New Brunswick’s Commander-In-Funk, Stephen Lewis, is celebrating another birthday. As it is written in the Gospel of Funk, he has born unto us a child this day—a child of light and sound. And Stephen, in his funkiness, raised the child up on high and sayeth unto thee ‘Everybody Dance’.
Recorded live at the 2017 Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, the instrumental ‘Everybody Dance’ is the fourth birthday release from Stephen Lewis & The Big Band of Fun. In their growing tradition of annual birthday releases it’s a mean funky rubdown between time and space resulting in a cosmic orgasm and communal stank face.
“It’s just an instrumental jam, so it’s just high energy and lots of me yelling. I like yelling when there’s funk,” says Lewis.
“It’s just a way to get something that I’m passionate about out there. I actually am not big on birthdays, but I think music is an awesome gift. Why not share something I’m passionate about on the anniversary of the day I arrived, kind of like a Funkaversary of sorts.”
Lewis has a history with Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz & Blue Festival. While he might be playing the bigger stages now, he had his first Harvest busking gig back in 2012, and his first Harvest experience was years before that.
“My dad used to take me to harvest when I was like eleven years old! He was friends with Jeff Healey so I got to go back stage and meet him when I was a kid. Then when I saw Jeff perform I was hooked! I knew it was something I wanted to do… And now I get to!!
It’s weird. It’s great. It makes me feel kinda old!
I know the term ‘dream come true’ gets tossed around a lot but playing at Harvest is literally a childhood dream come true.”