Tue, Sep 19 - 8pm - $7

 Deliciously Stanky. Dynamically Funky. Recklessly Hopeful. Grounded in soul, the Charles Walker Band has been compared to Prince, Bruno Mars, The Brand New Heavys, and James Brown. The Milwaukee based band has refined their sound into Neo-Funk, a fusion of funk infused rhythms with pop melodies. The three-piece band rehearses tirelessly in Charles’ basement, amidst couches and low ceilings, Charles having to stoop the entire time. The questions he always poses to the band are: How can this be tighter? How can this song look different? How can we get fans involved? Fans love the band’s positive energy music and attend shows because they feel better than when they arrived. The Charles Walker Band is Deliciously Stanky. Dynamically Funky. Recklessly Hopeful.Charles grew up literally in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by dairy farms and apple orchards, the closest town miles away, he found music in six grade. After being presented with various instruments, he desperately wanted to play trombone. However, his music teacher asserted he had the perfect mouth for saxophone, and his career was started. Walker started the Charles Walker Band 15 years ago, initially as a blues band. When Porsche Carmon joined, a Columbus, OH native and female vocalist and hand percussionist in the band, the sound begin to shift towards funk. Eventually, Charles and Porsche became a couple, and together laugh, cry, and argue about how best to plan shows that compete with cell phones and tablets. As a testament to their ability to create an engaging show, one fan said at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, “I had to go to the bathroom for two hours but held it because I didn’t want to miss a minute!”The core of the Charles Walker Band is a three piece band. Besides Charles and Porsche, David Johnson nails down the drums.The group has opened for national acts including Earth Wind & Fire, the Commodores, BB King, Cameo, Aaron Neville, and Richard Marx. They have been featured on Fox News, NBC Live in the Morning, The Morning Blend, Discover Wisconsin, were the featured artist on the Blues Review and Soul Bag sampler CD’s, being nominated five years in a row for best soul/R&B act by WAMI, winning in 2013.Counting Ghetto Prophet, the band has released eight albums, each an evolution of sound while retaining roots in positivity. Walker says of Ghetto Prophet, released on Ehlona Records, “One in a Million, where the album’s title originates, tells the story of an impoverished child becoming a success. This child ignores his circumstances because his vision is strong. He holds onto the belief that his dream is possible. That he could be that one in a million. Ultimately he represents the greatness in us all.”

All of 24 years old, Mike Zabrin is already considered to be a bass phenom, and one of the most gifted young musicians to emerge in the R&B/Funk arena in quite some time. In May 2014, Mike left his nightly side-man club gigs to become a producer and bandleader of soul infused, funk driven powerhouse, Mike Zabrin's Funktastic. Surrounding himself with insanely gifted musicians including members from The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown, Kool & the Gang, Parliament Funkadelic, and Fishbone, Mike was able to create what Funkatopia Magazine considers one of the best albums of 2014.If you stick Funk, Soul, R&B, with an imagination of jazz in a blender…then you get Funktastic. His energetic live shows creates a musical homecoming that embarks you on a musical journey with immaculately brilliant soulful lyrics and horns that will bring tears to your eyes in his national touring band. Known for his impressive bass chops and masterful production skills, Mike has been featured in press around the world including Bass Guitar Magazine, Bass Player Magazine, Bass Musician Magazine, Funkatopia Magazine, SoulandJazzandFunk.com, Funk U Magazine, No Treble Magazine, and countless others. Endorsed by Elixir Strings, Gallien-Krueger, and D. Lakin Basses, Mike is rapidly taking the music industry by storm.

 Mike Michel is a Minnesota Music Academy award winning songwriter, modern guitarist, and music educator, who was raised in Cincinnati,Ohio, developed his craft in Los Angeles, California, and now creates out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. After 3 years of debilitating tinnitus and hyperaucis (auditory cortex conditions) which almost ended his career, Mike is making a huge career comeback in 2017 with a new recording and music campaign called “On The Mend” in conjunction with Think Piece Publishing. On The Mend is an upbeat, groove oriented record containing memorable vocal melodies, hooky guitar riffs and messages of resiliency. Collaborators include co-producer Jason Orris (The Bad Plus), engineer Rob Osterlin, drummer Steve Goold (Sara Bareilles, Ben Rector) and bassist Ian Allison (Eric Hutchinson,Gavin Degraw). This is Mike’s first acoustic-centric recording packed with plenty of rock and roll energy. Mike will be touring well into 2018 as a solo artist and with his trio in support of On The Mend, and will be speaking at schools and wellness institutions to raise awareness for invisible brain conditions.