed, gone bananas or been killed. He may not remember where he left a record, but he'll know everything about a record to the point that it would seem that he had quantuum leaped his soulful self into the studio just to observe. I realized after a while that there are those funk music aficionados who skip all over the world looking for rare funk 45s to fill up the voids of their neat record cases and there are those who embody S.O.U.L in its essence for real. Maybe they have the records, maybe they lost the records, maybe they have four beat up copies at different relatives houses around L.A., either way it doesn't matter because the music lives inside of them. Wolf is this kind of cat. We met to do this interview late one night at a yummy little restaurant in Thai Town called Sanamluang Cafe. I knew that this was going to get interesting when I saw this big dreadlocked figure approach rocking star shaped sunglasses (few can pull off sunglasses at night like he can - He could wear sunglasses to church and no one would bat an eye, but I digress) WOLF was in the building! Time to start the interview.

Sonia Almanza de Gambaro: We're sitting here with Mixmaster Wolf of the one and only Breakestra. Dusk till Dawn is the new album. Tell us a little bit about the history of the Breakestra man.

Mixmaster Wolf: Well the Breakestra is a band that has gone on for 11-12 years now that started off as somewhat of a cover band. It is really something that grew out of a jam session that took place at this coffee house that was on La Brea. It ain't there no more, it is like a printshop or something now. We started to do something (sic) me and a few of the homies used to go there Carlos Nino, MC H.I.M.N.A.L, Dusk was definitely part of the people who would bring records, Miles, Cut Chemist...anyways to make a long story short the basis of the music that was played there as DJ's was the Breaks. And when we say the Breaks we mean the library of music that Hip Hoppers were sampling from to make music. Music that Kool Herc used to play, you know, so on and so forth. The Break from My Pholosophy from KRS ONE. You know stuff like that was the music that we were playing. Miles had an idea to have some musicians show up. He knew all of these different basslines. And slowly but surely this jam session started to evolve into a bit of a monster. I would be there like...refereeing I guess you would call it because it wasn't necessarily doing vocals. One thing led to another and we ended up calling the group the Breakestra because the club it came out of was called the Breaks. That's basically where that came about.

SAG: When you say you were 'refereeing' everything. Were you doing like the call and response sort of thing?

MMW: Yeah, kinda like that but if anything in the beginning I was freestyling and adding some huh huh's here and there. Somehow they got the idea that I could sing some James Brown songs. One day Miles decided to do "I Know You Got Soul" and history was made. From that point. I became an official member of the Breakestra. I was always there but at that point it was like "OK now you are official because you can sing like Bobby Byrd." We were doing the club "The Breaks" for a while we had moved it to Pedro's. It was a big successful thing, a lot of people would go there like the Black Eyed Peas...

SAG: The Black Eyed Peas before Fergie?

MMW: Yeah, way before Fergie. A lot of folks who had come up. The Breakestra started to get going. We got on the Word of Mouth tour, Peanut Butter Wolf picked us up, we did a little deal with him for a single. Strangely enough that single was an original song called "Getcho Soul Togetha" even though it sounds like it was recorded in 1969 it was an original song written in about 1999. On Stones Throw kinda like a Kool and the Gang kinda funky thing. Then from that we had recorded the live mix part one. We were still doing sets back then. Which is basically a take on our live show which is the concept of a mixtape. When we perform live we perform as the DJ and we play the breaks.
We have a set where we do just loops, maybe like four bars of one thing into another. And then we have parts where we'll play the whole song.

SAG: So this would be more recognizable to your Hip Hop listener?

MMW: Exactly, it was more of a Hip Hop attitude. the reason why people were appreciating this music was because of the Hip Hop Producers. So it was like a tribute to the producers as well as the DJ's who were playing these breaks. Especially the old DJ's like Kool Herc and Theodore. It was a trip when I got to meet those guys and they were like whoa, you're really like Bobby Byrd! But with dreadlocks.
Miles Tackett and Mixmaster Wolf

SAG: I remember seeing you guys perform the live mixtape the first time and thinking "Damn, did these guys get all the sheet music or how do they sound just like the records?"

