Electric Attitude

Opening the evening were Electric Attitude, a blend of soul, funk and vocals akin to Jack White's. Heavily influenced by the late '70s and early '80s, these guys have been gigging for years with far too little praise from the public for how much talent can be found in its ranks. The music grooved, got members of the crowd dancing and set the tone for an evening full of various local treats. - Houston Press

They’ll be making the journey to Austin with fellow Houston standouts Electric Attitude who bring a down and dirty funkiness with a dash of disco dance and more foot stomping old fashioned rock n’ roll influence than they give themselves credit for. - OVRLD

The Friday night happy hour shakedown hosted by Heart and Soul Sound System, a collective of Austin crate diggers with a passion for vintage reggae, ska and dancehall grooves, turns 2 years old. To celebrate, the crew has tapped a few friends for a night of funky rhythms and global grooves. The DJs kick things off with a free happy hour from 5 to 9 p.m. Then, Houston funk rockers Electric Attitude serve up brash and boisterous dance floor smokers that sizzle with an unholy marriage of disco and soul. Finally, Austin’s premiere afrobeat ensemble Hard Proof, fresh off an Austin Music Awards win for Best World Music Band, moves in with ballistic rhythms and a wall of brass to give this birthday bash a proper blowout. $6-$8 cover begins at 9 p.m. 912 Red River St. mohawkaustin.com. — Deborah Sengupta Stith - Austin360.com

One of the funkiest bands in Houston filled out the Alley Kat's upper deck Saturday night, enticing fans to move their feet and dance along to their soulful melodies. Earlier in the evening, I had spent a good 10 minutes talking the group up to some guys I met who hadn't heard of them. I was glad to see that Electric Attitude brought their A-game and hopefully made some new fans. - Houston Press

The funky soul swagger of Houston’s Electric Attitude will be getting everyone a little hot & bothered, when they play at 10:45 on the Alley Kat stage. Their album, “Skintight & Solid Gold” sounds like it was made for a Motown release, and their energetic live show always feels like it could’ve happened on Soul Train. - Free Press Houston

Collaborating between seven band members, Electric Attitude may have found the perfect blend of funk, soul, jazz and even a little disco. One of the most diverse bands in Houston is also the most easily accessible on first listen. If you haven't already, you really should buy their latest album, Skintight & Solid Gold. Funk for days. (10:45 p.m., Alley Kat) - Houston Press

I’m not sure if I can convey through words how important Lee Fields is to the music world, but he’ll be performing at the House Of Blues on Friday night. Fields has kind of done it all in music. He’s made everything from traditional R&B albums, to soul and funk albums, and he’s even done collaborations with DJs. His backing band, The Expressions, are cats made up from the likes of those who’ve performed with Jay Z, Aloe Blacc, Ghostface Killah, and Adele to name a few. Fields is back with his epic and soulful 2014 release, “Emma Jean.” On the album, you quickly forget that this is a guy with forty plus years in the business, as he’s as strong as ever. Fields sounds like it’s 1969, with a soulful gruff added to his smooth soul sound. He will have one of Houston’s best soul and funk acts, Electric Attitude opening things up for him as well. Electric Attitude dropped an album last year that everyone should own called “Skintight & Solid Gold.” It’s literally a funky explosion of the senses complete with up tempo tunes and sultry slow jams. The doors for the show are at 8:30 and the tickets are $25.00. - Free Press Houston

Lee Fields & the Expressions: Old-school soul of the highest order, opened by Houston funkmeisters Electric Attitude. (House of Blues, September 26) - Houston Press

Electric Attitude works the same retro-R&B grooves as Houston's wildly popular A Fistful of Soul DJ nights, but with far too much hard-rock edge to be a dance craze for people in their early twenties. Last year the septet released first full-length LP, Skintight & Solid Gold, a true mission statement that is cinematic and uncompromisingly funky. (BB&T Heart of Texas Stage presented by Houston Press, 1 p.m. Saturday) - Houston Press

If she hasn’t gotten you hooked on the groove yet, she will tonight. Latasha Lee & The Black Ties headline the following show for a night of R&B, funk and soul. The bill includes funk-rockers Electric Attitude and hip-hop outfit Magna Carda. The music starts at 10:30 p.m.

This is a big night out, friends. Doors at the Ballroom open at 8:30 p.m. See all of the bands. You’ll thank me later. Very recommended. - KUTX

Hailing from Houston, headliner Electric Attitude has earned the Houston Press Music Award for “Best Soul/Funk/R&B” act in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and they are nominated for the award again this year. EA doesn’t have one distinct genre in which they classify themselves, instead merging elements of rock, blues, funk, soul, and disco into one futuristic sound. Front man Blake Shepard’s voice is reminiscent of The Black Keys, and the band has two albums, Skintight and Solid Gold and Laser Laser Laser Beams. - Maroon Weekly

A seven piece band based out of Houston, Electric Attitude is an eclectic mix of dance floor party-starters that leave you with no choice but to get down and boogie. Having won the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Houston Press Music Awards for “Best Soul/Funk/R&B” act, as well as opened for major international acts like The Octopus Project, The Bright Light Social Hour, and Bonobo, Electric Attitude has kept their momentum rolling and garnered widespread attention. With the release of their new LP, Skintight & Solid Gold, to a sold-out room at the House of Blues, you can certainly expect an unforgettable show with Electric Attitude. - ANON Magazine

The Houston Press and Rocks Off are proud to announce the musical lineup for our sixth annual Artopia, set for Saturday, January 25, once again at Winter Street Studios (2101 Winter St.). While you admire the creations of some of the Bayou City's top visual artists and fashion designers, Artopia's Music Stage will be rocked, rolled and thoroughly funked up by Houston's own Electric Attitude, Featherface and Deep Cuts.

