Event listing photo · Publicity photo, via event listing
(L to R): Elgin Park, Aaron Redfield, Karl Denson, Chris Stillwell, Robert Walter Photo by Titus Haug With the release of Grab Bag: 2007-2023, The Greyboy Allstars, once again, redraw the boundaries and redefine the terms of their iconic brand of West Coast boogaloo. The title of this eighth LP from GBA could suggest a random assortment of miscellaneous tracks, yet rest assured there is nothing random, nothing miscellaneous about these nine stellar cuts, previously unreleased over the past decade and a half of the quintet’s illustrious 30-year history. Perhaps stylistic and sonic outcasts resulting in their exclusion from previous albums, here they seamlessly come together to highlight the more experimental side of the quintet’s ever-evolving sound and vision. Born in San Diego as the “Allstars” of DJ Greyboy’s underground label, the five musicians offered living, breathing interpretations of his rare groove, crate-digging discoveries. Flash forward thirty years later and GBA have grown into legitimate “Allstars” in modern music. Away from GBA, guitarist Elgin Park aka Michael Andrews is a notable composer of scores for film and television, ranging from Donnie Darko to Freaks & Geeks to his most recent work on the upcoming animated documentary Piece by Piece that tells the life story of singer and producer Pharrell Williams through LEGO pieces. Robert Walter, the group’s keyboardist, has been jumping between tours with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, and Phish’s Mike Gordon, among others, while leading his own 20th Congress. Saxophonist Karl Denson divides time between his touring juggernaut Tiny Universe, as well as the jazz-based KD3 trio, while handling saxophone duties on tour with no less than The Rolling Stones. And then there’s the liquid cool of GBA’s rhythm section: bassist Chris Stillwell and drummer Aaron Redfield, a formidable, first call rhythm section on pop and hip-hop sessions, including credits on recordings by Sia, Elton John, CeeLo, and Charli XCX.
