Between my repeated plays of Monday’s MotD through yesterday, wispy memories of other bands’ funky music burbled in my mind. Finally, yesterday a few band names emerged, but it took me a good bit of online research to find the band and the punky, funky song I’d heard once or twice a couple of decades ago.
My best guess is a friend from the Pacific Northwest played this album while I was visiting. My attention would have been divided between catching up with friends, watching my young kids, and trying to attend to the music. Although this would have been well after swing’s brief revival in the ‘90s, a fair bit of that music was still popular with my friends.
After a few false starts, I finally identified the band as the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (CPD). I’m sure I’d heard their biggest hit, “Zoot Suit Riot,” but it wasn’t the song that was pestering me. At last, a funky opening drum and keyboard riff signaled that I’d found it.
What a treat “My Mistake” is! At first listen, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t as thoroughly funk as I’d expected, but the outstanding music and singular lyrics quickly overcame it. It seemed tinged with punk and something else that gave “My Mistake” a toothy bite. Wikipedia identified it for me as ska. Every element comes together wonderfully for me.
Since discovering it yesterday, I’ve listened to “My Mistake” about a dozen times, and I’m still finding tasty tidbits. It’s hard to pull away from Steve Perry’s1 energetic and versatile vocals and the swooping trumpet riff by Dana Heitman, but underneath is a wealth of treasure: Tim Donahue’s edgy drums; Jason Moss and Perry’s varied guitar work; Perry and Dustin Lanker on keys; Dan Schmid’s funky bass holding everything down; and guest vocalists Ada Dyer and Paulette McWilliams providing a nice touch of jazzy soul. There’s so much going on here that I would very much like to hear some remixed versions, especially to pull the lead and rhythm guitar forward a bit.
“My Mistake” is a deep cut from CPD’s fourth studio album, Soul Caddy. It being a more diverse effort than its predecessor, the 1997 swing compilation Zoot Suit Riot, the album wasn’t nearly as successful for the band. But Soul Caddy sounds like the perfect album for me to start exploring the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ discography. The hardest part will be making some time when I can really focus on the music.
Not that Steve Perry, obvs! Maybe it’s my ‘80s overdose on Journey that I’m still recovering from, but I much prefer this guy over that one