IVAN NEVILLE'S DUMPSTAPHUNK- ZEWTOPIA 2006

When you’re born in New Orleans with the last name Neville, your musical destiny is pretty much set in stone. The Neville Dynasty continues to grow with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, and his cousin, (with the same name minus the v), Ian Neville has come along for this groovalistic ride across America.

What began as a side project has evolved into a funk explosion that is gathering disciples everywhere they go. ZEWtopia ticket holders will get their chance to be converted into the First Church of Funk when Dumpstaphunk hits the stage.

SC: With all the various music projects you have going on, what inspired you to start Dumpstaphunk?

IN: Actually, I just tried to have as much fun as I possibly could playing music, and that is definitely the end result. I had a chance to perform at a (New Orleans) Jazz and Heritage Festival in 2003. I had performed solo as Ivan at the fairgrounds a few times. In 2003, I wanted to do something different, so I put together a group of guys. They were pretty much the most amazing musicians out of New Orleans.

I just knew it was gonna be sick, so I was like, ‘What should I call this?’ I had written a song called ‘Dumpstaphunk,’ and I just said, ‘Yeah! Let’s call this band Dumpstaphunk!’ I knew it was going to be as funky as anything you could think of. So, a dumpster is about as funky as you could get, and it sounded cool.

Over the past few years, it’s kinda taken on a life of itself. We basically played a few gigs confined to the New Orleans area and pretty much the Jazz Festival and Mardi Gras. It seems like every time since then, we’ve done a little bit more.

Then, last year when we out and did a few shows outside of New Orleans. We went out to the East Coast and did a few things and went around the Southeast and out to California, Colorado and Chicago, and we’ve found more time recently to do this project. Since we’ve started doing this, we’ve wanted to do this more, but everybody in the band are professional musicians and have other offers to play with numerous people. So, we’ve had to find the time to do something more with this band.

SC: What does the rest of the Neville family think about Dumpstaphunk?

IN: They all love it! Ian plays guitar in Dumpstaphunk. His dad is Art Neville, who is one of the founding members of The Meters, who are obviously a heavy influence on us. Art was just like, “Yeah, y’all the sh*t, the next wave, the heir apparent!”

SC: Can we expect a collaboration and see the entire Neville Family onstage with Dumpstaphunk anytime soon?

IN: I don’t really see that happening, but you never know. If someone happens to be around, when we’re in the same place playing. You never know. I don’t see anyone from the Neville’s jumping onstage out of nowhere, but you have two Neville: myself and Ian, the two youngest Nevilles.

SC: I keep on hearing that you guys have two bassists performing onstage at the same time. What brought that on?

IN: When I was thinking about who I wanted in the band, I wanted two of my favorite bass players: Tony Hall and Nick Daniels. I have played with both of them over the years in different configurations, and I wanted both of them in this band (laughing). It kinda works out, and Tony switches over to guitar sometimes. It’s just nasty!

SC: What’s a typical Dumpstaphunk show like?

IN: First off, it’s a lot of fun, and it’s a lot of energy. This is a very tight/loose band. Some of the grooves are tight grooves, but we allow for stretching out and improvisation. A lot of grooves could go in many different directions on a given night. So, it’s all around fun and booty shakin’.

SC: Is Dumpstaphunk going to be a permanent thing, is it just a project?

IN: We’d like it to become a permanent thing as we keep pumping it out there, and we have plans to record a CD in the near future. We’ll just wait and see. Right now, we do as much as we can. We’re pretty much a new band to a lot of markets, so we have to continue building. Soon as we’re in a position, we will make this a permanent thing.

SC: What’s your goals for Dumpstaphunk over the next few years?

IN: Well, obviously it’s to go into the studio and make a studio record and keep playing around the country spreading this funk. Hopefully, we’ll make some new fans and keep growing.

SC: Do you have a message for all the fans coming to see you at ZEWtopia?

IN: All I can say is if you want to hear some funk like you haven’t heard before or haven’t heard in a long time, then you should definitely come and check this band out. It’s consistent with some of the baddest musicians out of New Orleans. It’s a fun band to see, and it’s a fun band to hear!

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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