The Budos Band, Daptone Records’ big band, occupy a unique place in the musical stratosphere with a sound that could be described as the heaviest Afro-soul big band with a ’70s touch” that joins “musical universes from trippy psychedelia and Afro-funk to ’70s hard rock and late-’60s soul.”

While they themselves have maintained a timeless and unique style unaffected by musical trends, the signature Budos sound has been sampled by Panic! At The Disco, Black Eyed Peas, and Earthgang to name a few. Notable fans range from Madonna (who loved them so much she invited them to perform at her birthday party), rock God Iggy Pop, and fellow Staten Island musicians, The Wu-Tang Clan.

The Budos Band’s Long In The Tooth was recorded in just five days at Diamond Mine Studios in Queens, NY. After one listen, you might expect a full orchestra behind the curtain, instead, you’ll find eight ruthless mavericks – Brian Profilio [drums], Daniel Foder [bass], Tom Brenneck [guitar], Mike Deller [organ], Jared Tankel [saxophone], Andrew Greene [trumpet], Dave Guy [trumpet], Rob Lombardo [bongos, congas]. The band occupies a unique place in the musical stratosphere.
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The Budos Band had reached a critical high with Budos V in 2019. Debuting at #1 on Billboard Heatseekers chart, their fifth full-length was applauded by both new and life-long Budos fans and masses of press including NPR All Songs Considered, Rolling Stone, and KERRANG!, which quite fittingly described them as “booty-shaking funk that sounds like Satan spreading his wings.”

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SEXMOB continues to deconstruct familiar pop tunes with subversive impunity.
Featuring:
Steven Bernstein slide trumpet
Briggan Krauss saxophones
Tony Scherr bass
Kenny Wollesen drums
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In 1996 Steven Bernstein formed Sexmob with saxophonist Briggan Krauss, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen. It remains his primary vehicle for exploring the slide trumpet, a rare instrument that he picked up in a Woodstock guitar shop back in 1977. Sexmob made its recording debut with 1998’s Din of Inequity and followed with 2000’s Solid Sender, 2001’s Sex Mob Does Bond, 2003’s Dime Grind Palace, 2006’s Sexotica, 2009’s Sex Mob Meets Medeski: Live in Willisau and 2013’s Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti: Sex Mob Plays Fellini. In that span of recordings, the group put their patented Sexmob touch on an eclectic list of tunes by the likes of Leadbelly, John Barry, Hoagy Carmichael, Paul McCartney, Duke Ellington, Prince, Kurt Cobain, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Count Basie, Professor Longhair and Nino Rota. The group’s latest, in its 20th anniversary year, is Cultural Capital, the first Sexmob recording to feature all Bernstein original compositions.
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An impactful presence on the New York scene over the past 30 years, trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Steven Bernstein has immersed himself in such a wide array of music with his bands Sexmob, Millennial Territory Orchestra, Diaspora Soul, Universal Melody Brass Band, Spanish Fly, Blue Campfire and the Butler-Bernstein Hot 9 that he defies easy categorization. A former member of the Lounge Lizards and Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band, Bernstein has also composed works for film, theater and dance in addition to doing arrangements for a diverse list of artists ranging from Lou Reed to Lee “Scratch” Perry, Allen Toussaint, Marianne Faithfull, Linda Ronstadt, Rufus Wainwright, Darlene Love, Mario Pavone, Bill Frisell, John Lurie and the Kansas City All-Stars. His lengthy list of sideman credits includes recent recordings by Laurie Anderson (Heart of a Dog), Roswell Rudd (Trombone for Lovers), Mostly Other People Do The Killing (Loafer’s Hollow), Antony and the Johnsons (Turning) and Nels Cline (Lovers). He also continues to perform with Ray Anderson’s Pocket Brass Band, Omaha Diner and the Kamikaze Ground Crew.