Funk band continues to thrill crowds
By Chen Nan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-02 09:56
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The name conjures up images of neat lines of poetry but The Verse is actually a homegrown old-school funk band.
Started by Huang Bo in 1999, it is still delighting crowds around the country, although like many indie bands, it hardly rivals the so-called mainstream music scene.
They don't mind playing the old hits, as they are still getting the same warm and spirited reception as they did when they first played these songs
In 2007, The Verse expanded from a four-person to a 12-person lineup of three guitarists, one bassist, one drummer, three playing horns, two vocalists and two sound mixers.
The band made their debut at the Midi Music Festival, the country's oldest and biggest annual outdoor music festival, and impressed both the audience and critics with their black American music and high-energy performances.
"Live performing is the core of funk music," Huang says. "We have various ways of making music - sometimes, we just wait for inspiration, especially while standing and dancing on stage."
Following the tradition of funk and soul, the band is one of the nation's most-watched live bands and offers original funk tunes with both Chinese and English lyrics.
"I like the music of the 60s and 70s. And I think black American people's music is the root of today's music - from rock and jazz, to punk to pop. We want to take Chinese music lovers back to the old-fashioned music genre," Huang says.
Moonlight Utopia is one of their most popular songs in their live shows and is a jumpy, electro track with funky bass lines.
The Verse will celebrate their 10th anniversary this April, and will appear tomorrow evening at Yugong Yishan as part of the Hope For Haiti charity concert to raise money for the quake-hit nation.