THE BONESHAKERS : Gettin' Down Just For The Funk Of It

Randy Jacobs & SweetPea Atkinson

The Boneshakers!

Rattling your sacroiliac to the groove of some of the funkiest players around, is what them Boneshakers is all about.

Randy Jacobs is the lead guitarist and one of the most underrated players currently out there. Sans pick, R.J. slices up his axe using everything and anything - fingers, thumbs, the palm of his hand, his wrist... whatever. And it produces some of the sweetest, dirtiest funk that a man can coax out of a machine made merely of wood and metal and wires.

Randy's partner-in-crime is the OG soul singer SweetPea Atkinson. A man who when he isn't sweetly crooning and smiling at the girls in the audience, has a scowl on his face - a mean gangsta scowl - like he's got a blade in his pocket, and he ain't afraid to use it. Thankfully, I've never actually seen him angry (well once, he was really pissed off at someone who wasn't around and his demeanor changed and out came a string of swear words like I never heard before!!!) SweetPea of course loves old soul music and has told me stories about the old days traveling around singing, swinging', doin' his thang. He loves The Staple Singers and we've spent a great deal of time talking about the famed L.A. concert in 1972 known as Wattstax. He wasn't there, but those are his contemporaries and he's got great stories from back in the day.

Y'know earlier today, I was thinking about some of my musical heroes who have passed on and how sad it is that I will never again see Isaac Hayes, Gil Scott-Heron or Billy Preston. These 3 artists in particular have brought me uncountable hours of entertainment (and knowledge), and I was privileged enough to see each one of them at least a dozen times in various venues, either headlining or backing someone. 

It is with these thoughts in my head that I wanna shout-out SweetPea Atkinson, an oldie but a goodie and also James Gadson. Gadson invented some of the funkiest beats in music, backing Charles Wright and Bill Withers among others. Still alive and kicking, he used to play every Monday night at Harvelle's where I was always in attendance digging' on the authentic grooves from this legendary drummer.

Cheers to Don Was who was in the house tonight!!

The Boneshakers : On-The-One & Then Some

The Boneshakers are an electric funk experience like none other. The 5 piece of Randy Jacobs (g), Dave McGraw (d), Tio Banks (k), Andre Barry (b) and legendary Sweet Pea Atkinson (v) electrifies the night!!

Randy Jacobs and The Boneshakers only come around Harvelle's about once a year. Tonight was the night!! Randy Jacobs is an amazing guitarist. In a club where amazing guitarists are featured several nights a week, Randy is the best of the best... knitting blankets of chik-a-chik funk and laying down blistering solos without a guitar pic. Randy isn't just a straight-up finger player - the boneshaker - hisself - uses his wrist, his palm, his digits - front and back - to play that thing! [MySpace][YouTube]

The frontman of The Boneshakers is the one and only Sweet Pea Atkinson. Sweet Pea is an O.G. soul singer who has seen it all and done it all. He doesn't sugarcoat a thing. One of the icons who's image looms high in the club, Sweet Pea also plays here as part of Was (Not Was).

Randy just released his CD The Return Of Randy Dynamite

it's available at all the usual outlets

Amazon - CD Baby - iTunes -

Bone Shake Me

The Boneshakers ain't fuckin' around. They came to play. Under any conditions.

In the news today, they said there's a tornado in Brooklyn. If the Boneshakers were in Brooklyn that tornado would have mellowed out under the bone shaking funk of The Boneshakers.

The Boneshakers consist of a baadasssss group of the music world's most hardcore funkateers. Randy Jacobs is a guitar hero. Like a surgeon, his guitar work is precise and cutting. The man doesn't use a guitar pick - he plays with his fingers, his thumbs, his wrist - his whole damn hand.


Sweet Pea Atkinson is a dapper crooner with an ability to emote like the Smokey's and the Marvin's and the Curtis' did. He's always impeccably dressed and always throws it down. And the audience always responds. God bless Sweet Pea Atkinson.(After the show we sat around and talked about Wattstax and Mavis Staples and Bonnie Raitt (whom he has played with in- addition to Lyle Lovett).


Johnny Kirkwood on drums laid it deep in the pocket and kept it on-the-one all night long. I love that.



T.O. Banks - who I've long been a fan of - plays the funky keys with outrageous ease. He channels the late great Billy Preston, which is really sayin' somethin'.

And the funkiest man in the room - the bassist. Known as J.V. Collier (not pictured) this is the one who holds down the bottom end and is one of the top guys in the biz. Incredible.

Neither tornados, inflamed esophagi, little practice time, tinnitus nor busted kneecaps have been able to stop 'em thus far.

They have several recordings available. I picked up 2 or 3 or 4 of them from a nice lady wandering around the club with a box of discs and a change purse. I'm all set.

This entry posted live from Harvelle's using BlogPress & the iPhone Hipstamatic photo app

Location:4th St,Santa Monica,United States

The Boneshakers : Crazy Osteology!

