Gimme One of Those - Lesson
Part of the courseLearn the Fundamentals of Funk Guitar with The Brand New Heavies17 lessons (1h 2m)
Your guruSimon BartholomewWhat's in the course
17 lessons (1h 2m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Give Me One of Those: A Musical Journey
Oh, yeah, well, that's a little number called Give Me One of Those, which we have played very recently in the live set.
Origins and Inspiration
I went to the States about a thousand years ago, and it really comes from the days of our James Brown and dancing days.
- We first started going out clubbing together and dancing a lot.
- It's a great little groove, and when we play it live, we improvise a bit more on it.
I've added a few parts which I play later on in the song when I'm performing, and I noodle around my guitar solo.
A Memorable Experience
Happy Days reminds me of the time we were sound checking at Wembley Stadium. James Brown himself came up behind us as we were supporting him.
- He was leaning on my amp and looking at the band, nodding.
- We looked back and thought, "Oh my God, it's James Brown!"
We all shook his hand and said, "You sound great!" He even tried to poach our horn section, which I don't think he did.
But, yeah, that was pretty amazing, all thanks to him. You know, the funk came to us and got us that crazy style of playing, the licks, and so forth.
A Funky Tip
If you notice in that chord, it's actually like a whole full chord. But you tend to just play the top three strings.
This happens a lot in funk:
- Even with Kool & The Gang, it's just the top three strings.
- There's something about how the keyboards fill the middle section. Sonically, you don't really want to interrupt with that or with the bass.
So, the guitar stays in a sort of register that is quite percussive, really, and it cuts through more. You don't really hear the lower notes, as they can muddy up the sound in recordings and so forth.
Top Tip
Just hit the top three strings, you know.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Simon Bartholomew is the guitarist in British funk/pop/soul group The Brand New Heavies - a band known for playing their own instruments live rather than leaning on contemporary computer-based programming. That commitment to real, in-the-pocket playing is exactly what makes him such a great guide to funk guitar, and producer Mark Ronson once told Simon that he and Nile Rodgers were his favourite guitarists.
Alongside bandmate Andrew Levy, Simon writes, produces, mixes and oversees the running of a fully working, touring and recording band. The pair met at high school and, after hearing funk at The Cat In The Hat club, began jamming; once the DJs at the club played one of their cuts, 'Catch That Beat', from a cassette, the band began its illustrious journey. From those early days in London to travelling throughout the US and Japan, the band has pretty much toured the whole world, helping drive the early Hip Hop scene in LA and New York and becoming the main proponents of the Acid Jazz movement of the early '90s.
The Brand New Heavies have platinum and gold record sales across their many albums and have had several songs featured on film soundtracks - notably Happy Feet, which used a song from their Heavy Rhyme Experience album, cited to be the first rap album that used a live band.
Simon's musical influences run deep and wide: Blues, Jazz, Soul, Rock, Punk, Psychedelia, Prog Rock, Classical and Classic Rock - and pretty much anything else, from the live bands and orchestras all over television growing up to the rarer music he discovered on the John Peel Show and through friends' record collections. While he continues to tour and record with The Brand New Heavies, he has also written music for documentaries and worked on projects such as Akimbo and 1ibear, with more in the pipeline.
Simon's mission is to fuse Rock and Funk, and as he puts it: 'There is funk in everything if you just take a look and feel for it.' That is exactly the spirit he brings to Learn the Fundamentals of Funk Guitar with The Brand New Heavies.
