THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND "Destination...Get Down!" CD ES2110

Steeped in the sizzling, funky gumbo of Booker T & The MG’s, The Meters, James Brown and the B-3-driven, backyard barbecue jams of Jimmy Smith, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith and Jack McDuff, THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND surge forward in their passionate crusade to steam-clean the planet’s dancefloors with their third full-length platter percolation, DESTINATION...GET DOWN! Set to hit the racks April 12th, 2005 on Estrus Records, DESTINATION...GET DOWN! continues to extend the ever-upward arc that began with DOSS’ acclaimed 2001 debut, INSTRUMENTAL ACTION SOUL, then took a quantum leap on 2003’s groovathon, LET’S COOL ONE.  Their latest soul stew is jam-packed from jump street till closing time with a dozen more original workouts guaranteed to lubricate and agitate every bone in yer carcass, and the addition of sax maven David Basinger to the fold gives DOSS its most muscular, inventive and flexible attack yet.Nate “Count” Basinger’s swirling, fuel-injected B-3 remains front-and-center, and--with the recent departure of bassist Dustin Conner--also provides the quartet with a quivering, chubby bottom. Guitarist Doug Roberson shifts deftly from classic rhythm comps (evoking such masters of the form as Steve Cropper, Grant Green and Curtis Mayfield) to a fluid collection of stinging, spot-on lead runs accumulated over years on the rock’n’soul trail. Drummer Jim Viner propels the hip-shakin’ action with impeccable taste and economy. Produced by John Svec and DOSS at Svec’s Minstrel Studio over three extended sessions in 2004, DESTINATION...GET DOWN! presents the Solid Sound with minimal overdubs, offering a jaw-dropping glimpse of the band’s propulsive, kinetic ‘live’ sound. Conner’s electric bass shows up on two tracks, and the sultry Diplomettes (Natalie Benway, Saskia Hesselink and Sinead Sauer) chirp on “Loaf and Jug”--everything else is pure DOSS. Initially formed in 1999 as a side project of Iowa City-based ’60s garage retro-fitters The Bent Scepters, THE DIPLOMATS added B-3 whiz Basinger and have since generated an enviable arsenal of dancefloor dynamite that intermingles the boogaloo magic of their time-honored influences with the sounds of such contemporary fellow-travelers as Sugarman 3, The Nick Rossi Set and the James Taylor Quartet. In addition to their three long-players, THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND cranked out a pair of prized 7” EP’s in 2002 (PORK CHOP on Estrus, and ALLIGATOR BOOGALOO on Butterfly Records in Spain). Last year, their smoking “Don’t Touch My Popcorn” (from LET’S COOL ONE) was featured on the compilation LET’S BOOGALOO, Vol. I on the Record Kicks label in Italy. DOSS has shared stages with such luminaries as The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Southern Culture On The Skids, Grant Green Jr., Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Alex Chilton, Dick Dale, Jonathan Richman, The Delta 72, The Sadies, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys and Blue Note organ legend Reuben Wilson. In the summer of ’04, DOSS wowed festival crowds in Sumene, France and Gijon, Spain. Still smokier than a Tiki torch, shinier than the chrome on a rib-joint’s Formica tables, tangier than Hecky Powell’s secret sauce and funkier than a two-dollar hooker’s come-hither, THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND are on a mission, and a dance club near you is gonna get booglarized. The word is out folks; you really ain’t got a choice--so GET DOWN! before these birds knock you down...