Steve Watkins-Special to DFW.COM
Brandon Bumpas
Another Saturday night in downtown Funkytown, and I was looking for some tunes and to catch the end of the Rangers game. It was a tough call – at 8.0 we had The Villain Vanguard, and over at The Flying Saucer we had Velvet Love Box. I contemplated just sitting down in the middle of the parking lot and listening to them both, but in the end, VLB won the coin toss and I made it inside just in time for the 7th inning sound check. Unlike on Sunday, the 8th inning wasn’t worth watching. The Velvet Love Box was.
The Velvet Love Box began 14 years ago as a side project to the late, lamented Daddy’s Soul Donut. The trio consists of Neil Schnell (bass, vocals), Brandon Bumpas (percussion, vocals), and Scot Cloud (guitar, vocals). Rather than the traditional bar band setup, these guys use an acoustic guitar, and mostly hand percussion instruments to create a rather unique sonic quality. Oh, and they have a bubble machine. I’m not sure why.
The band plays an often unusual collection of cover songs, and they do take requests. But prices vary depending on the song. The Violent Femmes' Blister In The Sun will run you 50 bucks. Garth Brooks' Friends in Low Places will run you $100, Hotel California by the Eagles is $150, La Bamba $250. Any Lynyrd Skynyrd song is $500 and Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven will cost you a cool grand. Schnell says they have gotten all the way to La Bamba.
Nobody ponied up for the high-priced tunes on Saturday (thankfully), but we did get some really great tunes. For example, a partial list includes Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley, Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty, a disturbing lounge version of Baby Got Back by Sir Mix Alot, All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers, No One To Depend On by Santana, Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles, No Excuses by Alice In Chains, Tightrope and Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughn, 99 Problems by Jay-Z, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Paul Simon, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Kitty by Presidents of the United States of America, Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder, and Say It Ain't So by Weezer.
These guys are first-rate musicians, and after more than a decade they are unbelievably tight -- so much so that they have never really had to promote their band. The calls come in and they get the gigs. Even when doing cover songs they have their own unique sonic branding that often makes you wish the original was done that way. I’m not a fan of cover bands in general, but I’m a fan of these guys.
The great news is that Schnell tells me they are working on a more originals-oriented show, and they are in the process of recording a full length CD. Judging by the stuff they did with Daddy’s Soul Donut, I can’t wait to hear it.
Check out their website at http://velvetlovebox.com/