Still riding high off their superfly 2013 album Skintight & Solid Gold -- which the band reports is now being ordered from as far away as France and Switzerland -- Electric Attitude has all kinds of shizz going on right now, hardly limited to their opening gigs for Girl In a Coma at Numbers Thanksgiving Saturday and Har Mar Superstar New Year's Eve at Walters(!).
Skintight has also been accepted by Pandora, which is in the process of building a station around EA. Still, the band is proudest of the brand-new touring vehicle they've dubbed "Vincent Van Gold" (see above) and hope to use it to break into the Memphis and Nashville markets in 2014.

Last glimpsed at the Paste Untapped Festival pre-party, the elegantly mellow dream-pop gentlemen of Featherface have also been widening their touring radius with recent shows in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Austin and Bryan, brand-new 7" in tow. Give their new video for "The Cosmic Draw" from that very 7", a look below.

Lastly, Deep Cuts -- or Deep Cvts if you're nasty, sorta like Chvrches -- have been building up quite a buzz with their Latin-tinged indie-pop and have started opening some of the bigger local shows around, like Buxton's ten-year anniversary gig November 30 at Fitz.

If you've been to Artopia before, you know it will be crowded with only the sexy people. If you need a reminder, have a gander at our slideshows from last year, 2012 and 2011.

We're also glad to welcome back DJs Ceeplus Bad Knives and Dave Wrangler, trusted old hands at Houston Press events, keeping things stylish by the Fashion Stage and the live painting, respectively.

Indeed, fashion. Live painting. DJs. Electric Attitude. Featherface. Deep Cuts. A topia's worth of art. Make it a winter to remember.

Tickets are now available for $45 (general-admission) and $75 (VIP) at houstonpressartopia.com. Go for the VIP, trust us. - Houston Press - Chris Gray

Yup, this one’s the biggie for me, at least; I’ve been listening to Electric Attitude‘s new full-length, Skintight & Solid Gold, a whole lot lately, and yeah, I’m pretty blown away by it. I was wary after their previous EP, which kind of left me wanting, but this time they seriously delivered, blasting out a tight, dirty, raw-yet-shiny funk-rock explosion that hits everybody from old-school touchstones like James Brown, P-Funk, and The Bar-Kays to Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, and Cold War Kids. Check out the full review here, then go witness the spectacle live and in-person. - Space City Rock - Jeremy Hart

Alright, Electric Attitude, I’ll admit it: you got me. You made it work, and you got me, so much so that I’ve been humming along with the songs on Skintight & Solid Gold in my head for a straight week now.

And to tell you the truth, I was pretty worried. For one thing, I had some pretty serious issues with 2009's Laser Laser Laser Beams EP, and beyond that, this kind of funky, rough-edged, slinky sound is one that’s ridiculously easy to screw up in the first place; a little too far over the line, and it all turns into a parody, like Har Mar Superstar gone horribly awry.

With this album, though, the band makes it work, and work very well. From the first rubbery, Bootsy Collins-esque bass note of “No One Else” all the way to sleazy, low-down closer “On My Mind,” Electric Attitude swagger and snarl like The Black Crowes if they’d switched mid-career to playing in funk clubs, or maybe like The Rapture with that robotic heart replaced by one swiped from James Brown. All things considered, it’s pretty great.

Granted, it’s not going to be for everybody; singer/guitarist Blake Shepard’s loverman lyrics (and the non-lyrical grunts and “oohs,” to boot) will undoubtedly make some eyes roll, but hey, who cares? Here, I’ll drop a big old spoiler: Skintight & Solid Gold is all about sex. Sex and…um, yeah, that’s pretty much it. So if soulful, gritty funk-rock about getting down and dirty doesn’t appeal to you, you’re probably better off heading elsewhere.

If you stick it out, though, trust me, it’ll be worth the ride. On tracks like “Trouble,” Electric Attitude channel The Meters, bursting through those chorus in a ball of churning, rough-edged rawk, and it’s awesome to witness. Then they shift gears for “Godzilla” and “Nightlife,” transforming into a bumping, yelping nu-New Wave band a la The Killers (if they’d embraced horns over keyboards, that is), and again into almost a rewrite of Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out” with “Don’t Walk Away,” which is raw and insistent and confident as all hell.

It’s the horns that really make this work, at least for me. They’re flat-out spectacular, particularly on “Scarlet Harlot,” with its Dap-Kings-gone-rocksteady vibe, and on “Fierce,” which is horn-tinged but pretty much pure bluesy rock ‘n roll nonetheless, and an arena-sized chunk of it, to boot. The horns add a soulful authenticity to Skintight, making it more fully real somehow, like it’s this band you’re listening to in some sweaty, mysterious basement club somewhere, just bumping and grinding ’til the sun comes up again.

Since my last somewhat-disappointing exposure to the band, Electric Attitude have seriously stepped up their game, on all fronts. Not only are they tighter and more focused than they were previously, but the production — which is partly thanks to co-producer Reggie O’Farrell, of The Western Civilization — stellar, completely filling up your skull with that gritty, bouncy, dirty, funky goodness. On the songwriting side, too, they’ve grown by leaps and bounds, crafting songs like “Nightlife” and “Manic,” which are damn near pitch-perfect examples of what a funk song should sound like.

The latter’s the high point here, for me, with its skronking, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-ish horn intro (I swear, I kept expecting the band to break into “Thrift Shop”) and its frantic, fevered pace. And then, when the band hits the break…well, it’s fucking awesome. It’s catchy and speeding and brilliant, furiously surging like an tsunami about to destroy the beach.

