THE NEW EP “CONSTANT STATE OF WAR” IS HERE

SACRAMENTO, CA

MUSIC WITH A MESSAGE

Drunken Kung Fu is a trio from Sacramento, California that plays afro-beat inspired dance rhythms in the vein of Fela Kuti but their wide musical vocabulary also includes hip-hop, reggae, jazz, and rock. A west-coast regional act, the band’s territory covers from San Francisco, CA to Las Vegas, NV to Portland, OR and everywhere in-between. The band’s members have been awarded several SAMMIE Awards in the past decade for other projects, with this new project already making waves in the local dance community.

SAM PHELPS

Keyboardist and primary vocalist of the group, DKF’s compositions are the brainchild of Sam Phelps. As a multi-instrumentalist, he is known for bringing his signature sauce to notable groups such as Izabella, Four Guys From Reno, Massive Delicious, The J Band, Emily Kollars, Groovincible, and more. Sam brings his vision to life with the help of Matt Klee and Jacob Gleason, whom he met while performing with local favorites, ZuhG in 2010.

MATT KLEE

Original drummer of the group ZuhG, Matt Klee spawned DKF with Sam Phelps after the release of Groovincible’s 2013 eponymous album. Matt has won several Sammie awards for his involvement in ZuhG and Groovincible, and is known for his other work with RASAR, Joe Kye, Joy and Madness, and more. Matt brings his hip-hop and gospel inspired chops to this project but maintains a solid groove throughout his virtuosic percussive flourishes.

JACOB GLEASON

A fixture of the Sacramento music scene, Jacob has performed on over 20 records in the last decade–including the recent releases by Sunmonks, James Cavern, and Drop Dead Red. While Jacob is known for his saxophone skills, for the live DKF show he primarily brings his progressive guitar playing and classic Fender and Gretch tones. Jacob and Matt started the group Groovincible together in 2011, which earned a 2016 Sammie Award for “Best Funk.”

VIDEO

“So Silky” performed at ZuhGFest 2016 in Downieville, CA. Filmed by Justin Butler and Katelyn Stark. Live mix by Rich Tereshinski

SHOWS

Drunken Kung Fu’s live show is known for it’s extended dance arrangements, often including (well-known and obscure) cover song mashups which span multiple decades and genres while always maintaining an approachable, funky, and danceable undercurrent throughout their set. They are just as at home playing jazz standards as they are playing Beck, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Nirvana, Sublime, Steve Miller Band, and many more.