20 . Weekender . 06.14.2018 . www.siouxland.net

LAST CHANCE TO BUY“PRE-SALE”WRISTBANDS!

BY CHRISTOPHER BRAUNSCHWEIG

Can you believe Grand Funk Railroad is almost 50 years old? Neither can its drummer and singer, Don Brewer.

“Wow! Who’da thunk it!” he said with a laugh. Although initially formed in 1969, Grand Funk Railroad found its first wave of success in the early and mid-‘70s, playing to sold out arenas and topping music charts with songs like “The Loco-Motion” and “We’re an American Band.” Those songs sound familiar? They should. It’s not too uncommon to come across old tracks from Grand Funk Railroad or other bands from that era.

“A lot of the music that was created in the ‘70s – especially the early ‘70s, pre-disco – is still around,” said Brewer. “It was very honest rock ‘n’ roll. What we recorded had a lot of honesty to it. It wasn’t all overdubs

and recording techniques and so on and so forth. It was just about good songs and a good band and good performances. That’s what we relied on.”

In fact, it is what Grand Funk Railroad still relies on to this day. Though not playing as often as the band did a few decades ago, Brewer still believes delivering good performances of the band’s most popular songs is a timeless formula that works, especially in an age of music that seems to rely too heavily on “production techniques.” This process, he said, would create great songs and

incentivized musicians to give their best performances on those recordings.

“It gets further and further away from just a good song and good performance,” he said. “And that’s too bad.”

The focus, Brewer added, has shifted away from what’s truly important. “It’s on the wrong thing,” he said. “The focus should be on the songs and the performance. When rock ‘n’ roll started, it was a two-track machine and everybody went into the studio and performed live, basically. It was sink or swim.”

Compared to the band’s heydays, Grand Funk Railroad plays significantly fewer shows a year. Brewer said these days the band members have turned into “weekend rockers,” leaving for shows on Friday and be back in time to take the trash out to the curb before Monday morning. This weekend rocker method, he said, is preferable than the

PROVIDEDGrand Funk Railroad will headline the Main Stage at Awesome Biker Nights June 16.

What: Grand Funk RailroadWhen: 10 p.m. Saturday (June 16)Where: Main Stage of Awesome Biker Nights

DETAILS

‘AMERICAN STILL AN

BAND’