About five years ago local band Resident Funk made its first appearance in Norman.
Drummer Tom Young, the son of an Episcopalian deacon from Ardmore, had been playing in the Norman music scene for a couple of years when he met a musical theater major from OU, Dallas native Chris Davis.
Add then-17-year-old keyboardist Dan Walker and a rhythm guitarist (Justin Morris) from, literally, next door ("Justin was my neighbor, so we just picked him up," Young said), and the first edition of Resident Funk was ready to roll.
The group played the usual Norman bar scene: The Deli, The Jockey Strap (now Firehouse), Brother's, etc. The group played mostly covers but started to build a strong following.
"We played a lot of heavy metal and hip-hop at first," Young said.
That first version of Resident Funk was a far cry from the band one can see today, still playing its old haunts on Campus Corner, but with a different sound and a different look.
Now, instead of a quintet, the band boasts seven members, including recent additions Dave Flores on guitar, Steve Baker on saxophone and the newest member of the clan, Jake Davidson on bass. At a recent Funk show at The Deli, it was made entirely clear how new Davidson was to the band.
"What's your last name? Peterson?" Young asked, eliciting a round of laughs from the rest of the group.
Flores has become an integral part of the new Resident Funk. He received a master's degree in classical guitar at OU. Baker and Flores joined Resident Funk together after also playing around the Norman music scene.
"Dave and I had an acoustic thing going on for a while, and we did some jazz stuff," Baker said. "I had heard (Resident Funk) play and knew they were a tight band. I went to see them at the Brewery one night and they asked me to sit in, and I was just floored by the type of music that they were playing. I don't know. It just kind of clicked."
The type of music that Resident Funk has been playing of late is a far cry from the covers of hard rock and hip-hop that signified the earliest incarnation of the band. Resident Funk plays a smooth, jazzy jam-rock with a funk flavor added in from the bass and percussion.
Sound checks eventually turn into jam sessions that last up to an hour. The band will play constantly and turn from genre to genre while they check mikes, amps and monitors. Davis adds his conga drums to the mix, and all seven members rock out in a synchronized mini-concert well before most of the crowd arrives.
"I think it's a lot of fun for us to come out and play that way," Young said. "We get to do different things."
A self-proclaimed "jam band," Resident Funk does not shy away from improvisational music montages. However, it's also not your typical jam-band music.
"It's structured," Young said.
"It always grooves," Davis added.
And that's about as close as one will come to getting a distinct description from the members of Resident Funk about the music they currently produce.
"It's difficult to describe," Morris said. "This band has been, like, six or seven bands, really. They all kind of shine through at various points in what we do."
The band members kid about their ever-changing look and sound and joke that there is always an open invitation to add more members to the seven-piece band. Even family gatherings have not been safe from Resident Funk recruiting.
"It does get bigger as the years go by," Young said. "Dave and I met a while ago. I met him when he played my sister's wedding."
As veterans in Norman's music scene, the members of Resident Funk have been around for the changes on Campus Corner. Playing the Norman scene with other local bands such as Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, the Hosty Duo and Conjunto Clave, they have also seen the changes in opportunities for bands to play in Norman.
"I wish there was a bigger opportunity for live bands around here, all the talent that's here," Flores said. "There aren't enough live venues around."
Young said that The Deli, on Campus Corner, is the band's favorite venue to play, and a place that they play often.
"They really cater to the musicians," Young said. "We've been playing here for four or five years. The atmosphere is right, and I wish there were more places like that around here."
Young also said that the Norman scene is in a good place right now. He said the venues that do still feature live bands bring in good crowds, and the quality of music has improved.
"Norman is in the middle of everything," Young said. "There are a lot of good bands right now. There's a different band playing every night, a different kind of music, and everybody's playing well."
Resident Funk made a CD a couple of years ago, but the group never released it, other than making it available at shows. This July, they will formally release the album "27."
"We've been dealing with the personnel changes right now, and it's about half done," Morris said. "As soon as we go back in, we can finish it up quickly. It will be formally released sometime next month."
Although Resident Funk is one of many local groups touring the four or five live music venues in Norman, they also play their distinct style of funky, jazzy, jam-rock outside of the Energy Center's shadow, with shows in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, spreading their groove to the masses.
hello there & you too