MMW: Well Miles is very technical as far as the equipment that he would collect. The way that you and I collect records, he goes a step further and he get's into the technology that was being used back when those records were recorded. He started exploring some of that with the Live Mix part one (which was done in one take) Then it was during the developing of the live mix part two that he got a little more technical. Most people have a stack of records, you go into Miles' house and he has a stack of snare drums, of course he got a bunch of records too, but he'll hold up a snare and be like "This is the snare for "Funky Drummer" and if you put tape on this one it sounds like...so and so. Then he got into the way stuff was miked - He's an analog junkie.

SAG: What were some of the breaks that you all would play back then?

MMW: We were doing Nautilus by Bob James, Sista Sanctified by Stanley Turrentine which was used by KRS One for My Philosophy, then we got into some things by the Meters, a little Hook 'n' Sling. Miles is always a sucker for anything sampled by the Jungle Brothers so of course we were always doing the Mandrill thing from Straight Out the Jungle. Our set works as a tribute to Michael Jackson too because we use a song that Pete Rock had sampled which is the Jazz version of "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and we also do "It's Great to be Here" by the Jackson 5. My career began with breaks like "I Know You Got Soul", "Sexy Popcorn Pop" - that's the song where all he says is uh whoo hoo uhh huh pretty much, and the show stopper was "Baby Don't You Cry" by the Third Guitar. Everyone knows that one from Main Source' "Looking at the Front Door". That was like my "Please Please Please" song that we'd perform. It was always with the concept of the live mix.

SAG: The first two recordings that The Breakestra Released were these live mix sessions. How did that change?

MMW: When we did the Hit the Floor album was when we started getting more into original music. We did "You Don't Need to Dance", we did "Stand Up" that was the first album that had me rappin on it on this song called "Family Rap" it had DJ Dusk on the intro.

SAG: Hold that thought right there. You just mentioned Dj Dusk, Tell us a little bit about Dusk.

MMW: To me he was a very important figure in our immediate Hip Hop family. What made him special was he was one of the first guys to incorporate all of the rhythms of the earth. He'd play Reggae, Salsa, Cumbia, Afro Beat a real universal dude. But he was also a legend as a host of the Root Down. He was a great character, he had this great personality. I couldn't even say he was on the Dick Clark ish, you would compare him to that because he had that kind of stage presence. Let me put it to you this way, he had a huge heart, If you walked in the club and he saw you - he would shout you out on the mic. He would make you feel welcome. He was one of those DJ's, one of the only Dj's like that. So when we lost him it was devestating.

SAG: Is the Dusk Till Dawn album dedicated to him?

MMW: It is most definitely dedicated to him. There is one song called "Set the Sun". One of the advantages of being in a band with Miles is... Miles is a genius, he can be his own rhythm section. He can play the drums, bass, guitar. You "Set the Sun" was one of those songs that came from the heart. He started going into this realm while he was working on it. There was a little bit of a psychadelic edge that he began to gravitate towards that I loved, like a little Funkadelic. He just really poured his soul and emotion and made this song about his brother. That was the song that got us started- but it is the last song on the album. Then there are other songs that spawned from that like the "Low Down Stank" which has its own interesting story. There was a recording that existed by my home group the G.P. Funk Squad. Then me and Miles started talking about how the girls in the front of the stage were copying this one certain dance move that I was doing. And he said that dance should be the "Low Down Stank."

SAG: You gonna teach me how to do that dance.

MMW: Oooh yeah, its a new dance that's sweeping the nation. This album is so different from what we had been doing. Whether we were a cover band or doing our original work, it had all of the elements of James Brown, Kool and the Gang or Bob James. Miles is classically trained so he has an appreciation for the orchestration that groups like the Ramsey Louis Trio was doing. So he was able to get down and explore some things like this on the album and again, many of those songs were inspired by Dusk, [Like when he would say] "We're not done, We're not done", there is the spirit of that coming alive in this album. We were able to make a psychadelic song called "Show you the Way" where I was able to show my ass on. We also had a song "Dark Clouds Rain Soul" which is an old song of mine.

SAG: I knew that was your song. I was listening and thinking "this reeks of Wolf!" In the best way of course.

