Club Notes: The Budos Band's worldly beats

The Fox Theatre is the place to catch Boulder's live music action this weekend, so jump start the fun with shows by J Flash and the Budos Band.

The Budos Band

The Budos Band calls Staten Island, N.Y., home, but this large outfit knows how to crank out a very dancey blend of Afrobeat and psychedelic rock sounds.

The group's dynamic horn and percussive sections add just the right beats and grooves to the mix. Saturday, the Budos Band brings its non-stop party to the Fox. The group also performs at Denver's Larimer Lounge on Friday.

"We bring a really new and fresh sound to Afrobeat music," baritone sax player Jared Tankel said. "That's really happening in New York, but we evolved the music to include American funk, Ethiopian soul and jazz.

"We have this '60s sound -- this underlying American funk and soul sound. James Brown and Motown plays into what we do. We've recently added more hard rock and psychedelic rock sounds of the '60s and '70s."

The groove-based band's new CD, The Budos Band III, drops Aug. 10 on Daptone Records. That's the same label that features Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.

The Budos Band plays the Fox Theatre on Saturday.

"People will come away hearing this darker and heavier sound from our band on this record," Tankel said. "We want to take people on a psychedelic and funk journey. We also have some African and Latin influences on the record.

"You can hear this music at our live shows. They're a non-stop barrage of energy and music. We're trying to create a party."

J Flash

University of Colorado student Jack Botsford also goes by his stage alias J Flash.

The DJ/producer is friends with electro pop band Savoy, and he's opened shows for the red-hot Boulder act. Tonight, Botsford headlines his own gig at the Fox.

"I'm a CU major in communications, but a lot of my friends are producers and DJs," Botsford said. "I bought some equipment and it came to me naturally, so I decided to give it a shot.

"I started off mixing other people's tracks, but now I make my own music. I create dance party music and incorporate all kinds of samples, but for the most part it's electro-house."

J Flash's street rep is spreading quickly. The DJ/producer got to show off his mixes this summer at Red Rocks' Global Dance Festival.

"I'm going to play a lot of new tracks at the Fox and some remixes," Botsford said. "I'm just planning on throwing a high-energy dance party that will be lots of fun."