SEATTLE
Reviews
January 30th 1999 -
Phat Sidy Smokehouse CD Release"Phreaky Deaky"  at The Rainbow Tavern, Seattle, WA by Patrick Ferris - HotBands Editor What a treat! I made Phat Sidy's second CD release party at Seattle's Rainbow Tavern, which is one of the top music venues (I was able to see Robert Cray here before he became "known"). I attended Phat Sidy's 1st CD release party 1/25/97 with their debut album Plato's Grande Rehearsal which was a ground-breaking album creating the foundation for the "New" Seattle sound. A Phat Sidy performance is more like a party...along the lines of Phish or the Grateful Dead, where the crowd is as much fun as the band itself. Phat Sidy is a six-piece Phat and Phunky band with Ernest Pumphrey Jr. on Lead-vocals, Jon Ryser -saxophones, CD Littlefield-trumpet & flugel horn, Brian Ray-guitars, Tyrone Lovelace-bass, Davee C.-drums. Their second release entitled Phreaky Deaky is called one of their "bootleg" series CD's which is a compilation from their first album with cuts from their upcoming new CD Subrabae. The performance at the Rainbow was nothing short of spectacular. The energy feeding between the crowd and the band flowed in waves bringing nearly the entire crowd to their feet to dance. Lead singer Ernest Pumphrey Jr. was joined by his father (Ernest Pumphrey Sr.) and uncle (also named Ernest Pumphrey!) who have a Mo-Town review and (according to them) "taught Ernest Jr. how to work a crowd". Phat Sidy's dynamic energy is comparative to The Red-Hot Chili Peppers, and literally stole the show when they opened for Fishbone at Portland's Crystal Ballroom. Their sound is part of the "groove scene" happening in Seattle, and has the flavor of The Ohio Players, Earth Wind and Fire, or Rick James...combining funk, hard-rock, rap, and reggae into an original PHAT sound. Heavy syncopated rhythms between bass, guitar and drums playing off of the two horns and vocals makes Phat Sidy's sound unique and exciting. This is definitely a band to see live although their CD's are a welcome addition to anyone that likes dance-music. They are on my personal pick of the top-five bands in Seattle, and I fully expect to see them as one of the next super-bands from the Northwest music scene. |