http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI9QPwxnXQo

JD Optekar is a Dartmouth-trained engineer (class of 1991, Th’92) out of Wisconsin, holding down the guitar slot in and c0-leading a pretty decent regional blues-soul outfit, celebrating a cd release at Buddy Guy’s in Chicago this spring, I noticed in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Check out Tweed Funk.

For comparison sake here also is a version of the Guitar Watson classic by local San Jose area legends John Wedemeyer band, at the PHB the Poor House Bistro, near the hockey arena, a more than decent place for po’boys, brew and music.

I also sussed out a song on cdbaby by a Dartmouth lawyer and singer-songwriter, “Twilight Rising” by Ben Riley ’79 which I am pretty tempted to download. Here’s to our Alma Mater and whatever influence it puts on us that comes out in our music (writing). And it’s probably an unfair comparison but Smokey Holman and JD Optekar brought to my mind (too much granite of New Hampshire or cheap beer in basements?) JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, new release “Howl” on Bloodshot: maybe Tweed Funk can appear on a bill with JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound in Wisconsin. (Maybe my headline should be To Real Mothers Four Ya, or Four Real Mothers To Ya or some such…also reminded me of Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Roy Tyler and New Directions, Steven Bernstein MTO Sly Stone project, Natasha Miller and Bobby Sharp, Charlie Hunter and Dionne Warwick — inside joke: we mean Dionne Farris, who was named for Warwick, although Charlie and her’s project does cover Dionne Warwick, if we permit a digression into relationships between singing legends and their guitar players more than old school singers finally getting their due –; Otis Taylor — delayed his success for twenty years before exploding on blues scene in his late fifties, in early 2000s; Candye Kane featuring Laura Chavez; Sugar Pie DeSanto; since I digressed from JD Optekar to Wedemayer at Poor House Bistro of San Jose might as well go to Lara Price and Laura Chavez, since Lara married Jay who owns PHB: mazel tov!)

edit to add: JD Optekar responded to a brief note (and the link) left on the band’s site:

Mark: Thanks for the heads up and the mention in your blog, I appreciate it. Would love to do a show with JC Brooks, of course he has quite a few years (youth-wise) on us!

I was in Hanover the first weekend in March for the Track & Field Indoor Heps/25th Track Indoor Championships Reunion. My teammates had a great time kidding me about the article. Looking forward to playing back there for reunion.

Let me know if you would like a copy of our new CD and I can drop one in the mail or send you the Dropbox link. Also, we will be releasing our debut music video from our new CD next week.

We should be getting a fair amount of airplay on KZSU out in your area.

Cheers, JD Optekar 

Tweed Funk

414.828.XXXX http://www.tweedfunk.com

Preview New CD – http://youtu.be/Sk3_oYSgsV4

edit to add:

BluesInMySoulMusicVideoRelease032414

March 24, 2014 – Press Release – “Blues In My Soul” Official Music Video Release Tweed Funk (Milwaukee, WI) released their music video for the song “Blues In My Soul” on March 24, 2014. The song is from the upcoming album First Name Lucky (release date 3/31/14). The song was inspired by an article on frontman Joseph “Smokey” Holman that appeared in American Blues Scene Magazine (11/22/13). The video includes: footage in front of Smokey’s old school in Gary, Indiana where he learned to sing harmonies in the bathroom; shots from Memphis where the Domestic 4 recorded with Willie Mitchell and Rufus Thomas at Stax and Willie Mitchell’s studios; imagery of Smokey’s path away from music at US Steel and hustling on the streets; and Smokey’s rebirth in the music scene in Milwaukee with Marvelous Mack and his success with Tweed Funk.

Stills from Tweed Funk video, shot in Memphis, Indiana and Pittsburgh

Tweed Funk will be holding CD Release Parties in Milwaukee and Chicago What: Tweed Funk’s First Name Lucky Milwaukee Area CD Release Party

Where: Milwaukee Beer Bistro, 2730 N. Humboldt, Milwaukee, WI 53212

When: Saturday, April 12 , 2014 from 8 pm to 10 pm Free Show (While enjoying the music, try the braised ribs for $9)

What: Tweed Funk’s First Name Lucky national CD Release Party

Where: Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60605

When: Thursday, April 17 , 2014 from 9:30 pm to 12:30 a.m. Cost: $10 (if you are traveling some distance or are an e-commerce junkie, might as well buy in advance at Etix)

About Tweed Funk

Formed in late 2010, Tweed Funk has garnered national and international acclaim for their horn-driven, sweat- soaked, soul-blues. This Milwaukee, Wisconsin band is fronted by Joseph “Smokey” Holman, who recorded under Curtis Mayfield in the early 70’s. Tweed Funk boasts 3 Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Wins for the band and it’s members. Tweed Funk has appeared at some of the top festivals and blues rooms in the Midwest including: Chicago Blues Festival, Marquette Area Blues Festival, Byron Crossroads Blues Festival, Paramount Blues Festival, Prairie Dog Blues Festival, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Slippery Noodle Inn, House of Blues – Chicago, Jazz in the Park, Summerfest, and many more. Tweed Funk played 30 festivals, concerts, and club gigs in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the summer of 2013 and received excellent reviews and praise from festival bookers and the press. Tweed Funk’s sophomore CD, Love Is, charted nationally and been played on 170+ stations around the world. The band has had reviews in major print and internet publications including: Living Blues Magazine, Blues Revue Magazine, Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine, IconFetch, The Blues Blast Magazine, and many others.

Contact and Media Inquiries Press and Radio Frank Roszak Promotions 2014 KBA Awardee Publicist froszak2003@yahoo.com 818.679.7636

Social Media BratGirl Media Amy Brat bratgirlbaby63@aol.com

(I don’t think they’d mind if you contacted them to ask them about Tweed Funk “First Name Lucky” — I noted that the publicist/radio promoter Frank Roszak worked on Candye Kane’s cd “Superhero” during his tenure at Delta Groove Records).

http://www.tweedfunk.com

edit to add, April 1: coincidental to noticing Tweed Funk, whose new cd was released today, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings also have a new cd, and appeared on Jimmy Fallon. I just bought that cd for $12.95 at Starbucks, but noted that it also has a free download at the Daptone Records website, which I will attempt to access. Re Tweed Funk, I am saying that they might want to keep track of comparable acts like Sharon Jones — they probably already do. Or you could say that Tweed Funk is riyl Sharon Jones. The cd by SJDK came out in January.