Straight outta Hamilton, NJ Charles Laurita & the Mischief have been turning heads throughout the New Jersey scene with their unique funk-rock style. For almost seven years now, the six-piece outfit, complete with horn section, have been making crowds jump up and dance.
In fact, I’ve even seen an elderly lady throw down her walker to boogie with The Mischief in Asbury Park. It’s refreshing to see an act with so much groove and passion. Naturally, I took the opportunity to chat with founder and band leader, Mr. Charles Laurita.
The band has always stood out from others within the scene. You guys bring a very unique “alterna-funk” sound to venues throughout New Jersey. Most bands on the scene tend stick in the rock genre, so why did the Mischief become a funk band?
I don’t think it was a conscious thing to decide how we sounded. We never picked a genre or specific style to fall into like a mold. Our sound came from my musical influences, as well as the players in the band. It was more so what instrumentation worked well with the songs I had written — t all definitely lent itself to having a horn section. That’s why we went with the term “alterna-funk.” It wasn’t the straightforward sound that everyone was used to, which of course has it’s pros and cons, but it’s defined who we are and sets us apart from the rest.
Your latest albums often cover the topics of space, fantasy, love and more. Where does the writing come from?
My inspirations for writing honestly aren’t really from listening to music, they’re actually mainly from films and dreams, as crazy as that sounds. There’s just something about someone having the ability to take nothingness and turn it into an immense display of imagination that was always ridiculously inspiring.
I always love hearing from people which songs they enjoy and what they think they’re about, because I’m never straightforward with what the true meanings are. Usually they’re incredibly cryptic, or sometimes the listener is able to project their own story onto a song, which of course makes me happy because it means they’re really using their imagination.
You guys really put on a tight show featuring funk covers ranging from classic NES themes to the Spice Girls. You’ve also posted many of these songs and projects online in many different formats. They’ve caught on with both the music community and the gaming community. How did this come about, and what other covers, or studio sessions do you have in store?
As a group we’ve always loved the idea of covering songs but not imitating them. If we’re going to do someone else’s song, we really want to make it our own. We’ll take something that isn’t even close to our genre and put horns in it and really try to make something creative out of it.
As far as video game music goes, I think collectively as a group we all have always loved it. It’s all so incredibly well-written and it fits our style perfectly. Plus, arranging some of that music can be really cool and challenging. I think the main appeal of it is hearing a band play something from your favorite game live, and the nostalgia factor is just through the roof.
As for what’s next? Well we’ve always been tossing around this idea of a Disney album, so we’ll see.
Your music videos are some of the most innovative I’ve ever seen from a band. You’ve used rats, model towns, old school effects among many other tools. How much thought goes into these videos, and what’s the next music video you guys have in mind?
Thank you so much! A lot of the videos are homages to films. I’m always spending tons of time researching filming techniques as well as how to develop the overall look for the video. I have so many in mind at the moment, literally it’s a list of 60 or so ideas. Currently I’m working on one with all practical rod puppet effects, so building puppets and sets has been time consuming but I absolutely love every second of it.
What do you guys think of the local scene right now, and the state of music in general right now?
It’s amazing how the gigging climate in general has changed so much within the past year or so. It’s been so much more difficult to book shows and even contact venues, solely for the fact that the main interest now is in cover and tribute bands. Being an original act, this is obviously ridiculously frustrating. We love gigging and having a live crowd, but a lot of our draw recently has been from online activity and our various videos.
In general, music now just seems so over-produced and cookie cutter. Everyone wants to sound like everyone else and fit all of the current trends. Personally, I’ve just never been about that. I think that’s an easy way to date you music and make it go out of style fast. It’s like the autotune trend, everyone was doing it for so long and then it dropped of the face of the planet. It really is a shame that being and sounding like yourself in the music industry just isn’t as positive as it used to be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp7p6FB4L2k
Where can we find your music and videos online?
CharlesLaurita.com is the best place! It’s like a social media hub to everything on the web about us. In addition to that, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp, iTunes and Spotify.
If you could have someone who’s never heard you guys before hear one track, which would it be?
I would most definitely say ‘Ratrace.’ Not only is it our signature song, but I also really feel like it captures that special vibe that the band creates. I’d like to think it’s the definition of our “Alternafunk,” whereas it really pulls you in. Like so much to the point where you couldn’t escape it even if you wanted to!
Where can we find you guys performing next? What does the future hold for Charles Laurita & the Mischief?
Our monthly original music showcase, the Three Ring Riot at the Open Arts PAC in Bordentown NJ, is the best place to catch us plus dozens of other incredibly talented original bands and artists!
We have so many big plans for the future! Be on the look out for more music videos, as well as a few YouTube series full of original content. In addition to that, I’ve been writing a ton more music, so I’d love to have another album released at some point. All I can ask for of the band is progress, in any shape or form. As long as we’re moving in the right direction, then I know we’re doing what we’re supposed to.
