That expression working its way across your face, furrowing your brow, scrunching up your nose, and inducing a slight head bob? That’s called “stank face” and it’s a direct byproduct of ingesting music from the greasiest, funkiest band on today’s music scene, Lettuce. But don’t worry, the Boston-formed group has been having this effect on listeners and concertgoers for going on three decades with zero cases of permanent damage. On June 3rd, the GRAMMY-nominated six-piece—Adam Deitch (drums), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Adam ‘Shmeeans’ Smirnoff (guitar), Erick ‘Jesus’ Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom (trumpet)—will be delivering a whole host of new tunes to the world in the form of Unify, the eighth studio album from Lettuce and the third consecutive record made at Denver’s Colorado Sound Studios, completing a loose trilogy starting with 2019’s GRAMMY-nominated Elevate, and continuing with 2020’s Resonate. Fans can expect the same tight, wildly-funky instrumentals Lettuce has always been known for, but in the tightest form, they’ve ever taken. And this time around, the guys have gotten the stamp of approval from one of the genre’s most legendary icons, Mr. Bootsy Collins, himself, who can be heard singing on the track “Keep That Funk Alive.”
Today, Lettuce premiered “Gravy Train,” the first single from Unify, featuring a tightly evolved rhythm section, pin-point accurate horns, and a guitar-bass unison part not executed this well since Leo and George did it down in New Orleans all those years ago. “‘Gravy Train’ just has that classic Lettuce vibe,” says Smirnoff. “It’s one of those songs that’s timeless and could have shown up on any of our first albums. This one is for the OG Lettuce Heads.” Pro tip: put your party pants on and give “Gravy Train” a spin right now at this link, pre-order or pre-save Unify ahead of its June 3rd release right here, and pay close attention to lettucefunk.com and @lettucefunk on social media platforms for news on the rollout of this much-anticipated album.
More About Unify: “Dealing with the pandemic, being in separate places, trying to survive without our best friends, without touring, not to mention the political divide in this country,” says Deitch. “We really needed to unify.” Zoidis recalls, “This album came together at a time when we were away from each other longer than we had been in years.”
Catch Lettuce On Tour:
March 26 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
March 27 – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater – Wilmington, NC
March 30 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH
March 31 – Sound Stage – Baltimore, MD
April 2 – Brooklyn Bowl – Philadelphia, PA
April 3 – Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY
April 6 – Infinity Music Hall – Hartford, CT
April 7 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
April 8 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
April 9 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
April 20 – Blue Point Brewing – Patchogue, NY
April 21 – Empire Live – Albany, NY
April 22 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
April 24 – The Stone Pony – Asbury Park, NJ
April 27 – The Big Top – St. Louis, MO
April 28 – The Hall – Little Rock, AR
April 29 – Duling Hall – Jackson, MS
April 30 – The Joy Theater – New Orleans, LA (with Soul Rebels)
May 26-29 – Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival – Martinsville, VA
June 16-19 – Sonic Bloom Festival – Hummingbird Ranch, CO
June 23-26 – Electric Forest Festival – Rothbury, MI
June 24-25 – Northlands Music & Arts Festival – Swanzey, NH
June 30 – July 3 – High Sierra Music Festival – Quincy, CA
Aug. 11 – Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
Aug. 12 – Rose Music Center at The Heights – Huber Heights, OH
Aug. 13 – Jam Packed Craft Beer & Music Festival – Richmond, VA
Aug. 26 – Beach Road Weekend Festival – Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Sept. 20 – Scala – London, UK
Sept. 21 – Le Grand Mix – Tourcoing, France
Sept. 23 – Billard L’alhambra – Paris, France
Sept. 24 – Le 106 club – Rouen, France
Sept. 27 – Bird – Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sept. 28 – Paradiso Noord – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sept. 30 – Gretchen – Berlin, Germany
Oct. 2 – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct. 3 – Cosmopolite Scene – Oslo, Norway
Oct. 4 – Slaktkyrkan – Jahanneshov, Sweden
Oct. 5 – Jazzklubben Nefertiti – Gothenburg, Sweden
Oct. 7 – Mojo Club – Hamburg, Germany
Oct. 8 – Groove Brno – Brno, Czechia
Oct. 9 – Club Porgy & Bess – Vienna, Austria
Oct. 11 – Bierhübeli – Bern, Switzerland
Oct. 12 – Lumiere – Pisa, Italy
Oct. 13 – Monk Club – Rome, Italy
Oct. 14 – Santeria Toscana 31 – Milano, Italy
Oct. 15 – Auditorium Melotti – Rovereto, Italy
Oct. 17 – Im Wizemann – Stuttgart, Germany
Oct. 18 – Noumatrouff – Mulhouse, France
Oct. 20 – Sala La Nau – Barcelona, Spain
Oct. 21 – Sala Caracol – Madrid, Spain
Oct. 22 – Le Rocher de Palmer – Cenon, France
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