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Free Radicals (band)
American band from Houston From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Free Radicals is an American band from Houston, Texas, that combines elements of several genres: jazz, funk, ska, reggae, hip-hop, African, and Indian music.
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History
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The Free Radicals live band includes six or seven members.[3] On recordings — The Rising Tide Sinks All (1998), Our Lady of Eternal Sunny Delights (2000), Aerial Bombardment (2004), and The Freedom Fence (2012)[4] — Free Radicals invites a group of 50 or more musicians and vocalists into the studio.
Drummer Nick Cooper founded the group in 1996, with a goal of specializing in improvised music.[3] In 2000, The New Yorker wrote, "The horn-heavy, continually evolving collective Free Radicals produces a wildly eclectic fusion that has as many influences as there are items in the Houston, Texas, pawnshop in which they honed their sound during all-night jam sessions."[5] In 2010, Dawn wrote that the artwork and message about underwater oil-leaks, oil-wars, and bank-crashes on the band's first CD was like a "premonition waiting to become true."[6] Free Radicals frequent collaborators and guest musicians include Al Pagliuso, Dan Cooper, Harry Sheppard, Gloria Edwards, Nelson Mills III, Subhendu Chakraborty, and Karina Nistal.
The Free Radicals perform many concerts,[7] marches, and fundraisers for anti-authoritarian and radical groups like food not bombs, peace festivals, and charity events including a continuous 24-hour concert in November 1999 to raise money for Kid Care, a health program for children.[8] They have protested against Halliburton, and participated in marches for immigrant rights and for a Houston janitor's union.[8]
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Awards and honors
Free Radicals has won the following 21 awards in Houston
- 1998: Best Jazz, Best Unsigned Band[10]
- 1999: Best Jazz, Best Funk, Best Drummer[10]
- 2001: Best Jazz[11]
- 2002: Best Jazz[10]
- 2003: Best Jazz[10]
- 2004: Best CD by Local Musicians[12]
- 2008: Best Jazz[13]
- 2009: Best Jazz, Best Drummer[14]
- 2010: Best Jazz,[15]
- 2011: Best Jazz,[16]
- 2012: Best CD "The Freedom Fence", Best Song "Ben Taub Blues", Best Jazz [17]
- 2013: Best Jazz [18]
- 2014: Best Jazz [19]
- 2015: Best Jazz [20]
- 2020: #1 Best Local Album 2020: "White Power Outage" [21]
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Discography
- 1998: The Rising Tide Sinks All
- 2000: Our Lady of Eternal Sunny Delights
- 2004: Aerial Bombardment
- 2012: The Freedom Fence
- 2015: Freedom of Movement
- 2017: Outside the Comfort Zone
- 2018: No State Solution (with DJ Sun) (compilation/remix album)
- 2020: White Power Outage, Vol. 1
- 2022: White Power Outage, Vol. 2
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References
External links
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