Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Meier and his band Funk N Spuds (Martin Meier, Justin Halverson, Thomas Hazlett, and Zach Miller).
So excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Funk N Spuds began as a music project that I (Max) embarked on in late 2017, recording demos in my bedroom and inviting friends to play on different tracks. As time passed and the project developed, I found people from different corners of my life to bring in and form a live band. My brother Martin (drums) and I grew up playing music and forming the foundation of our potato empire together in Wisconsin, I met Thomas (guitar) as a freshman in the dorms of University of Minnesota where we regularly played talent shows, Zach (sax) and I met on the Quidditch field and bumped into each other in Ferguson Music Hall between rehearsals, and Justin (bass) was in an unforgettable Jazz Ensemble with me (we would show up without the instructor to jam out on Snarky Puppy’s song Shofukan).
New Year’s Eve 2019 was the first time Funk N Spuds performed live. With an hour to rehearse before a party arrived on our doorstep, the five of us threw together a couple hours of music and set the stage for what we all agree was nothing short of an absolutely magical night. We immediately began booking shows with local bands at some of the best venues in the cities, First Ave’s 7th Street Entry, Turf Club, Cabooze, Amsterdam, and Hook and Ladder to name a few. Only two of those shows happened before Friday March 13th. The world changed overnight, and it all evaporated in front of us.
Immediately we switched our attention to playing shows from the balcony attached to our rehearsal space in Como and troubleshooting the extensive setup needed to livestream. I’ll never forget that first balcony show when neighbors cautiously wandered out of their houses and congregated in the street and sidewalk in front of our house. The five of us spent most of that first year navigating what it meant to be a band in the time of COVID, weekly rehearsals felt almost like family time and the spontaneous, improvised jams we’d vamp on often resulted in tears of joy and laughter. Music is Hope!
In February of 2021 Funk N Spuds was sent on an adventure by Ramsey’s Adventure Club. We spent a weekend in a remote cabin where we wrote, refined, and self-recorded original music. Ramsey’s Adventure Cabin, a five song EP, arrived a few months later with a celebratory cross-country livestream featuring the Chicken Boys, a band of friends from Austin, TX.
Como Porchfest was the biggest and best to come from our musical collective yet. Funk N Spuds organized a stellar lineup of local acts in support of an amazing musical organization called Walker West. We raised both awareness and money in an afternoon of live (and live-streamed) performances from our Como rehearsal space. You can catch the replay on our YouTube channel.
Our sights are now set on building our brand as we turn our eyes towards the festival scene and bigger venues around the Midwest. Catch us locally while you can!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Aside from the pandemic sized elephant in the room, Funk N Spuds has been a smooth and joyful experience. We as a band have continually stepped up to support each other and our community. Being a small band in this time is challenging, but we are confident that if we keep having this much fun, the rest will all fall into place. 🙂
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Funk N Spuds is an all in one creative powerhouse. While mostly educators by day, we have over the past two years developed the ability to record, mix, and master our own music, self produce successful cross-country livestreams, build and follow through with music release and promotion strategies, and remain versatile musically.
I have pioneered a mixed media approach to the visual side of Funk N Spuds through a combination of extensive pour painting experimentation and photoshop wizardry. Our website, album covers, and show posters are some of the pieces we have been most excited about. This highlights an important aspect of our group. Each of the spuddies have a background in playing different styles of music, and there is a wide variety of favorite music we like to listen to. Funk N Spuds unique sound is the blending of our technical proficiencies and wide spread musical tastes.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Overall, luck has been a pillar of this whole thing. We are lucky to be playing with friends, lucky to be sharing and connecting with our families, lucky to have so many opportunities, and lucky to become part of the larger Minneapolis music community.
Pricing:
- Custom printed by Papa Meier Funk N Spuds shirts – $25
- Any song from our discography custom recorded and delivered – $20
- Physical CD (handmade with love and care – $15
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://funknspuds.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/funknspuds
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/funknspuds
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FunkNSpuds
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ZfuKARQLHtJx0kPCb7jbe?si=avihm02YQDaHOEhmh8r2pg
- Other: https://linktr.ee/FunkNSpuds
Image Credits
Max
Meier
Tom Lukanen
Krystal Kalayaan
Frank
John Davis
JoJo Green