So, you see this right here, this album that’s sitting right there on my desk? This is what I’d hoped this band would sound like, back when I reviewed that last EP four years ago. Hot damn. - Space City Rock - Jeremy Hart

Skintight & Solid Gold kicks off with a robust funky riff that is vaguely pornographic. When the horn section barges in, it’s clear — this music is no joke. The sound is real, organic, and it grooves. The vocals are high-pitched and angry; bringing everything together in an unpretentious and non-cheesy way. It’s immediately clear that you’ve never heard anything quite like this.
The cover of the album exudes metallic sensuality: from the curve of the illustrated model’s hips, to her “Skintight and Solid Gold” pants, you’re invited to a visual preview of the auditory arousal of Electric Attitude’s latest LP. The band that was named after a lyric from vocalist Blake Shepard, describing a girl at a party who, “moves into the room with an electric attitude,” delivers a fresh album full of “ear-gasmic” vibrancy.
Skintight & Solid Gold is an album bursting at the seams with energy. My first listen seemed ideal, in retrospect. The night was young, I was driving, the air was crisp, I felt invincible, though I can’t remember where I was going, it was with purpose. The album hit me like a soundtrack for the evening, especially on tracks like “Godzilla” and “Nightlife,” which made me want to dance, drive, move, and vibe. There was a pervading determination to each track that I could feel building within in me pushing me to indulge in each exciting track.
“Godzilla” sounds like a pop-rock song on another level – think of a futuristic funk tribute to Franz Ferdinand meets George Clinton and the P-Funk All-stars. The melodies are repetitive and infectious and the synths sound like lasers in space. This truly is futuristic funk at its finest. This unapologetic track seems to be from the perspective of giant lizard, “Imma let loose on this town” … “people running in fear,” either that or it’s a wildly elaborate metaphor.
“Nightlife” opens with a soaked synth-line (one among the various brilliant bass effects of Kwesi Sackey) and an infectious EWI (electronic wind instrument) riff. The vocals boast a Jagger-esque swagger, while the guitar follows behind with an ingeniously simple solo. “Baby, don’t you know? It don’t matter who you know. It’s all when and where you go. It’s all where you’re going,” croons the raspy voiced vocalist. The delivery of lyrics with the excellently crafted instrumentals of this track will definitely “take you somewhere.”
There exists a kind of subversive undercurrent of sensuality throughout the album that tastes entirely natural. Even on the pleading “Don’t Walk Away,” the lyrics, “and now you’re looking so good, when you look like hell,” captures the aura of a statically toxic relationship. When the band does slow the pace, the vibe does justice to their old-school R&B influences. “I understand that you’ve got a man, so lord forgive me what I’ve done,” is the theme on the half-remorseful and fully-sexy “Hit & Run”.
This is a band born out of Houston’s irresistible diversity, and they’re not shy about it. In a recent interview with Houston Press, they attributed the genesis of their sound to “the Houston environment.” Electric Attitude’s first full-length album arrives right before the Houston Press Music Awards, which sees them nominated for Best Soul/Funk/R&B as the prohibitive favorite to three-peat (You can vote here: http://microapp.houstonpress.com/musicawards/2013/vote.php ).
This is music that begs to be felt live. This is a band that takes pride in turning a live show into “one of the best parties Houston has to offer.” Your chance to experience this is not that far away: They will be playing a CD Release Show on July 27th at House of Blues. You can buy the tickets for $10 and the first 100 to arrive get a free copy of the album (more information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/141028756101801/ ). Their next appearance is Cactus Records Saturday August 3, 2013 at 3pm. Electric Attitude promises a “show-stoppin’, sweat-drippin’, ass-shakin’ good time,” and I wouldn’t doubt them. - COEUS Magazine - Jorge Cotte

“Skintight & Solid Gold,” the first full-length album by Houston’s Electric Attitude is a lush, cinematic joyride through the hungry city streets - streets hungry for music which isn’t always easy to find in the usual places.

Will work for music

The search is worth it though. Once you’ve developed an Electric Attitude, it takes hold and gets inside you. It leaves a mark and stays there coursing through you and waking up parts of your body you didn’t know had life. To make a cinematic comparison, think of the scene from the movie “The Jerk,” when the rhythmically challenged title character, Navin Johnson notices his foot moving independently to the beat of ambient music playing in another room as he lies in bed. Navin finds the rhythm within him he didn’t know he had, and it opens his eyes to the endless possibilities in the world yet to be discovered. It’s played for comedic effect in the film. However, when you listen to “Skintight & Solid Gold,” you and your body will have a similar, yet serious and more profound awakening. If you haven’t found the music of Electric Attitude, don’t worry. As with Navin Johnson, it will find you.

“Skintight & Solid Gold,” is a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado pushing 400 horsepower of soul, funk, disco and rock and roll.

You need a lift

The Eldorado is careening around the curves and slinking seductively up and down the city blocks with its horns wailing out its siren song to anyone in its path. These are real horns serenading the night - the kind of horns (Chicago Transit Authority and Ides of March) that ruled rock and roll in the days before computer generated, performance enhancing technology stole their thunder and took their soul. “Skintight & Solid Gold” has recaptured that thunder, and makes a strong argument for requiring horns in music just as they're required in cars.

Packed into the Eldorado as it whips through the city streets are Blake Shepard (vocals, rhythm and lead guitar), Kwesi Sackey (bass guitar and vocals), Mikol Hatter (drums and percussion), Jordan Bell (rhythm and lead guitar), James Murphy (alto, tenor, baritone saxophone, electronic wind instrument [EWI]), Matthew Hartnett (trombone/keys) and Stephen Forse (trumpet). Don’t walk away, there’s room for more.

Climb in and come along for the ride toward your own musical awakening.

Joyride

The speedometer needle of the Eldorado dances dangerously between swagger and strut, occasionally easing back to chill, if only briefly, to maneuver the delicate curves and give you a chance to catch your breath and brace yourself before gunning it for the rest of the ride.

