Oakland's Grease Traps releasing Solid Ground album in November

Six years in the making, The Grease Traps' Solid Ground debut album is finally coming out on November 5th.

Here's the scoop...

Solid Ground, the explosive debut album by The Grease Traps, is being released by Record Kicks on November 5th on vinyl, CD and digitally.  

An eight-piece funk combo based in Oakland, CA, The Grease Traps have been active since 2002, with a 45 released on Colemine Records. Now, after six years spent crafting songs, recording and mixing, they are ready to present their first full-length release Solid Ground on the Milan-based Record Kicks label who issued The Grease Traps' limited-run 7" single "Bird of Paradise" b/w "More and More (and More)" in late September.

As avid record collectors and fans of that old school analog sound, The Grease Traps recorded Solid Ground straight to 8-track tape on a Tascam 388 which appears on the album sleeve. Half of the tracks were recorded live at Transistor Sound Studio by soul crooner, Kelly Finnigan, and Ian McDonald where both Kelly and their band, Monophonics cut their last few albums. The other half of the tunes were recorded by Kevin and Aaron at Fifty Filth Studio in Oakland, CA – where the band also rehearses – and was mixed by analog-achiever Sergio Rios of Orgone fame. 

The album's original tunes draw from the Traps' various soul influences ranging from gritty funk ("Bird of Paradise" and "Hungry") to fuzzed-out psychedelic ("Residue") to sweet lowrider soul ("More and More"). The lyrics by lead singer The Gata also don't shy away from pressing issues of the day such as racism in America ("Roots") and finding hope in a world that seems pitted against you (the JB's style "Solid Ground"). The rare funk covers from the album provide a taste of the raw energy one would experience at a Grease Traps live show. The Traps also supplemented their sound with special guests including the Monophonics horns, background vocals from  Bay Area stars, Sally Green and Bryan Dyer, as well as strings arranged by master violist Alyssa Bell. 

The Grease Traps formed back in 2000 when keyboardist, Aaron Julin, answered guitarist Kevin O'Dea's newspaper ad seeking players who were hip to the rare grooves laid down by Blue Note artists such as Grant Green and Lou Donaldson. They quickly formed Groovement, covering the classic tunes by those same artists along with other jazz-funk staples. When their sax player and frontman moved on, they switched gears to form the band, Brown Baggin, getting into the harder funk of the JB's, the Meters, Kool & the Gang, and lesser known acts such as Mickey & the Soul Generation. They also went to school on the rare funk compilations put out by Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald, and labels like Harmless, Ubiquity, Soul Jazz, and Now-Again. Modern day soul and funk outfits such as Breakestra, the Whitefield Brothers, and the Daptone/Soul Fire crews provided additional inspiration. 

Pre-order a copy of Solid Ground by The Grease Traps via Bandcamp right here.  Check out the Solid Ground preview the "Bird of Paradise" audio clip and a teaser for "More and More" below.