Artist Profile - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

“One of the hottest US soul acts right now” MOJO Magazine

In his 1970 Playboy Interview, Ray Charles described soul as “people who do things from the heart.” In performance and on record, it is undeniable that JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are 100% soul. Like Otis Redding fronting the Stooges, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound get crowds twisting and writhing on the floor, something that’s been sorely missing from live music.

Brooks erupts with heart and raw emotion, harnessing the Uptown Sound’s post-punk reimagining of JB’s moves and MG’s grooves to unleash pure and uncompromising soul music ranging from sweaty on-the-one workouts, dance-punk booty shakers, garage rock thump humps, and aching R&B ballads without a missed step in between. JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are not just another throwback group; they came to be during an age of war, envisioning an aggressive dance music with lyrics that dig deeper and hit harder than the usual “baby, baby” fare.

Born in the great melting pot of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in 2007, guitarist Billy Bungeroth, drummer Kevin Marks, and bassist Ben Taylor (Beat Down Sound/September Sessions soundtrack) joined forces with the Lowdown Horns to lay a ferocious foundation for the soulful shouts of Mr. JC Brooks. The son of a Jersey funk diva set adrift by the disco era, he’s renowned for his take-no-prisoners stage style, giving you no other option than to get up and move!

Since leaving audiences awestruck on the Numero Group’s critically acclaimed Eccentric Soul Revue tour in 2009, they keep pushing forward, following up their explosive debut Beat of Our Own Drum (Vampisoul/Rabbit Factory) with the relentless new Get It Together single (featuring a stomping cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”). Featured prominently on MOJO Magazine May 2010 “Heavy Soul” CD, they’ve collaborated with greats like Syl Johnson, Tortoise’s Dan Bitney, lost soul legend Renaldo Domino, and the Impressions’ Nate Evans, cut live sessions for influential indie stations WFMU and KDHX, racked up rave reviews throughout Europe, and been lauded by the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, TimeOut, and Chicago Sun-Times. Armed with a full slate of North American and European dates, these intense young soul stirrers are bringing it to your door, ready to tour, score, and not be ignored.

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are for the people remaining awake through a great revolution… for people who want to move and not just sit tight... for soul people!