The ride begins with the smooth and easy, yet energetic funk-infused acceleration of “No One Else.” It’s reminiscent of classic 70s cop show themes like Baretta and Starsky & Hutch, and it sets the stage for this joyride through the city streets. You make a quick turn and head straight into “Trouble,” a sultry, swaggering confessional tune about having a weakness, (or a preference) for finding trouble. It’s a shameless, soulful admission (or a boast) with Shepard adding just the right amount of primal grunts and groans for emphasis. “Trouble” would make even Mick Jagger envious (or proud).

You take an abrupt turn as the Eldorado gains speed and unleashes the power under its hood with “Godzilla.” It rattles the ground, shakes your bones and unleashes a funk, disco, rock and roll fire on the town. If “Godzilla,” like an attack by the radiation-enhanced cinematic creature doesn’t stir you into a frenzy of movement and send your body into a furious groove, even if you are “Navin by nature,” then you caught a ride in the wrong car. That’s alright though. The Eldorado slows down briefly as you get to “Planet X,” where you can take a breather and find your bearings. “Planet X” is a smooth space age interlude with Sackey on bass, and Murphy on the EWI. It’s a much needed cool down before the Eldorado heats up the streets again and drives into “Night Life,” a funky, horn blaring (Murphy, Hartnett, and Forse) trip through the city at night as you revel in its seductive, carnival like charm. You pick up a little more speed with “Don’t Walk Away,” a flurry of drums, (Hatter) guitar, (Bell), bass and horns explode into an anguished, tormented plea (Shepard) for just a little more time with the current object of his affection.

The Eldorado eases off the gas and keeping with the vehicle metaphor, it coasts into the slow jam “Hit and Run,” a journey through the complications of unrequited love. You ease back a bit more for the quick, funky instrumental groove, “Scarlet Harlot.” It’s a welcome break to take your mind off the tale of love gone wrong you just drove through and an essential moment before hitting the gas and steering head on into “Manic,” a frantic, necessary catharsis from the pent-up energy that has built up to this point of the joyride. - Examiner.com - Bob Langham

Album titles are normally a throw-away ordeal, especially these days. I mean, I just reviewed an album called The Silver Gymnasium. What the fuck does that mean? An interview with the band probably would provide me with answer that made me sorry that I even asked.
But Electric Attitude’s debut full-length has a title that fits perfectly, just like a glove. Possibly Michael Jackson’s trademark white gloves. Skintight & Solid Gold is an album-length funk jam filled with innuendo, horns and a whole lot of low-end thunder. Opener “No One Else” starts off the session with a wailing wah-wah bass intro, kicking off an impressive tone of constant vamping and grooving that pervades the album. Even though there are discrete songs, and they do not necessarily fade into each other, each song has such unstoppable momentum the succession of tracks feels like a non-stop dance party. Even after the music stops, there remains the irresistible urge to continue tapping your feet.
Even though their grounding is in funk and soul, songs like “Godzilla” show a strong ability for crossovers and cross-genre appeal. True, the song includes their tell-tale horns and funk flare, but the guitar playing smacks of post-punk revivalist darlings Two Door Cinema Club, who have had monumental success on the radio and playing the live circuit. Electric Attitude is definitely more than merely the sum of their influences.
Other winning tracks include “Manic,” “Fierce,” and “Don’t Walk Away.” And unlike many local releases, if you have a subscription Spotify, it is readily available for your streaming pleasure. - Free Press Houston - Jack Daniel Betz

The first sounds we hear from Electric Attitude‘s LP Skintight & Solid Gold is a bass line borrowed directly from Bootsy Collins’ Space Bass and fed through a stank ass wah pedal. Those beginning couple of measures from “No One Else” provides all the proof we need to know that funk is alive and well in Houston. But don’t tell these three-time winners of the Houston Press Music Award for Best Soul/Funk/R&B that all they do is straight funk; their music fervently incorporates elements of blues, rock, disco, and soul in a delectable melding of styles that would make any shitty fusion restaurant owner green with professional envy. Take the track “Hit & Run”, a slow-burning indie rock number in the vein of TV On The Radio — it’s the best “I didn’t mean to lead you on by having sex with you” song in quite some time. The album’s eclecticism is nowhere more apparent and appropriate than it is in “Manic”; the song’s epileptic pace adds meaning to its refrain “my mind is not my own”. On “Trouble”, disco cliches punctuate the saxophone mating calls while frontman Blake Shepard considers a dangerous liaison with the one his mother told him about. We are paying a compliment when we say “Don’t Walk Away” totally recalls Jack White’s blues-tinged solo work, from the near spot-on vocal impression to the muscular guitar playing.

Taking cues from the diversity of Houston’s population, Electric Attitude insists on being as multifaceted as possible in their craft; adding that talented brass section to the fold certainly helps. But as with any funk rock band, their success ultimately relies on the mystical powers of the bassist, whose fat bottoms and slinky mids (or lack thereof) can make or break a band like this. Fortunately, Kwesi Sackey’s fingers seemingly can walk over miles of the thick metal string without tiring or tripping, which is absolutely critical in keeping bodies grinding on the dance floor. Shepard can growl about sex all he wants, but there just ain’t no sex if there ain’t no groove, baby. Sackey brings that groove to every track in tandem with the Jordan Bell’s reliable riffing on the electric guitar. Sackey’s individual competence aside, it is his and Bell’s tight execution that plays the largest role in the band’s award-winning sound and the surge in frequency of hot one-night stands around H-Town.

The band is playing at the Yes Indeed Music Fest in September and will likely draw one of the largest crowds. An Electric Attitude show is one party you just can’t afford to miss. Stream the album if you have Spotify, and as always please buy their shit. - Arpeggizine.com - Dat Nguyen

New album by Houston's @ElecAttitude jams hard. Someone bring them to Austin please. electricattitude.bandcamp.com - D. Sengupta Stith (Austin360.com)

You wouldn’t know it from listening to the radio in town or by reading the national music press publications but Houston is pulsing with a vibrant music scene which easily surpasses the more talked about Austin and Seattle music scenes.

