The Funnel of Love: Local band to rock the Beached Whale this Friday and Saturday
Rockin’ out together for the last couple of years, the boys of Love Funnel will eagerly take the stage of the Beached Whale this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17.
“We really want to thank the Beached Whale for giving us such a great place to play on the Beach,” said Drew Conner, drummer of the band.
The group, comprised of Justin Neal (previously of Justin’s *69), Gerry Forrest (guitar), Rich Rhalf (guitar/trumpet) and Drew on drums, is excited about adding a new venue to their list of hot spots to rock.
Drew is eager to point out that all four members sing and harmonize.
“We all sing, but Justin has a fantastic vocal gift,” he said. “He’s a wonderful vocalist. The other three of us have been working on it with his help. But we all sing harmonies, make fun of each other, talk to the crowd, all that fun stuff.”
The band bills itself as high-energy rock, performing an eclectic mix of new and old tunes.
“We do everything from the Foo Fighters to the White Stripes to the Flaming Lips, the Police, Santana and Nine Inch Nails,” Drew said. “We’re so diverse because it’s fun and different and musical. This band was hand-picked because of everyone’s personality, experience and dedication to music that’s very important to us.”
Each of the four members pull influences from different genres of the musical realm. Justin’s heavily influenced by the ’90s alterna-grunge scene while Drew is more from the jam-band/world-beat/jazz era; Gerry stems from the great electric guitarists of rock and roll, and Rich pulls from jazz, rock and show bands of the day.
“We all have our collective influences,” Drew said. “Our set lists are the most unique and eclectic lists of all the bands in Southwest Florida. We really strive to never play the exact same show twice. Every show we try to really mix it up.”
Given that these boys really like to shake it up with their sound and their sets, they’ve recently been moving on to creating originals not yet performing them live but in the process of getting them wrapped up on an album.
“We started off wanting to be an eclectic cover band, but now we’re crossing over and working out our first original record,” Drew said. “It’s full steam ahead.”
Oh and for all of you wondering just how the band got its name, Drew explains it best
“There’re actually a few reasons for that,” he said. “No. 1: We couldn’t think of a good name. But also, we always practice at my house, and my 70-pound German shepherd, Buck, had an e-collar (funnel) around his neck. We called it a lamp shade. But when everyone would come over, he’d go up and lick and kiss everyone, and the guys would say it’s like a love funnel coming at you.”
Musical shout-outs
Love Funnel has been a very busy, often-gigging band lately and a very grateful one at that. They’re sure to give shout-outs and mad props to all they can.
“We really want to thank the Beached Whale for giving us such a great place to play on the Beach,” Drew said. “We’d also like to thank the Buddha Bar, Icabod’s, City Tavern and The Dek for always giving us a great place to play. And of course Jack’s Bait Shack is our home base. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
The drummer’s also sure to throw a big thank you out to a fellow group that’s rocked the beach right for years on end.
“We want to send a big thank you out to the band Soapy Tuna, who has been instrumental in recommending us and helping us move forward.”
Local gigs and more
Love Funnel’s been rockin’ all over the SWFL map lately. Aside from this weekend at the Beached Whale, big upcoming gigs include the Buddha Bar Oct. 29 and Thanksgiving weekend, and the Beached Whale every third weekend for months to come.
Be sure to check out their page on MySpace for a full and complete list of when and where you can catch them next: MySpace.com/LoveFunnel.
The boys are also available for private parties, functions and musical lessons/tutorials (set up at Morning Star Music, Naples). For booking info, call 784-6325.
As Drew concludes, “When we play, we’re trying to do something musical, something unique and something that will allow everyone to have a good time. Come join us!”