With a line-up of performers that sounds like a who's who of the local foreign music scene, it's not surprising that the The Money Shot Horns' manager, Patrick Byrne, is touting the band as a "supergroup."
Most of the band's members - Roger Smith (keyboards), William Lloyd (electric guitar), Andy Francis (trombone), Darren Jorde (bass) and Byrne (saxophone) - have variously played with Schlumpy, Milk and Boogie Chillin'. Francis is now also involved in side projects with Public Radio and Johnny Fatstacks.
I've seen Hanro "Jubba" van Wyk, playing or jamming with three different bands in the last month alone, and Wesley James has played with The Sound Clashes and The Anglers.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF HANK WESTHEIM
In an interview on Tuesday, the members of The Money Shot Horns lavished praise on their lead vocalist, relative newcomer Dooley Chandler.
Byrne and Smith first saw Chandler performing with AdHoc at Grooveyard in Taichung. "Dooley did one song, they were maybe two chords in and Roger and I looked at each other simultaneously and said 'he's our vocalist'," Byrne said.
The Horns rehearsed only four times before they started playing shows.
"We're working with guys who have all played with such great bands and are very, very professional, and very experienced. Every one comes in with stuff," Byrne said.
"Someone will come up with a song they want to work on, and will show it to the others and try to get across how they want it to sound. We'll jam on it, and do chord progressions," Francis said. "We wanted to put together the best band in Taiwan."
The Money Shot Horns have been together for only a year, but have already honed a hard-driving, energetic funk sound that gets audiences up and dancing.
"When we play, people are immediately up and on the floor," Byrne said. "I feel like we are on the crest of a wave that hasn't died down yet. Usually things level out, you kind of peak with your fan base, but we are feeling a lot of momentum."
The variety of musicians and instruments in the group, especially such a large horn section, produces a sound that is groovy and which combines funk, rhythm and blues and rock.
Band members collaborate on writing the music, with Chandler, Byrne and James co-writing the lyrics. Chandler also writes lyrics to accompany instrumental songs from a previous band of Byrne's, 'round midnight, which they then bring to the group to jam on.
"Everyone in the community of music here is very open," says Francis. "Music is a great common denominator."
Money Shot Horns play tonight at Bliss, 148, Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市信義路四段148號) from 10pm.
Feb. 17 to Feb. 23 “Japanese city is bombed,” screamed the banner in bold capital letters spanning the front page of the US daily New Castle News on Feb. 24, 1938. This was big news across the globe, as Japan had not been bombarded since Western forces attacked Shimonoseki in 1864. “Numerous Japanese citizens were killed and injured today when eight Chinese planes bombed Taihoku, capital of Formosa, and other nearby cities in the first Chinese air raid anywhere in the Japanese empire,” the subhead clarified. The target was the Matsuyama Airfield (today’s Songshan Airport in Taipei), which
On Jan. 17, Beijing announced that it would allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to visit Taiwan. The two sides are still working out the details. President William Lai (賴清德) has been promoting cross-strait tourism, perhaps to soften the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attitudes, perhaps as a sop to international and local opinion leaders. Likely the latter, since many observers understand that the twin drivers of cross-strait tourism — the belief that Chinese tourists will bring money into Taiwan, and the belief that tourism will create better relations — are both false. CHINESE TOURISM PIPE DREAM Back in July
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS