SLO gets funky with a holiday concert by Jungle Fire

If the Godfather of Soul had started a salsa band, it might have sounded a little like Jungle Fire.

The Los Angeles-based band blends funk, West African dance music and Afro-Caribbean rhythms to create a powerful sound that’s equal parts James Brown, Ray Barretto and Fela Kuti.

“We always pride ourselves on doing a really explosive show, keeping it energetic and fun,” said Steve Haney, one of three percussionists in the 10-piece band.

Jungle Fire will headline the first-ever Holiday Funk & Folk Fest, Saturday at the Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo. Presented by Good Medicine Presents and Numbskull Productions, the concert is a fundraiser for public radio station KCBX.

Acoustic folk act Alec Lytle & Them Rounders will open Saturday’s show, followed by gypsy jazz quintet The Tipsy Gypsies. SLO Record Swap co-founder Manuel Barba will DJ the show.

Jungle Fire got its start in 2011 when a friend asked bass player Joey Reina to assemble a band for a 1970s funk-themed party. That performance proved so popular that the group got together for a second gig.

That’s when Haney, who lives in San Diego, came aboard.

“It was always supposed to be a one-off show,” Haney said. But, buoyed by the success of two 7-inch singles released on vinyl via Ohio’s Colemine Records, Jungle Fire soon “exploded within the underground scene in L.A.,” he said.

Jungle Fire eventually caught the attention of Los Angeles indie label Nacional Records, which released its album “Tropicoso” in 2014. The same year, the band made its South American debut at the Mompox Jazz Festival in Colombia.

“That was an incredible experience,” said Haney, noting how much Latin American influences flavor Jungle Fire’s sound.

“It’s really upbeat, organic dance music” that’s “heavily beat-oriented,” he said.

Jungle Fire is “definitely a percussionist’s dream band,” Haney said. “(But) we like to balance it out. It’s not just a big drum circle. … There’s a method to how we put it all together.”

“Three horns and three guitars on stage bring a lot of melodic elements and make it interesting and memorable for people,” he continued, while Reina’s bass rounds out the sound. “As soon as they get (up and dance), they’re going to feel the rhythms. (But) they’ll remember the melodies.”

For his part, Haney performed with music legend Stevie Wonder at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver on the same night President Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination.

“Performing with Stevie in front of 9,000 people in a stadium … was pretty surreal,” the percussionist recalled. “It was a huge moment in history. I was honored to be a part of it.”

Haney said Jungle Fire is looking forward to returning to the Central Coast. The band performed in April at Tap It Brewing Co. in San Luis Obispo and took the stage in 2015 at Live Oak Music Festival in northern Santa Barbara County.

On Saturday, concertgoers can experience the music that wowed earlier audiences and get a taste of Jungle Fire’s upcoming album, “Jambú,” due out Feb. 3 on Nacional Records.

According to Haney, “Jambú” takes its name from an exotic cocktail some of the band members sampled while touring in Brazil. It contained jambú, a flowering herb native to Brazil known as the “toothache plant” for its numbing, tingly effect.

But a performance by Jungle Fire is anything but dull.

Haney said he and his band members strive for an energetic sound that’s like the live version of the ultimate party mix tape. (Speaking of mix tapes, members of Jungle Fire will stop by San Luis Obispo’s Boo Boo Records from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday to spin records, Haney said.)

“We really enjoy just bringing people together, moving the crowd and giving people one of the best times” of their lives, Haney said. “We aim to achieve that.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "SLO gets funky with a holiday concert by Jungle Fire."