Baby by La Push

Only on "Bagelry Girls" - thankfully split in two, one instrumental and one vocal track - does he approach G. Love-style silliness.

Be sure to check La Push's version of "Always on My Mind" -a holdover cover from Ricci's days with the Lucky Seven.

La Push - Bellingham, WA

Baby - CD Review

By Patrick Ferris

Pick of the Week

July 26th 2004

hotbands.com

In the summer of 2003 I hooked up with a group of musicians involved with the extended Seattle underground funk scene that introduced me to La Push, a band from Bellingham, Washington, located about 90 minutes north of Seattle. I heard one of their first shows, recorded through a cassette recorder. Although the sound quality was poor, the frenzied energy of the crowd came through the speakers every bit as much as the music. I knew at that moment that La Push would likely represent the next installment of the Seattle sound to be recognized internationally.

Several months after hearing that first recording, Rick Haykin, a friend and an outstanding semi-retired musician who has referred several excellent bands to me in the past, contacted me, gave me his highest recommendation and sent me La Push's first release entitled 'Baby'.

From the opening notes of the first track, My Bus is Comin', Baby is a CD that grabs and holds the listener with a blast of all original high-energy funk and Motown scorchers with a sound that is both retro and fresh. It's hard to say this without sounding cliché, but there's no other way to say it...Baby is a CD that makes you want to get up and dance!

If I were to draw comparisons to give the reader an idea of the sound, La Push could be compared with the funk of the Red Hot Chili Peppers fronting the horn section of Chicago. I've always been a sucker for great vocal harmony, and La Push delivers them with all of the finesse of a 1960s Motown heavyweight. Full, funky, exciting and tight can all be used to describe the fat sound that comes from this Bellingham 10-piece.

Rather than focusing on introspective, deep or politically volatile topics, Baby is all about the now. Lyrics about fun, sun, girls and sex take the listener away from the worries of the world and teleports you into the non-stop party world of La Push.

Vocalist Joel Ricci has one of the most soulful male voices I've ever heard, and the musicianship of the band members is outstanding. It's difficult with that many band members to not sound cluttered, but each musician compliments each other to create a sum greater than all the individual parts. The horn work is exceptional, with well thought out arrangements, innovative soloing and fills, adding color and excitement that bring an already fantastic core band to the next level.

On Friday May 14th at Wild Buffalo, the most popular Funk Orchestra in town will be releasing their first record: "BABY." The biggest party band in Bellingham will release what is sure to become the biggest party record of 2004. "I had it mastered for a cranked boombox" says Joel Ricci, Executive Producer and director of La Push. "BABY" will feature all of the La Push showstoppers, including "Bagelry Girls Parts 1 and 2" and "You Sexy Sexy Thing." The CD that's been 9 months in the making was recorded in a garage in the woods at Bell Creek, Mount Baker Highway by Michael Iris, who is best known for his rock group, Bigfoot Zoo and for his exquisite work producing BeeCraft's latest opus: "Drifting into Dream." "BABY" is also the first recording for Joel Ricci's new label: "Westsound Record Co." which is being built to support Joel Ricci's talented circle of vital Northwest Composers, Bands, and Artists.

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