By Dan Mayfield
Journal Staff Writer
Felonious Groove Foundation, from left, is Todd Lovato, Paul Cornett, Noah Wolters, Ragon Espinoza, Cali Soberanes and Bryan Highhill. The band’s new CD will be released tonight at the Launchpad. ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUIS/JOURNAL
Todd Lovato and Cali Soberanes finish each other’s thoughts. And beers. And it seems the pair has been like this since they met in high school in Santa Fe 12 years ago. Like Smokey and the Bandit or Starsky and Hutch, the two may be different, but have a similar outlook. The combination has worked as a songwriting duo for more than a decade in Felonious Groove Foundation, one of the best-known local bands.
But the duo is going beyond the funk and Latin beats Felonious has become known for with a new CD, “Felonious Groove Foundation Presents … Fantastic Planet,” which will be released tonight at Launchpad.
“This is our anti-funk album,” Soberanes said.
“You get defined as a Latin band, and that bugs me,” Lovato said.
The new CD is bringing to the forefront the Fantastic Planet side of the band, a rock-oriented side that tries to do more than make an audience dance.
“Felonious is a high-octane, alcohol-induced, good-time party band. We want people (on this record) to pay attention to what’s being said,” Soberanes said.
“It’s our most cohesive album ever. We found our niche with funk and Latin and it taught us how to do it,” Lovato said. “It’s darker, but it hits a lot harder. We got over ourselves as musicians.” “Felonious Groove Foundation Presents … Fantastic Planet,” though, asks a bit less than the previous Felonious record, “Paper Tiger.” “Instead of acting like we just released the opus of our lives, it’s a well-produced demo,” Lovato said. “We try not to exhaust the listener,” Soberanes added.
The new disc is shorter and doesn’t feature saxophone or horn sections, but it does have acoustic guitar, slide guitar and banjo, which is all new for the band. The new disc, however, was born to a darker time for Felonious. It’s dedicated to David Diaz, a longtime friend and band member who died in April.
“Two days before we recorded, he arranged it,” Soberanes said.
“He was a big part of the planning,” Lovato said.
Dealing with the loss of such a talented friend who was expected to be a bigger part of the band, the duo said, permeated the entire album.
“The fact that we were forced to get into the studio while that was happening was a real creative catalyst,” Lovato said. “Our mourning was right there in the back of our head.”
Felonious Groove Foundation CD Release Party
WHEN: 8 tonight
WHERE: Launchpad, 618 Central SW
HOW MUCH: $7, with a free CD. Visit www.launchpadrocks.com
So I just got my home recording studio set up. I spent the day recording this song in order to test out all the equipment. It is a cover of the Jimmy Cliff song “Under the Sun, Moon and Stars”. If you haven’t heard the original I suggest you check it out. It’s awesome. I think that it was originally recorded in 1977.
this second track is one that Ryan recorded while he was visiting. I’ve finally gotten the chance to finish it, so here it is. Not sure what he calls this song. It also features Brendaddy.