Heart of rock and roll

Maybe this is because many of the musicians and bands who climb aboard the Austin and Seattle bandwagon (pun intended) are just following the latest trend instead of their hearts. The heart and soul of their music (if there was any to begin with) isn’t really born out of the city they now insist on calling home.

Fortunately for Houston music fans, there are numerous independent local bands and artists playing music at venues in and around Houston every day of the year.

Home is where the heart is

These loyal Houston musicians haven’t left their hometown or their devoted local music fans in search of greener musical pastures. Like their music, these bands are tied to Houston, and their music and inspiration is derived of and from the city they share with their local fans. Believe it or not, there is an insatiable appetite for local music in Houston, at least for those who haven’t been lulled by commercial radio into a lethargic, zombie-like consumption of strictly top forty music.

If you are one of the lucky ones, one of the survivors who’s still has the hunger and desire for generous servings of local music, then the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase is the event you should plan on attending every year. The Showcase is an opportunity for you to see many of Houston’s finest, underappreciated bands perform during the course of one evening at multiple venues (all within walking distance of each other) prior to the Houston Press Music Awards Ceremony. The Showcase gives local music fans a chance to see, hear and even mingle with bands they might not have experienced before and bands they already know and love prior to casting their votes for the local music awards.

Congratulations to all of the winners this year for all of their hard work, loyalty and dedication to the Houston music scene and to the Houston music fans.

The award goes to…

Don’t be disappointed if your favorite bands didn’t win an award this year. The real winners are Houston musicians and the devoted fans who are living and working outside the conventional commercial radio boundaries and jamming and grooving outside the box. Nowhere is this more apparent than when you gaze around at the enthralled faces and swaying bodies in the Showcase audience surrounding you and see other musicians dancing and shaking to the beat with everyone else before or after performing their own set (Sarah Hirsch of Jealous Creatures - this includes you and Ruth who were grooving out to that feverish Electric Attitude set at the Showcase with everyone else). The local musicians and fans keep the Houston music scene pulsing. Congratulations Houston on your win. This is an award too big to put on a shelf and one that never gathers dust.

Below is just a sample of the more than forty amazing local bands which performed this year at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase.

Houston’s finest

Click on the links below to listen to some songs from the bands. If you like what you hear, visit their websites and their social media pages and try to catch them playing live in Houston to keep the local music scene thriving.
- Examiner.com - Bob Langham

When the set starts with the band's lead singer booty-bumping with the ladies in the front row, you know it's funny. When that same singer, Blake Shephard, stands on top of an amp, shot in hand, not one, but four times, you know it's fun. When he returns to the crowd not once but five times, nearly falling over a woman the last, you know it's a party.
And when his fellow bandmates get together, collectively creating something that easily sounds like 50 musicians or more, you know it's passion. When passersby look into the windows, their faces asking, "Who's makin' all that funkin' noise?" you know it must sound damn good. And when the Reserve 101 proprietors fling open their backdoors to let out the sound into the street, you know it's Electric Attitude. - Houston Press - Altamese Osborne

2011 and 2012 Houston Press Music Award winners for “Best Soul/Funk/R&B”, Electric Attitude easily heats up any room they step into. Plus their energy and funk and soul vibe will keep you on your feet. Check them this Saturday at Cactus Music and during the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase on Sunday at Reserve 101. - LaurenIgnited.com - Lauren Ignited

You'd think owning a record store would be a convenient avenue for starting your own record label, but you really don't hear about it that often. One guy who is, though, is Heights Vinyl's Craig Brown.
With Electric Attitude's release party Saturday night at House of Blues for their first LP, Skintight & Solid Gold, the HPMA-nominated pop-funk group officially becomes the first artist on Brown's Gr8 Heights Records. Brown pressed 1,000 copies of Skintight, and it's a natural fit: Electric Attitude had done several in-stores on Heights Vinyl's "High Noon" stage, including one on opening day.

For now, Gr8-Heights has a roster of one. Brown says he was looking at another band before Electric Attitude, but they moved out of town or split up (or both). He won't mention who it is, he says, because "I don't know what they're planning on doing, and I don't want to make it sound like they're flaking out or anything."

Starting his own label is the second phase of Brown's three-point plan, stemming from his graphic-design background (check out the above logo) and previous job as a creative director for Hewlett-Packard and other companies, where he was in charge of what he calls "user experience." He does imagine Gr8-Heights giving exposure to both new discoveries and "hidden gems" though.

Other than that, Brown is coy about what the third stage of his plan is, but Phase 1 seems to be a success.

Since Heights Vinyl opened in late 2011, "I couldn't have expected anything more," Brown says, mentioning that he expanded by 800 square feet over the July 4 holiday. The store was even recently featured in an issue of British Airways' in-flight magazine.

"If you fly into Houston on a British Airways flight, you see the MFAH, the Rothko Chapel and you see Heights Vinyl," he says. "We've got a lot of really good outside exposure as well."

Brown did let slip one little hint about his possible larger objective, though.

"I want to show the diversity of Houston music a lot,"he says. "I have a large range of music, and there's a greater common goal to elevate Houston a little bit."

"When you look at the inner labels for our vinyl, and on the outer jackets, it very prominently says Houston, Texas,"; Brown adds. "We're really trying to push this whole idea [against] this outside perception, that Houston is not the same Houston it was 15-20 years ago."

Electric Attitude releases Skintight & Solid Gold Saturday at House of Blues' Bronze Peacock Room, 1204 Caroline. Nick Greer & the G's and Spain Colored Orange open; doors open at 8 p.m. First 100 people get a free copy of the new LP. - Houston Press - Chris Gray

Sitting at The Harp on Richmond with Jordan Bell, Kwesi Sackey and Blake Shepard, founding members of funk/soul group Electric Attitude, it';s easy to understand why Electric is so eclectic. Of the three, Shepard is the more straightforward, serious one. Sackey, on the other hand, gives off a more personable, relaxed vibe, while Bell is all smiles. This difference in personalities translates to the band's music, which they say is a collaborative effort between all seven group members.

