Performer of the Year
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29.23% Freak Brothers*
Others with Votes (more than one):
* On the ballot
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Winners for the second year in a row of the Best Live Performer Whammy - and winner of the Best Funk Performer and Best Live Band Whammy Awards as well - the Freak Brothers brought the awards show to a climax with their typical, non-stop funk fest. As their set began, for the first time all night, the crowd rushed the stage, staked out dance spots and shimmied like your sister Kate. Bassist Adam Martin, usually the only band member foolish enough to speak to the press, assured fans the band is well aware of their presence. “That was great,” he said of the crowd’s reaction. “We always like playing in rooms that are that big because people are really into it. That was a typical reaction. There’s a whole lot of energy built up, and we can feel it onstage. It’s like a balloon popping. We can feel it, and we react to it,” Martin said. If the decorous Mr. Martin seemed to be straying into adult imagery at one point, he can be forgiven. That respected social observer Doc West introduced the band by noting that, if memory recalls, “You can always tell when the Freak Brothers are onstage because all the really hot girls are there.” Or words to that effect. A typical Freak Brothers performance always raises the energy level with its seamless blend of funk, rock n’ roll, R&B, soul, hip-hop and jazz. The band doesn’t talk onstage, and members barely stop between songs. No wonder the “really hot girls” find themselves interested. They’re like the perfect date. The Freak Brothers - who last year also won the Best Funk Performer, Best Live Band and Best Rock Performer/Covers - consist of Martin; Matt Cashdollar on sax, flute and vocals; Dan Mihuc on guitar and vocals; Adam Rudolph on drums and vocals; Brandon Rentfrow on sax, guitar and vocals; Dan Capelli on sax and vocals; and Bryan Osborne on trumpet and vocals. Gone from last year’s award-winning lineup is Dana Dancer, with Rentfrow moving from sax to guitar to take his place. The band uses trumpets and saxophones, in addition to guitars and drums, to hammer home its dance-till-you-drop campaign theme. Band members have known each other for years and some have played together since elementary school, later attending North Side High School. Now that they’re grown up, day jobs include sales, engineering, insurance underwriting and attending college. Ages range from 22 to 30. “It’s an honor for us to win two years in a row,” Martin said. “We didn’t expect to win this year. It’s a tribute to our fans that they would vote for us like that.” After more than three years of playing 80 to 100 gigs a year, that fan base is growing - and growing fanatical. The Freak Brothers are an amalgamation of two earlier bands, Always in the Fridge and former Performer of the Year Strut Train. All members are steeped in their favorite styles and reportedly don’t rehearse, instead using performances to build the jams and polish the act. They polished it so well recently that they got themselves invited to play a wedding - in Big Bear, California, about an hour outside of Los Angeles. “A couple about to be married saw us play at Columbia Street West. The bride-to-be was from Fort Wayne, and the groom was from L.A. They decided they had to have us play at their wedding, so they paid our way, put us up for three nights and had us play at the reception. His dad was a composer for Paramount, and we got to see his Grammys. It was pretty cool,” Martin said. While on the Left Coast the band made a few industry contacts it hopes will lead to other things. In the meantime, the band has expanded its travels to include regular trips to Bloomington and Piggys in Angola. The Freak Brothers also play regularly at The Sidepocket Pub, Munchie’s on Dupont Road, the Sword and Saber in New Haven and at Zambuca’s in Fort Wayne. Although the band has a live CD, recorded at Columbia Street West, work has lagged on producing a studio effort. Martin said it’s tough enough to gather the guys, who live from Bloomington to northern Indiana, for a show, let alone a couple of weeks to record. Upcoming shows include Zambuca’s on March 12 and Munchie’s on Dupont on March 17. “And we want to thank Doug Driscoll (publisher of whatzup) for creating the Whammy Awards Show,” Martin said. “Before him, there was nothing like it in Fort Wayne. (Alex Vagelatos) |
Copyright 2005 Ad Media Inc.
In the new, carb-light Whammy Awards Show,
the Freak Brothers provided the meat, the spice
and the flame under the frying pan.