Youngblood Brass Band

As Alec and I were gone this weekend playing in the ultimate frisbee sectionals at sunny Naperville, the Youngblood Brass Band held a show in Chicago. It's too bad that we had to miss them, because they are really cool live...but hey, ultimate was awesome and we're going to regionals. To make up for the missed show, I decided to write about the band instead.

Hailing from my home state Wisconsin, Youngblood Brass Band combine elements of jazz, funk, dixie, and hip-hop to create a pretty unique sound. If you don't know much about brass bands, they aren't like a normal band in that all of the instruments they use are brass. That means, trombones, saxophones, and trumpets for the melodies, sousaphones for the bass lines, and drums as the beat and only non-brass instrument. When they perform live, there are actually three percussionists which mesh together real nicely and get the crowd moving, while the overarching brass instruments keep the people dancing. On many of the tracks there are vocals reminiscient of hip-hop. When I saw them in Zurich last year, a friend of mine commented on how he thought they felt like a jazzy 'Rage Against the Machine'. Sure, I can see the comparisons...it is definitely an in-your-face style of singing...but I would say listen to the tunes and give me your own take.

I've put three tunes down below. The first is 'Round One' off of their Center:Level:Roar CD. This is the tune that I play for people when I try to convince them to come to a concert. It displays many of the typical Youngblood traits with a piercing intro, driving percussion, and brass layering. The sousaphone base line is also pretty sick. The second is one of the more hip-hop oriented Youngblood tunes called 'Diaspora'. It begins laid back and flowing as the horn lines give breaks throughout the song to create a nice feel. The third is the most traditional Youngblood track, called 'Acousticon Theme' from their cd Unleran which weaves in solos throughout a tune that grooves and shows the talents of Youngblood. Enjoy!

Youngblood Brass Band - Round One

Youngblood Brass Band - Diaspora

Youngblood Brass Band - Acousticon Theme