MMW: Yeah there was an original recording of it with me playing all of the instruments and Taurus on the Guitar. Miles always liked that song and said "this would be great to have this on the album." We would get to the studio and we got to the point where we would walk in and just jam. The most interesting thing to me was at a certain point we thought the album was done. But there was a groove, this one lick that Miles was obsessed with. He would just keep playing it over and over. Sometimes I would tell him that I needed to leave by midnight and then he would really get into his groove at like 11:59 He would be on the guitar and say "just jump on the drums a let work on this - I'll give you a ride" LOL. This groove was infectious. I don't think it would let him sleep. I think the groove would tap him on the shoulder and wake him up like "Hey Miles...(Wolf sings the groove to the surprise of the thai couple sitting behind us). So he was developing the instrumental and I was going through a time of being grumpy. He would try to be cool and not bug me so he told me "see if you can come up with a rhyme to this." [fast forward to]...So one day Chali Tuna calls me and says, "Hey Wolf, I'm coming to get ya." So we went and wrote our verses. I figured Chali would write the hook, since Chali is the chorus king. Sometimes I would call him for a hook. I read him what I thought would be the beginning of my next verse.

Now tell me what you think you want/
Ima give you just what you need/
that's when you know that you're in the groove and your funky mind has been freed/
so if you wanna try and get down from your head down to your knees/
guaranteed to show just where its at and where is s'posed to be

Chali said "man thats your chorus right there." So we went to Miles' house and laid it down. The album is supposed to be about Dusk but at that point Chali and I just ended up doing our same ol' Wolf and Chali thing. That thing we do when we get together like regular old times. So Miles said "but it doesn't have anything to do with Dusk." It would be cool if you could incorporate something about Dusk. Why don't you say something on the Hook. So I said "Why don't you say something on the Bridge, better yet, why don't you use one of those old recordings..." Because Miles has tons of recordings of Dusk. And he was like "I'll do you one even better, why don't we use this freestyle verse I have of Dusk's." It ended up working perfectly. At the album release party at the El Rey, Jedi was on the scratch and he had the verse on his Serato and he scratched while we did the back-up music. It felt like we were performing with Dusk.

SAG: Tell us about the Session Players that the Breakestra uses.

MMW: You can look at it and say that the Breakestra is kinda like a University of the music many of these musicians have always wanted to play. They get the opportunity to dig into their soul and play the funk. I know it was definitely that for me. I can name a few people who branched off and either began their own bands or play in other bands after playing with us. One of them is Dan Ubick a.k.a. Connie Price from Connie Price and the Keystones, they are on the road with Big Daddy Kane right now. There is Double G who is in the 100 plus member group Dakah, then of couse the Rebirth, Carlos "Loslito's" group, he is one of our original keyboard players. Their sound is more like a late 70's disco funk kinda thing, the stuff they callin the boogie now. Then there's Orgone - they have this bomb Keyboard player, Dan Hasty. I call him wild 'n' tasty, helluva organ player, one of the nastiest dudes. Sergio on the telecaster. and Sean O'Shea on the drums. That's another band comprised of Breakestra Alumni. We have this guy Patrick Bailey who plays the guitar for us. So it is a big rotating door for the musicians who play for us. Luckily there is enough kids who are into the funk that we always have great musicians to play with us. We have a nice team right now. Of course I'm not allowed to talk about the Breakestra without mentioning the Funky Buzzard, Mr. Pete McNeill. Man that dude is crazy, we call him the man with the electric right arm. He has to have one because of those 16th notes you know when he plays the Funky Drummer and stuff like that. Then of course there is Big Jake Najor from the Dirty Waffle (Wolf later told me this is an inside joke of the Breakestra's and the Dirty Waffle is not a band). He played a lot on the album and now we have this guy named Jason Pitkin, he just joined forces with us. We always keep the music fresh and strong. We still play a lot of covers but this album and Hit the Floor all original stuff by the Breakestra.

SAG: Tell me a little bit about the female presence we hear on the Album.