"When we write, we try to incorporate some of everyone," says Shepard.

Electric Attitude also incorporates various genres into the group's music, adding elements of jazz and disco to their funky sound.

In addition to Bell, Sackey and Shepard, Electric Attitude consists of Stephen Forse on trumpet, Matthew Hartnett on trombone, Michael Hatter on drums and James Murphy on saxophone and EWI (electronic wind instrument). The latter two have both been nominated for Houston Press Music Awards -- Hatter for Best Drummer in 2012; Murphy for Best Miscellaneous Instrument in 2011. The band is celebrating its third straight Best Soul/Funk/R&B HPMA nomination, and has won the category the past two years. (Click on link to read full article.) - Houston Press - Altamese Osborne

Sometimes a little shift is all it takes to make something really, really work, sometimes even when it didn’t completely work before. That’s what I found myself thinking when I listened to Electric Attitude‘s latest album, the stellar Skintight & Solid Gold. I’d waited a few years for the band’s recorded music to really match up to their live presence — which is impressive as all hell, I have to say, but I’ll get to that — and holy crap, they actually pulled it off. Skintight & Solid Gold is grimy and sleazy, with nicely rubbery, Bootsy Collins-esque basslines, a heavy dose of horns, and frontman Blake Shepard‘s half-leering, undeniably sexy croon/yelp.
Now, for the live side of things: yep, the album’s good, but in person? It’s a whole different beast, a sweatier, rawer, funkier kind of creature from even the dirtied-up recording; if you’ve never witnessed Electric Attitude live, you really need to. They set the dancefloor on freaking fire, I swear.
- Space City Rock - Jeremy Hart

If you know anything about Houston funk and soul, then you know Electric Attitude. The band's eclectic mix of jazz and disco consistently gets the bodies shaking, and you couldn't find a better group of laid-back cats willing to sweat out the brass and thunder of a good solid rhythm line. With brand-new CD Skintight & Solid Gold, they're a Houston dynasty in the making. - Houston Press - Jef With One F

To which member are we speaking? What are you nominated for?
Kwesi Sackey, Best Soul/Funk/R&B.

Please list all of your regular band members and what instruments they play.
Blake Shepard, vocals, guitar; Kwesi Sackey, bass, vocals; Jordan Bell, guitar; Michael Hatter, drums; James Murphy, saxophone, EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument); Matthew Hartnett, trombone; Stephen Forse, trumpet.

Describe your band in four to seven words.
Funky dance-rock with crispy horns.

Who is your single biggest musical influence and why?
Instead of "who" I'll say that our single biggest musical influence is the time period between the late 70's and early 80's. Albums like [Michael Jackson's] Off the Wall and The Stones' Some Girls are examples of records produced during that era that really speak to us, not to mention all the incredible obscure disco, electro-funk, and boogie singles that were released then.

We reference all of the great stuff from that time, but we aren't going for a "throwback" vibe; we always make sure to apply a modern touch and stay true to our sound when we write a song. Bottom line is we love listening to and making music that grooves, but it's gotta be dirty!


What recordings (if any) do you have readily available?
Our new full-length album, Skintight & Solid Gold, will be released on vinyl, CD, and iTunes through GR8-Heights Records come the end of the month. Our album release party is at House of Blues' Bronze Peacock Room on July 27. We also have our first EP, Laser Laser Laser Beams (2009), available on iTunes.

Have you ever been HPMA-nominated before? When and what for?
We were nominated for Best Soul/Funk/R&B in 2011 and 2012, and were fortunate enough to win both times. In 2011, James was nominated in the Best Miscellaneous Instrument category, and in 2012 Michael was nominated as Best Drummer.

Where and how often do you perform (publicly) around Houston?
We perform in Houston about two times per month. We usually play at House of Blues, Fitzgerald's or Warehouse Live.

What is the next step for your band?
The next step is to release and promote Skintight & Solid Gold, then take our party from city to city. We currently have shows booked in New Orleans, Austin and Dallas, with many more to come.

Finish this sentence: "Houston music is..."
Houston music is eclectic and diverse, just like our band...

Electric Attitude's showcase spot is 8 p.m. Sunday, August 4, at Reserve 101, 1201 Caroline. Don't forget about that release party this Saturday at the Bronze Peacock, and see more about the band at electricattitude.com or facebook.com/electricattitude. - Houston Press - Chris Gray

Reigning HPMA Soul/Funk/R&B winner ­Electric Attitude took last year's trophy with a combination of hard-rock drive and pure sex groovitude. Now they're trying again. Blake Shepard's voice is destined to accompany many future orgasms, but Best Drummer nominee Michael Hatter never misses the opportunity to swagger a song along at a slinky pace. JEF WITH ONE F
- Houston Press - Jef With One F

Rocks Off: When and where was your first gig in Houston, and how did it go?

Electric Attitude: We played our first gig to a packed house at AvantGarden back in 2007. We were a trio back then, but we ended up being a two-piece that night because our drummer took a bad hit of acid the night before and refused to leave his apartment. Needless to say we now have a much more reliable drummer in Michael, and we are proud of his individual HPMA nomination.

RO: What Houston-area venues do you play most often?

EA: Over the last year we've been lucky enough to play the House of Blues on a regular basis. Whether it be opening for a national act on the main stage, or playing with regional and local bands in the Bronze Peacock Room, it's always a party. We're actually really excited to play there again on the Crossroads Stage for the showcase.