Harvelle's hosts The Boneshakers tonight. Experience Randy Jacobs - he tears, rips and shreds - one of my absolute favorite all time guitarists! Sweet Pea Atkinson (Was (Not Was), Lyle Lovett) handles vocals. Combustible forces making sweet soul and nasty funk all night long! A party in the making - this could be the hottest show in town.

What A Party It Was (Not Was)!

Randy Jacobs gets surgical on his Telecaster.

Don Was on bass, Jon Gilitin on keys.

Sir Harry Bowen, Melody Daniels, Sweet Pea Atkinson

Sweet Pea

The frontline : Sir Harry, Melody,  Sweet Pea and Shilts

Sir Harry Bowens stage right.

Shilts on sax

Was (Not Was) in the Harvelle's parking lot. 

As summer heats up, changes are afoot at Harvelle's. Going on a hiatus from their Monday night residency Was (Not Was) is leaving and will return in the Fall, but for now the incredible guitar playing, deep-voiced singing Kevin Moore (wiki-Kevin Moore) is taking over. Kevin played here as a Monday night resident earlier this year and the place was packed every time. Come see what all the fuss is about.

WAS (Not Was) : Last Chance to Walk The Dinosaur

The Monday night party (code-named "Was Not Mondays") is down to it's final session, so join the party and "Walk the Dinosaur" one last time! Join the Was (Not Was) crew: Don Was, Randy Jacobs, Sir Harry Bowen and Sweet Pea Atkinson as they play the funk hits that everybody knows: besides "Walk The Dinosaur" you'll hear "Out Come The Freaks", "Spy In The House Of Love", "Your Luck Won't Last" and many more. It's been great watching these titans of funk git down every Monday. Make the wood work squeak - come down and enjoy the party!

WAS (Not Was) le : 111 MPH

Every Monday night members of Was (Not Was) get together and rock 4th St.

Was (Not Was) LE, from top : Sir Harry Bowens freakin' out;Randy Jacobs gets surgical with his Les Paul; Don Was feels better than James Brown; the ensemble featuring Sweet Pea Atkinson (in the black hat) and Shilts on sax. 

Walk The Dinosaur ! : Was (Not Was) le Jam

The forever funk of Was (Now Was) is now being showcased at Harvelle's. 

Singer/songwriter/bassist/producer Don Was has enlisted singers Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens and the electric guitar BLAM! of Randy Jacobs to raise the roof on each Monday night's mega-dance party. The club's checkerboard dance floor is always packed full, the people enthusiastically giving it up on a weeknight. So join in, be a "Spy In The House Of Love", hear "Out Come The Freaks" and of course, shake it with the rest of the crowd as you "Walk The Dinosaur".

(Was Not) Monday? : Sweet Pea Atkinson & Co.

Sweet. Pea. Atkinson. 

3 words that connote pure soul. Surround him with Sir Harry Bowens, Randy Jacobs and Don Was, and you have the core of Was (Not Was), the awesomely funky band that has produced and performed such perennial party classics like "Walk The Dinosaur", "Out Come The Freaks", and "Spy In The House Of Love". 

This weekly party has become the hot spot for those seeking a place to unwind from their weekend, have a hair of the dog, and dance their way into a new week. Couldn't think of a better way to spend a Monday night in the big city.

Was (Not Was) : LE

Harvelle's has quietly been hosting the members of Was (Not Was) through the month of April, and luckily, Mondays in May will again be featuring Sweet Pea Atkinson, Sir Harry Bowens, Don Was, guitarist Randy Jacobs and special guests performing the hits for all your dancing pleasure. 

Imbibe with the best on Funky Mondays... 

Sweet Pea Atkinson : Was Not Mondays

Tonight at Harvelle's:

The return of Sweet Pea Atkinson!!!

featuring

Sir Harry Bowens

Johnny Kirkwood on drums

 Jon Gilitin on keys

Paul "Shilts" Weimar on Sax

Don Was on bass

Randy Jacobs on guitar

How Funky Is (Was) Sweet Pea Atkinson?

Mondays just got a whole lot funkier at Harvelle's. 

The marquee says Sweet Pea Atkinson, but fans of alternative contemporary R & B would recognize that name and that of Sir Harry Bowens as the voices of the group known as Was (Not Was). Indeed, several members of the funky but chic group are present, and the show is a soul revue that would make Otis Redding smile.

Guitarist Randy Jacobs, takes a back seat in the group dynamic, but his playing - which mixes the electricity of Eddie Hazel with the chicka-chicka rhythm of Nile Rodgers - takes a backseat to no one!

Dancing with wild abandon, the funk drives the crowd to the dance floor filling it with couples and lots of women! Considering it's a Monday night and we're in a "recession", this band is ready to party! Certainly, Sir Harry will jump into the audience for some James Brown dance moves, and the reserved Mr Atkinson will wow with his commanding vocals, understated brilliance and eloquent style.

This is highly recommended!

Sweet Pea Atkinson / Sir Harry Bowens

Monday night's just got a whole lot funkier!!! Mr Sweet Pea Atkinson joins us for a Monday night residency that should leave all fans of soul, blues and super-sweet vocals happy that Monday is finally here!!! Sir Harry Bowens joins in!

Come down and check it out!