Down North

One of the most underrated bands in the Pacific NW, Down North is tough enough to be jam-it Afro-punk, stylish enough to buy your lady a drink with a smile you just gotta forgive, soulful enough to bring the spirit of Michael Jackson into your neighborhood church, and born to make you bounce into the crowd. What I love about them the most is that I could totally see them kicking ass in an East Coast club between sets of no wave bands and noise units, bringing the heat and the heart to the art school scene. Yes, they're that smart and that on fire. - three imaginary girls

I listened to this local funk band for the first time this morning (it's somewhere at the beginning of the last month of summer), and what's been said about them by Dave Segal ("Super-competent players and singers all") and Grant Brissey ("These guys can bring the goods") is actually as true as true can be. These cats are talented and have wonderful amounts of rocking energy. I'm really surprised it took so long to get with this program. CHARLES MUDEDE - the stranger

Down North

Funk! Without having to disguise it as soul or Motown to get me to like it? Dude sings like James Brown, with a tinge of Michael Jackson (RIP). He even nails those high-pitched hiccups—whoo! The bass is less slap and more groove. And that was a killer guitar solo right there! If this were playing in a bar, I would wiggle a little. Does this mean I like funk? Fuck. I might like more funk than I thought I did. - the stranger

Down North: Down North could be the most unapologetically throw-down funk band in Seattle right now, and yet they’re barely registering a blip on the music-press radar. Anthony Briscoe, Down North’s lead singer, possesses an astonishing, roof-rattling voice–a room-filling sound capable of going from gravelly anguish to nimble falsettos on a hairpin turn–and he commands a stage like nobody’s business. His bandmates, meantime, match his fireworks slug-for-slug: Conrad Real’s muscular jazz-tinged drumming and Brandon Storms’ liquid basswork, in particular, form one of this town’s most fiercely funky rhythm sections. If their incendiary live shows, several stellar new songs, and a forthcoming music video don’t send this band’s stock way up in the next 11 months, something ain’t right with the world. - thesunbreak.com

Now I have to admit, you ain’t never, evah, evah, seen somethin like “Down North.” Nevah! The Nabob, the last stop, the final leg of a day filled with surprises, JUST GOT BETTER! Have you ever had a glass of wine, or a beer so good, you HAD to look at the label, find the phone number to the maker, and donate your entire life savings to the mere notion that more will be made, and you had a part in it? That’s “Down North.” Anthony “Renegade” Briscoe says HELL YA I’m tired, HELL YA I’ve been goin all day, but HELL YA you’re at a Band Crawl fo da kids! And he sings it so vibrantly, so amazingly coordinated, and so enthusiastically, that you forget, this is “Down North’s” last stop for the day. Anthony and crew cut the keys like butta, walk the bass line like it’s a heartbeat, and keep the rhythm as though the Godfather of soul himself were present. Not to mention the lead guitarist rippin’ his highs with a longevity that you cannot help but reference to unmentionables. This is what dirty feels like, and it hurts so good! “The chick is WILD!” Anthony sings, and that’s when all is let loose, and he moves like a ballet dancer, mixed with soul, mixed with Michael himself, and no I don’t need to say Michael who, because you know whom I am referring too. And here’s why, Anthony is classically trained as a ballet dancer, exponentially talented as an artist, and extremely motivated to motivate you - seattle.nightoutradio.org