Other spots we frequent are Fitzgerald's, Rudyard's, and The Studio at Warehouse Live. The beauty of playing these venues is that we've had the opportunity to share the stage with such diverse acts ranging from The Pharcyde and 100 Monkeys to The Octopus Project and Bonobo. Gotta love Houston.


RO: How often do you play in the area?

EA: It depends, but we usually play two or three times per month.

RO: Describe your sound in eight words or less.

EA: Funk-rock with elements of soul and disco.


RO: How did you come up with your name?

EA: One of the first songs our lead singer ever wrote was about a girl at a party who "moves into the room with an electric attitude." The lyric always stuck with us and we felt it pretty much described our sound, so we went with it.

RO: Where would you like yourself or your band to be in one year? Ten years? Forty?

EA: One year: On the road touring in support of our upcoming LP, Skintight & Solid Gold. Look for its release this winter. Ten Years: Taking our show around the world, cracking jokes on each other and still making music. Hopefully we'll have a few albums under our belt and be successful enough in our artistic endeavors to comfortably provide for our families.

Forty Years: Alive!


RO: What is one thing you'd like to do (as a musician) before you pack it in?

EA: We would like to curate an "All Tomorrow's Parties" event. Handpicking our favorite bands to play a festival alongside us would be amazing. - Houston Press - Craig Hlavaty

Not only did Electric Attitude sound great, but their lead singer Blake Shepard, had a great deal of charisma and stage presence. You could not take your eyes off him. If he keeps up the good work, I think the band will go far.
One of the other highlights was bass player/singer Kwesi Sackey's near-falsetto voice. To me, it really stood out (but in a good way). Bottom line: Electric Attitude has attitude. - Houston Press - CHRISTINA LYNN

Fitz teemed with the onstage energy from the get go with Houston’s Electric Attitude starting off the night. The funk band took over the stage at 9:30 and eventually took over the rest of the room. Blake Shephard, couldn’t handle the confined space allotted to the five-man band and jumped into the crowd, Budweiser in one hand, the microphone in the other, in a fit of dancing that would have made Thom Yorke jealous. With solid guitar play and a healthy dose of sax, Electric Attitude played a number of new songs during their set. And, no, I didn’t know that until I overheard one fan congratulate the band after the show. That’s a mistake that I won’t make again. Their attitude did more than enough to ensure my paying attention to any future shows that they may have around town.
- The Loop Scoop

Electric Attitude went on after Benjamin Wesley and even besides their musical ability I must say, I was impressed with their presence. Their band was a traditional four piece outfit but with the addition of a sax player. I’ve never seen a group of men whip the women at a show into such a frenzy. Basically every girl was dancing vigorously to the music. Blake, the lead vocalist, described his music to me as “Rolling Stone with some funk, blues, and jazz with a little bit of James Brown throw in” and after watching their set I’d say it’s a pretty accurate description. Blake’s vocals were some good, old-fashioned, blue-eyed soul, something that’s pretty rarely seen nowadays. - Free Press Houston

Houston rock four-piece Electric Attitude possesses one of the most apt band names in recent memory. Their abrasive yet danceable blues-inflected style is built upon a foundation of pure rock n’ roll attitude, each element of the music growling defiantly at its listeners as if to dare them to ignore the band. Singer Blake Shepard writhes and struts his way through the funky jungle inhabited by his bandmates, who add a great sense of danger to the proceedings with their spiky riffs and stomping rhythms. “Shot on the Dance Floor,” a libidinous romp laden with deep-fried guitar hooks, will leave you no choice but to give Electric Attitude’s music a shot – where else but the dance floor.

- Amorn Bholsangngam - URB Magazine/URB.com

Electric Attitude are pretty dang cool...get-down, Stones-ish swagger! - Jeremy Hart (Editor)

"Shot on the Dance Floor" comes off like the Black Keys gone disco or the Black Crowes gone Eurotrash, with Kwesi Sackey's thundering bass and Adam Gilleland's stomping drums shoving the whole thing forward like an out-of-control tour bus while Jordan Bell's guitars roar and rumble and Blake Shepard yelps and croons. It's distorted and bluesy, and it's got me stepping backwards for repeated listens. - Space City Rock - Jeremy Hart (Editor)

Electric Attitude, Laser Laser Laser Beams EP: Electric Attitude may hail from Houston, but there's some serious Detroit mojo running through the quartet's veins — the Detroit of the White Stripes and Electric Six, not Iggy and the MC5. Cross-breeding Blake Shepard's lusty, high-pitched yowl and sprawling guitar with thumpingly precise rhythms — the band's MySpace page credits a drum machine, the EP jacket live human being Adam Gilleland; it could be either one — "City's Gonna Get You, Sucka!" and "Pistolwhip" stop off at Little Steven's Underground Garage on their way to the dance floor. Potent stuff.

- Chris Gray (Music Editor - Houston Press)

When it comes to funk, I am usually the wrong person to ask. But I've shared bills with Electric Attitude on more than one occasion and have witnessed first hand the frenzy that they can work a crowd into. There is a big audience for these party jams, and salacious entreaties to young ladies (possibly in the audience?) for an after hours good time. Blake Shepard is a dynamic frontman, and if you throw in a huge heap of funky wah-wah grooves then what he's got you're gonna get it put it in you (yes. that was a RHCP reference).

Shepard often approaches that Jack White yelp in his vocalization, but flips things around a bit with the "Take Me Out" style riffage that blasts off into some kind of cosmic funk laser solo...which I think might be the point...to be the first party band in space. Make that the first human party band in space as I believe there's interest from Max Rebo to scoop these guys up to open for them on their intergalactic reunion tour.

