Local band brings the funk

The City Times recently interviewed the group at their home-based “jam room”, in Bredell, which lent a relaxed feel to the interrogation.

Armed with a long list of questions, the City Times tried to dig into what this band is all about.

“Our goal is to be as funky as possible,” said Casey Rothman.

“I’m not sure if South Africa ever had a funk era, maybe we’ve introduced it to the country,” added Clark Fivaz.

The group is made up of Rothman (bass), Fivaz (lead guitar), Josh Bloxam (rhythm guitar and lead vocals) and Craig Chetty (drums) and their getting together has its origins at Oppikoppi 2013.

Around that time, Fivaz and Bloxam, who lives in Lakefield, were jobless and were inspired by acts at the music festival to become DJs.

“We were making dubstep-kind-of music, doing gigs for birthdays and so on; we soon started writing our own stuff,” said Bloxam.

The duo moved into more rocky territory, eventually finding a funky flair along the way.

They were soon joined by Bloxam’s brother, Jonathan, and later asked Rothman to join.

Rothman played guitar, not bass, but he taught himself to play the instrument in order to join the band.

“When Jonathan left for the US we had to fill his spot quickly, so we found Chetty and taught him the songs in a week or so,” they said.

Chetty joined Strait Jackal as the new percussion master in mid-February.

After a beer or two, the interview headed down to the “jam room” where the four-piece showcased their talent in generating beats and melodies.

“We definitely have a South African flair; there are kwaito beats in there, that actually go into, like, a reggae beat,” said Rothman.

“It’s rock and funk, but we’re definitely aiming for a South African flavour.

“And the kwaito beat is fun to play and people love it.”

Bloxam and Fivaz write the foundations of most songs, then the entire band works on the music together.

“Someone comes to the band room with an idea, the foundation of a song, and we’ll fight for some time, then work on it properly,” Rothman added.

“But it’s [writing and composing] not a structured thing, it just happens.”

“There are a few songs that were developed in a single sitting, while others took weeks or months to finish off.”

All the members agreed they would enjoy becoming professional musicians, earning their living through gigs as a band, while working on new songs in between.

“We’ll have more time to focus on the music and we’d enjoy it a lot,” said Chetty.

The funk-and-rollers listed several inspirational bands, but said Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Arctic Monkeys and Incubus are their largest influences.

Strait Jackal collaborates with other local bands from time to time, including Fever Dogs, Scarlotte Will and Crystal Park (Benoni), and they have played with or opened for Them Bandits, Shadowclub and The Black Cat Bones.

“It does take a long time to ingrain your name into people’s heads,” said Rothman.

“Some of these bands have been going for 10 years and they are playing the kind of gigs we want to play; we’ve been going for two years.”

Gigs at bars and parties are two other ways the group bring their name to the masses.

They have played at day festivals, but still await joining a weekend festival and hope for a spot at Oppikoppi this year.

Before the Sony deal, the band had released their first album on SoundCloud.

They recently recorded their first music video, which can be viewed on their Facebook page.

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