Album Notes

(Fort Collins, Colorado) A fresh sound of modern funk, jazzy guitar riffs, and heavy rhythmic interplay, The Grippe is a unique trio that has been captivating live audiences for over two years. Now, with the release of their self-titled debut album THE GRIPPE LP, they have captured their live sound into a 12 track studio package that brings all their original funk, jazz, blues, and soul music together on one disc.

Following an amazing year of performances that included two Fox Theatre shows and supporting groups such as Soulive, The New Mastersounds, Lettuce, Bustle in Your Hedgerow(featuring the Benevento/Russo Duo), the Stanton Moore Trio, and other heavyweights of the funk music scene, the band is ready to showcase what they are all about.

Recorded in just four days in March and April 2009, the majority of the tracks on THE GRIPPE LP were grabbed from first takes. Over the next several months, the band then carefully added textural elements such as slide guitar, clavinet, Rhodes piano, synthesizers, and talk-box to give this disc the band’s complete signature sound.

Lending a final, jazzy touch to the overall sound was Dominic Lalli (The Motet, Big Gigantic, Juno What?!) on sax for the track entitled ‘Lucid.’ The final mix was shipped off to Grammy award-winning mastering engineer, David Glasser (Dave Matthews Band, Adrien Belew, String Cheese Incident) at Airshow Mastering Studio in Boulder, Colorado where he added his signature touches to the disc.

The Grippe is comprised of three veterans of the emerging Fort Collins, Colorado music scene. Walter Hannah (organ, Clavinet, Rhodes, and homemade talk-box), Charlie Humphreys (guitar), and Stu Crair (drums, percussion) have been playing in several successful bands from this region for many years. The group came together when Walter responded to an ad that Charlie and Stu had put out for a keys player and, within a short time, the band has become a powerful funk unit.