My favorite track is "Pistolwhip", it's got a killer (Killers? haha) hook and it's a shoe-in for Electric Attitude to win the talent show at Galaxy High. All-in-all [Laser Laser Laser Beams] is NOT your father's Solar Samba Rumba, what with the binge drinking enabling robots and laser beams flying on the dance floor, but there's no need to fear the Sarlacc, there's only need to dance.
- Free Press Houston: April 5k (5/28/09)

I've seen Electric Attitude, and they won me over -- funky and retro-sounding, but nowhere near pretentious. Damn.
- Space City Rock Blog: Jeremy Hart (4/24/09)

Full-on glammy, funky rock 'n' roll featuring singer Blake Shepard's untamed, sexed-up howl. Songs about sex and sex and dancing.
- Sara Cress (29-95.com / Houston Chronicle)

Rocketing out over the Midwest from their home port in Space City U.S.A., coming to make us all believers in the power of sweaty, groovy, funked up space-age rock and soul music, Houston’s Electric Attitude is heading for a stage near you!
Touring this summer to support their six song EP, “Laser Laser Laser Beams,” and wielding a sound that’s like nothing you’ve ever heard, and at the same time everything you have, utilizing influences of soul, blues, classic and modern rock. Electric Attitude has forged a style of music that is uniquely their own. Music that will force you to get up off your butt . . . and move it!
First song up, “Ways and Means,” sets the tone for the rest of the CD, coming on like a James Brown tune that’s been flung through time and space. Singer Blake Shepard wants his woman to not “get him wrong,” if he “comes on too strong.” With a captivating beat, guaranteed to move your feet, this song will quickly fill up any dance floor.
“Shot On The Dance Floor” starts off with a White Stripes-ish guitar riff that threatens to destroy everything in its path. Guitarist Jordan Bell turns up the distortion pedal while Blake sings furiously about the victim of a shooting. Based on an incident that occurred in a Houston dance club. SOTDF is a perfect example of how EA can, both sonically and lyrically, voice the emotions of an angry, frustrated witness to a senseless tragedy and at the same time be singing an undeniable love song.
“City’s Gonna Get You Sucka!” with a funky bass, and wah-wah effected guitar, both sounding like they could have been lifted from the movie “Superfly,” this track tells the story of a young girl who moves to the big city and immediately begins making all the wrong choices for herself. Bassist Kwesi Sackey takes a rare turn at the mike to deliver a sexy soulful monologue, letting her know that he is the guy her mama warned her about! Jordan says that when EA write songs, they aren’t “necessarily trying to write a 70s funk song,” although wanting to keep some “elements of that, but always make sure it has other modern elements that we love.” I believe they’ve succeeded on both counts in this tune.
“Pistolwhip” begins with a phased out bass riff battling it out with a flanged out guitar riff and the winner is . . . too close to tell! And, even though you have to sweat it out through two verses, two pre-choruses and an instrumental break, you’re rewarded with one of the catchiest choruses on the record, and you’ll sing along, like I do, as Blake shouts, “You want it, you want it, you want it, yea you know,” like he’s being, well, pistol whipped.
Having the distinction of being the song the CD title is extracted from, “Hooker Red Lipstick” has a cool groove as it tells the story of a dance club seductress who’s “moving like a whirled wind,” through the, “jet stream-laser beams,” a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Never stopping to consider “time is skipping like a stone,” she uses and abuses anyone who gets in her path.
“SEX!” Shouts Blake, at the beginning of the final song, “Robot Girl,” and after a few listens, you might think, yep, that’s what it’s about. Especially when he tells us how she was “talking nasty,” when she got him, “drunk on wine,” adding lasciviously, “Robot Girl, I want your bones!”
But, Blake wants you to understand, that it’s more like, “you want something from this girl that she might not actually have, it’s kind of like the fun play on a robot having bones or a girl having a heart [laughing], when she may not be as human as you think she is [laughing louder].” With its distorted Ramones-y guitar rhythm this song flat out rocks!!
From their bio: “Singer Blake Shepard, bassist Kwesi Sackey and guitarist Jordan Bell formed Electric Attitude in the summer of 2008 to take their individual influences in the genres of rock, blues, funk and soul and fuse them into a modern sound for crowds to stop standing with their hands in their pockets and grab somebody and dance. With new drummer, Joe Ramirez, manning the skins and recent addition James Murphy on the saxophone, Electric Attitude turned heads at SXSW 2010, playing 6 shows in 2 days and leaving sweaty dance floors in their wake.”
All in all, the CD, “Laser Laser Laser Beams” contains a half dozen very well-crafted songs that just get better and better after repeated listening. With the band collaborating on all six tracks, and drawing from their individual influences, you’ll hear snatches of the Stones, Mars Volta, Curtis Mayfield, LCD Soundsystem, White Stripes and INXS. Bassist Kwesi Sackey adds, “We all come from a different background, kind of use everything and melt it all together and create our own sound.”

photo by jimmyE photography
Electric Attitude have created an album of funkilicious rock songs that are fun to listen and dance to; with it’s enigmatic lyrics at times reminiscent of Bob Dylan…after a three day ecstasy binge… they engage the grey matter as well. The CD can b - Robin Cremer (seveneightfive.com - Topeka, KS)

[Electric Attitude] will be headlining, I believe, playing that funky-smooth dance-rock thing they do that’s like this bizarro cross between the Rolling Stones and Sly and the Family Stone (and, for you modernists, a little bit like The Faint or a funkier Killers at points), and they’re joined by fellow cool-ass bands The Live Lights and Come See My Dead Person. - Jeremy Hart (Editor - Space City Rock)

Leading the musical charge were locals Electric Attitude... The band warmed up the show's early-birds with a short set of energetic rock songs in which Blake Shepard's nasally (in a good way) howl and guitarist Jordan Bell's lead lines seemed the intended focal points. The band's true attention-grabbing quality, however, was Kwesi Sackey's wah-saturated bass, which added an interesting funk vibe to Electric Attitude's songs... And as any band with even a hint of funkiness should do, they dedicated the last song of their set to the late Isaac Hayes. - Wes Buhler (Space City Rock)