N.M.'s premier retro-funk contingent incorporates Latin, hip-hop and jazz resulting in a party oriented, high-octane, unforgettable musical experience. Award winning songwriting, chicken-scratch guitars and turntables, slap bass, 70's breakbeats and punchy saxophones are F.G.F
For more than a decade, Felonious Groove Foundation, New Mexico’s premier funk-Latin-rock contingent, has garnered a loyal following through the Southwest for its bombastic, freewheeling funk albums and dance-oriented, libation-fueled live performances.
Now a little older and little wiser, the band continues to grow its die-hard following and musical resume as it continues to forge its name as one of the region’s most relevant and tenacious bands.
F.G.F has earned its title as the Golden Boy of New 's music scene. In December 2007, the band was voted "" magazine's "Best Band Headed for Superstardom." The group's third album, "Paper Tiger" (Penguino Records, 2006), was nominated for 12 Music Awards and took home a trophy for "Best Musical Production in Folk/Americana" for the track "I Miss My Girl."
F.G.F. is fresh off the release of “Felonious Groove Foundation Presents…Fantastic Planet,” a full-length album in which the collective reveals a more mature face, one driven by not only the funk and Latin of yore but by banjo and slide guitar-driven .
The band performs under Penguino Records, an independent record label based out of Santa Fe that houses F.G.F., and hip-hop act Skinnyfat.
F.G.F. is a sought-after marquis filler for local venues, as the well-known group is known for its packed shows and fun-loving audiences. The band also keeps its regional following alive through frequent tours of the Southwest, in the neighboring states of Colorado and Arizona. The band has shared the stage with such national acts as Dumpstaphunk (Neville brothers), Arrested Development, Fishbone, B Foundation, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, (of Dave Matthews fame), Los Mocosos, , and (yes, even) the .
Originating as a side-project of F.G.F., formed in January 2008 as a warm-up act for the funk band, an excuse for Lovato and Soberanes to hash out new songs in front of live audiences before dipping into their F.G.F. material. Steadily however, the warm-up material began to steal the spotlight from the headliners, and soon, F.G.F. and blended into one sound, and one band, which is how the collective will perform on Sept. 12. The bands are composed of Lovato (vocals, bass, guitar, lap steel, keys, banjo), Soberanes (vocals, guitar), Paul Cornett (bass), Chadd James (saxohphone), Bryan Highhill (trumpet), groove maven Noah Wolters (keyboards), and a cast of rotating drummers.
The sound of the new F.G.F. album is best explained through its instrumentation, which is made up of a classic rock ‘n’ roll (drums, bass, a pair of guitars), and some added twists. Intrigued by the pathos of alt.country and folk, the throwback charm of arpeggiated synthesizers and vintage keyboards and the irresistible four-on-the-floor thump of dance rock, Fantastic Planet draws inspiration from a variety of instruments including banjo, lap steel, subsonic bass, synths and melodica.
“Fantastic Planet” is the band’s second album recorded with award-winning Andrew Click of Stepbridge Studios behind the soundboard. The album was produced by Todd “Skinnyfat” Lovato. Original artwork for the album was produced by local illustrator and graphic artist Jon Sanchez, a recent finalist in the Poster Search and a tour poster artist for musical acts like Neko Case, Cursive and .
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