Breaking that funk

Becky Tallent | Courtesy Photo A handful of the band’s members are University of Idaho and Washington State University professors. Axel Krings, guitarist for Blue Funk Jailbreak, started playing music in the mid-1970s in Europe.

Local band jams at Bucer’s Coffeehouse Pub

This content was reported on and written by a high school student for the University of Idaho’s annual journalism workshop.

Blue funk is a depression, and jailbreak is a way to get out of depression. When mixed, they create one band — Blue Funk Jailbreak.

“Blue Funk has nothing to do with blues or funk,” said Axel Krings, guitarist for Blue Funk Jailbreak. “Blue Funk is depression, just like funk music. It is depression, and we just kick out of it. We just snap out of depression.”

Last Friday, Krings played guitar with Blue Funk Jailbreak in downtown Moscow. The street concert was hosted by Bucer’s Coffeehouse Pub.

Rebecca Tallent | Courtesy Photo
A handful of the band’s members are University of Idaho and Washington State University professors. Axel Krings, guitarist for Blue Funk Jailbreak, started playing music in the mid-1970s in Europe.

Blue Funk Jailbreak is called a “jam band,” and they play a mix of funk, blues, rock, soul and reggae. While many of their songs follow a structure, most of their songs and performances are improvised.

“A lot of the songs, actually, we literally make up during the song,” Krings said. “So we change the feel of it. Change the rhythm of it.”

Blue Funk Jailbreak is native to Moscow and normally features Krings playing guitar, Brian Dyre on saxophone, Dave Snider playing guitar, Tom Garret on drums and Sedi Waroff on trombone.

“All of the musicians have played for many years,” Krings said. “And some of us have done it at times for a living. Dave Snider has always done it for a living.”

Krings is a professor of computer science at the University of Idaho. When not teaching or playing with Blue Funk Jailbreak, he is a guitarist for bands including Bare Wires, Musaiique and Smokin’ Mojo, he said.

“When I played starting in the mid ‘70s in Europe, I played different bands and clubs or in U.S. military bases,” Krings said. “I’ve played in top 40 bands there … We played everything.”

Krings said he isn’t the only professor to play for Blue Funk Jailbreak. Saxophone player Dyre is a professor of psychology at UI and Snider is a professor of music at Washington State University.

Bucer’s owner Pat Greenfield said she had to get special permission from the city council to close down a small section of Main Street outside of the pub where the band would play and to open the beer garden. The concert’s beer garden was the first in years for the city of Moscow, Greenfield said.

While Blue Funk Jailbreak played in the street, families and friends gathered to dance, eat and mingle. Wine and beer were made available in the beer garden, and there was a separate snack table on Bucer’s patio. The event was family friendly.

Bare Wires, one of Krings’ other bands, has a new album, Sanctuary Highway, available online. Blue Funk Jailbreak is trying to produce an album as well, Krings said.

“We are starting, actually, going to the studio and to cut a CD, and go from there,” Krings said. “That is hopefully happening in the fall.”

Jacob Gutridge | Guest Writer

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