MMW: The lovely miss Afrodyte. When we did the "Getcho Soul Togetha" Video the actress playing the bartender made us colorfully known that she could sing. Miles had been looking for someone and I guess when Afrodyte opened her mouth she found home. After that she would perform live with us so we knew that it was about time to get her on the album. She's down and cool so it was time to get her energy going and make her a part of this. She really has some great energy. She really does a good "It's My Thing" by Marva Whitney. She's the real deal she's one of those that opens her mouth and stop a crowd. [That woman can] sing her butt off.

SAG: Tell me about your Djing. What is the essence of your style? What do you like?

MMW: I look for feeling in a record. It doesn't matter the style or genre if it is real I will feel the groove and like it. You caught me on a day when I can give you something interesting. "We Can Make It If We Try" by the Sylvers. That's a song I cannot get out of my head for the life of me. I feel a lot of live music. I am feeling Sharon Jones, People Under the Stairs...I dig the music that comes from feeling. I don't always have to go out of the ordinary if there's someone out right now thats bangin' then I'm gonna give 'em their dap. One of my favorite things that came out recently was what Anthony Hamilton did for the American Gangster soundtrack "Do You Feel Me." That's like the one thing that I always wanted to hear an artist with a voice like that do. I would love to produce Fantasia. Get her to do something funky, i mean really funky like Stephanie Mills. I hear elements of things I like in her music and it is wierd because my taste is all over but I hear these artists with great voices and I wish I could hear them do something else. My home is always going to be funkadelic.

SAG: When I think of your DJ sets I think of Psychadelic freak-out and there is more of a psychadelic presence on this album, Coincidence?

MMW: Yeah, it just so happens, again I go back to talking about Miles. It is funny I feel like when they would interview Smokey Robinson and the answer to every questions is their guitarist Marv Tarplin - so the answer to a lot of these questions is going to be of course Miles Tackett. Maybe just being around me and knowing my general taste in music and knowing that he also has great taste in music and can play the guitar. He was influenced by Little Beaver but he has his own style too. I would tease him a little bit and say "kick a little bit of that fuzz in there and let's see what's really crackin." We were thinking of some other breaks to use in our set and I said let's use "Upon this Rock" by Joe Farrell which is the break that Black Sheep used for "Flavor of the Month", it has this loud psychadelic guitar, and lately I've been up in his ear about doing "Get Me Back On Time" by Wilson Pickett, and when we're on tour I'm always blasting Eddie Hazel. I was always saying that it is a shame that we don't hear more of it, then he played "Set the Sun" for me and I was like "yeah man that's where it is at!" Then he gave me the track to "Show Me the Way". So I said man, that's cool. So what are you going to do with it? and he said "I don't know I have no clue." So I said "all right give it here. I got sumthin." So I started thinking about David Ruffin. Now I'm not going to go too far into it but at the time I had been going through some relationship type things that had me looking to my blues predecessors. Where I got my name from was Wolfman Jack, I was trying to be the black Wolfman Jack, and he got his name because the sound of his voice sounded like another legendary Wolf, Mr. Howlin' Wolf so when I made that connection I was like "all right, this is really home." For "Show You the Way" I was thinking of David Ruffin, the guy from the Four Tops who just passed away Levi and a little bit of Curtis Knight. That's one of the dudes that Jimi Hendrix had worked with. So I was influenced but what you're hearing is definitely Darryl Jackson. That's Mixmaster Wolfie Wolf.

Let it Murinate

Classic Picks:
5. We Can Make It If We Try - The Sylvers (1973 Pride)
4. I'm Still Here - The Notations (1968 Twinight)
3. Sending Out An S.O.S - Side Effect (Featuring Helen Lowe) (1976 Fantasy)
2. Be What You Is - U.S. (music with Funkadelic) (2009 Westbound, recorded 1971)
1. I Got A Thing... - Funkadelic (1969 Westbound)

Current Picks:
5. Beer - The People Under The Stairs
4. Come On Over - The Breakestra
3. Gosta - Aesthetics Crew
2. Answer Me - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
1. Show You The Way - The Breakestra

For more information visit: www.myspace.com/mixmasterwolf

www.breakestra.com/

www.strut-records.com/content/breakestra

-- By Sonia Almanza de Gambaro