Analytics reveal that 62 percent of the fans of the band the Humidors are female and that in the Bay Area there are more funk bands per square mile than there are available parking spaces.
Regarding the first statistic, Humidors guitarist Mike Mulqueen said, ”That’s very good. We like those numbers.” The second reveals resurgence in people’s love to dance and the repercussions of city life.
The Humidors are among the popular funk bands that frequent the Crystal Bay Casino. On Friday, the band will turn the Red Room into a hot, humid, smokin’ dance hall. There might not be any cigars, but there will be percussion, slamming horns, a funky organ, ripping wah-wah guitar and soulful vocals.
“There are a lot of funk bans coming out of San Francisco,” Mulqueen said. “We’re kind of newcomers. It’s music that gets people moving. It’s not boring. I’ve been to so many great concerts, like a rock concert, where people just sit there, but funk just gets people to get off their butts and moves them and that’s what I like about it.
The band started in 2011 and it’s had various incarnations, said Mulqueen, who moved from New Jersey to the Bay Area in 2000 and for years was a member of The Mission Players.
A show at The Chapel led the to the addition of the newest member, lead singer Andre Cruz, who was so impressed he requested an audition. With Cruz, the band has reached a new level, and this year it released its best album, Mulqueen said, “Movin’ The Needle.” It was mixed by Sergio Rios from Orgone and produced by a couple of organ players, the Humidors’ Ben Corrie and the Monophonics’ Kelly Finnigan. Orgone’s Adyron de Leon was a guest singer.
“Kelly really got the best out of us in the studio,” Mulqueen said. “We are all really proud of it.”
“Each show we are getting tighter and tighter. We are definitely hitting our stride right now. We are just really happy and on a constant high.”
— Tim Parsons
- The Humidors
When: 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31
Where: Crystal Bay Casino Red Room
Cover: free
