December Christmas traditions in St. Louis can mean a number of activities —picking out the family Christmas tree at Ted Drewes, checking out Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden, or hitting the pavement with the Jingle Bell 5K. But for those of us who like to sing and dance our way into the season—while wearing pajamas, no less—there’s Funky Butt Brass Band’s 7th Annual Holiday Brasstravaganza. Held for two nights at Off Broadway, the annual event brings a New Orleans feel to your favorite seasonal songs—and encourages attendees to don their best holiday jammies, while jamming with a spread of special guests.
“If you want to come to both shows you can switch it up or you can wear the same pair. We won’t judge you,” says guitarist and singer Tim Halpin. For the band, Halpin says it’s more of a fashion scene. “We’ve accumulated some different outfits, so for us it’s a challenge every year to pick out the proper pajama combination. You never know what you’re going to see onstage, but it’s usually quite fashionable and comfortable and just generally in the spirit of the holidays.”
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There will also be holiday cookies, raffle prizes, photo ops with Santa (photo proceeds benefit Stray Rescue of St. Louis) and a special burlesque performance from Miss Mimi LeYu.
Guitarist Tim Halpin fills us in on what else guests can expect to see, giving back, and what 2016 holds for Funky Butt.
What was the reason behind creating the annual holiday show?
A number of bands do holiday shows, and we just all thought it would be a good idea to put our rather twisted spin on the holidays and invite friends of ours and people that we don’t normally get to play with to join us for a big holiday celebration and play the tunes that we all grew up on and then find some interesting arrangements and interesting versions of some of the other holiday songs and basically just have a good time. We look forward to it every year, and I think a lot of other people do as well.
Last year the band created and released the original song “Because It’s Christmas,” and donated the proceeds to charity. Where did the idea come from?
Our sousaphone player Matt Brinkmann came to us with an idea for an original tune, and we embraced it right away; it kind of came on the heels of all the unrest that was going on at the time because of Ferguson. So we thought the message of ‘peace on earth, and be nice to your neighbor and think about the other person’ was especially relevant at Christmas, but it should be relevant year ‘round. People responded really well. We re-released the same tune—last year we gave the proceeds to Music for Lifelong Achievement and this year we’re giving it to Play it Forward St. Louis.
Pajamas are an iconic form of dresswear during the holiday season, and the band encourages guests to put on the best sleepwear for the show. Where did the idea come from?
I’m not sure where that idea came from, but we started wearing pajamas onstage, and then we thought it would be fun to let everybody show up in their favorite holiday PJs. Most people do. There’s still a few folks who are slow to embrace the idea, but the majority of our audience at those shows are wearing pajamas or nightwear of some sort. I keep waiting for somebody who sleeps in the raw to show up and claim that’s their night apparel, but luckily it’s been too cold and that hasn’t happened yet!
How does Funky Butt like to spend the holiday?
It really depends—we just kind of spend it with family and close friends. I think everybody spends the holidays a little bit differently. I have family in Florida, so I tend to go visit them because I don’t get to see them very often. Most of the other guys are from this area, so I think they stay in town and celebrate with their immediate families. But the Christmas show is really an opportunity for all of us to be together and celebrate not only with each other but with the folks who’ve been supportive and have come out all year. That’s why I think it’s so special for us and hopefully for everybody else.
What special guests can we look forward to at this year’s shows?
This year we’re including Brian Owens, and Emily Wallace will be joining us for the first time. We will have Dave Grelle on keyboards, Matt Henry on percussion, Bob Bennett from Asbury Park [and original FBBB member] Ben Reece will be playing saxophones. Phil Wright, a tremendous harmonica player, will join us for a couple of tunes. Jerry Jost from The Urge and Connor Low from School of Rock will be joining us to shred some guitar. So it’s really a mix of great people and fun songs and a little bit of something for everybody.
What can we expect from the band in the coming year?
We’ll be doing our monthly stint at Broadway Oyster Bar, and we have a great fun Jazz At The Bistro show scheduled for the end of January. We added Austin Cebulske as our new sax player and he’s bringing a lot of energy and songwriting acumen to the band. So we’re hoping to have some new projects in the works for next year, and just keep playing for anybody who likes our music.
The Funky Butt Brass Band Holiday Brasstravaganza happens Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19 at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp. Doors open at 8 and the show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show, or $25/$28 for reserved balcony seats. For more info, go to offbroadwaystl.com.
