The Mainstays: West Michigan’s soulful funk-meisters just keep the dance party going

This week’s Local Spins Artist Spotlight shines on a band that picked up where Kalamazoo’s Funktion left off, led by Fennville native Andrew Schrock. (Story, video, podcast)

 

Singing publicly from the age of 3 while tagging along with his musician-rich family to every Michigan music festival from Blissfest to Wheatland, Fennville’s Andrew Schrock soaked up all the folk, Americana, rock, roots and soul music that permeated so much of his upbringing.

But mostly, soul.

Swayed by his older brother Jason’s fondness for R&B, Schrock developed a powerful penchant for old-school Motown and soul music: The first three cassette tapes he owned were true classics by Otis Redding, The Temptations and Aretha Franklin, and a visit to Detroit’s Motown museum at age 8 “really hit home.”

So it’s no surprise that Schrock ended up fronting the uber-popular Kalamazoo funk and soul band Funktion for several years, with the ensemble drawing lively audiences for its dance-hued music in nightclub shows across West Michigan.

And when some members of Funktion decided to go their separate ways due to other commitments, Schrock, guitarist Nate Heymoss and bassist Neal “Dutch” Conway decided to keep the funk train rolling by forming The Mainstays about a year ago – a band that’s just picked up where Funktion left off, growing an even bigger audience for its distinctive spin on modern R&B.

“For whatever reason, I’ve just gravitated toward funk and soul music,” concedes Schrock, who paints houses by day. “I love Americana and folk and bluegrass and rock ’n’ roll, I sincerely do, but for whatever reason, the music that I’ve gravitated toward has been kind of funk and soul type music.”

The son of well-known bassist and multi-instrumentalist Mark Schrock – who performs with Madcat Midnight Blues Journey and variety of other Michigan acts – Schrock certainly is well schooled in Americana and roots music.

PLAYING WITH A DIVERSE SET OF MUSICIANS

He even performs with his dad and brother as the Schrock Brothers, an Americana-infused band that boasts three-part harmonies with a “swampy,” Louisiana sort of milieu.

But Schrock really came into his own with Funktion, a Kalamazoo-based outfit that quickly established itself as one of West Michigan’s leading soul/dance/funk outfits, playing nearly 200 shows a year and traveling all over the country.

Eventually, though, all good things must come to an end … sort of.

“Funktion was coming to a close. Some of the guys started moving away and kind of seeking other avenues in their life beyond music,” Schrock recalls, noting that Heymoss and Conway weren’t ready to hang it up. “We just decided we wanted to kind of continue playing with some of the core group. They approached me sort of toward the final days of Funktion and said we’d really like to continue still playing music together and maybe consider doing something a little different, but in somewhat the same vein. It was was just kind of born from there.”

The three musicians quickly added drummer Paul Bauer (who’d played with Conway since the age of 15) and keyboardist Tom Eldred (a member of Kalamazoo’s Bryan Michael Fischer blues band).

“It had a nice synergy about it,” says Schrock, “and we’d all known each other for a long time, so it was a pretty easy transition.”

Since then, the band has toured across Michigan – as well as swings into Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska – and released a studio EP, with plans for releasing its first full-length studio album in late 2015.

Earlier this week, Schrock, his dad and Heymoss made a stop at the studios of News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) for Local Spins Live to discuss the band and perform a song from that debut EP, “Feels Like a Great Day.” Check out the full podcast of the show here, with a video of the trio’s performance below.

THE MAINSTAYS WILL PLAY ARTPRIZE AND FOUNDERS ON OCT. 9

The in-studio acoustic performance spotlight’s Schrock’s resonant, soulful voice, the origin of which he can’t easily explain.

“I don’t know where that comes from,” he says. “It’s just the way my voice has developed, probably from being influenced by it (soul music). It’s what I listen to mostly and what I sing along with.”

That natural sort of soul, emanating from an unlikely place, has helped make The Mainstays a crowd favorite in a short period of time.

“People always say how different it is,” offers Schrock, noting the band incorporates plenty of rock ’n’ roll into its funky approach. “A lot of what we do live is pretty dance-friendly type of music and people enjoy that as well. I think they’re looking for something different. They’re looking for variety.”

The band plays the Kalamazoo Oktoberfest at Arcadia Festival Site on Oct. 4 before heading to Grand Rapids for an ArtPrize-related concert series on Rosa Parks Circle. The Mainstays will play WOOD TV8’s Talsma Concert Series at 5 p.m. Oct. 9 as part of “Kzoo Night,” with singer Matt Giraud performing at 7 p.m. Later that same night, The Mainstays head down the road to Founders Brewing Co. for a 9:30 p.m. show with Sophistafunk.

For the band’s full schedule and more samples of its music, visit themainstaysmusic.com.

Copyright 2014, Spins on Music