Here's what's happening with Fundis in Nov/December 2012...
Greg Fundis joins Old Shoe!
It's Official!!! After a series of successful shows together including a debut performance at the band's very own SHOE FEST, Greg Fundis is proud to announce that he has officially joined Chicago-based band Old Shoe! Here's the announcement from Old Shoe's website. . .
"OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!! We are extremely happy to announce that Greg Fundis(Mathgames, 56 Hope Road) will be joining Old Shoe as its drummer. As many of you know, Greg is an amazing talent and person, and he has already brought a strong new energy to the group. We look forward to seeing you next time we're in your town, as we welcome Greg to the Shoe Fam!"
Here's a recent live video of Greg Fundis ripping up some Pink Floyd with Old Shoe at Shoe Fest 2012
Fareed Haque and MathGames on tour this Fall 2012!
World-renowned guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque's latest project MathGames! featuring Alex Austin on Bass, Jesse Clayton on keys, Greg Fundis on drums and visual media by Craig Pessolano continues to innovate and bring it's unique brand of funky danceable jazztronica to live music venues throughout the US and are gaining worldwide recognition appearing at festivals in Europe, South America and Indonesia attracting fans in both the EDM (electronic dance music) and modern jazz genres. Here's a recent video of MathGames! featuring special guest Shivalik Goshal on tablas!
Upcoming MathGames! Tour Dates
Nov 8 Even Flow Geneva, IL**Nov 9 House Cafe DeKalb, IL**Nov 10 Alchemy Cafe Madison, WI
Nov 26 Benedictine University Lisle, IL**Dec 13 Even Flow Geneva, IL**Dec 14/15 Quixotes Denver, CO Dec 16 Byron's Pomeroy, IA**Dec 20 Founders Brewery Grand Rapids, MI**Dec 21 Shakespeare's Kalamazoo, MI**June 21, 2013 Jazz in June Norman, OK
56 Hope Road returns to Springfield!!!
4 time winner of Jambase.com's road warrior award, 56 Hope Road returns to it's original stomping grounds and Greg Fundis' hometown Thanksgiving weekend to perform at the new Donnie's Homespun Pizza and Live Music Venue in Springfield, IL on November 24, 2012. This will be a special night sure to be a rager featuring new arrangements of old 56 tunes and a slew of new compositions written and arranged by founding member Dave Hamilton and Los Angeles-based producer Jamie Candeloro of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals.
Yo, yo, yo! Fans of Greg Fundis can catch all the drumming action throughout the Midwestern states in September and October including several shows with Old Shoe, a jazz trio residency featuring Fareed Haque, Greg Fundis and Alex Austin at Even Flow in Geneva, IL and the long awaited return of experimental drumming duo The Shiny Faced Monks.
FO SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOE!
Greg Fundis is teaming up with Chicago-based band Old Shoe for upcoming midwest tour dates including their 2nd Annual Shoe Fest taking place Sept 7-9 in Manteno, IL. Fundis will be playing the Friday night set at the fest followed by shows in Chicago, Peoria and Fall Down Festival in McHenry, IL. According to the Old Shoe official website"...our grooves are dirt roads through green groves...". Keep an eye out for more to come from this collaboration. . .the chemistry of the first few shows with Shoe and Fundis on drums have been positively explosive to say the least.
ALL THAT JAZZ. . .
Fareed Haque, Alex Austin and Greg Fundis have been making music together now for several years and have brought they're tightly connected rhythm section vibe on tours throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Indonesia in projects ranging from the new electronic tinged jazz funk exploration known as MathGames!, laying down the Hindustani boogaloo in the Flat Earth Ensemble, and returning to their jazz roots with the Fareed Haque jazz trio. You can catch all the magic over the next few months in the Chicagoland area as Fareed, Fundis and Austin will be in residency at the newly opened music venue Even Flow in beautiful Geneva, IL every other Thursday. It's going to be swinging!
Return of the Shiny-Faced Monks. . .
Greg Fundis and long time musical cohort, drummer Marshall Greenhouse (AfroZep), are returning to the stage with their experimental drum duo project called The Shiny Faced Monks. Expect the unexpected from these two improvisers bringing a mix of technology and ancient rhythms from around the world. The Monks will be sharing the stage with San Francisco percussive touring band Antioquia
on Wednesday Sept. 26 at the RedLine Tap in Chicago, IL. Surprises are in store, come check it out.
July 2012 was an amazing month as it marked Greg Fundis' debut in South America including perfomances and epic jams with Fareed Haque's Flat Earth Ensemble, Paquito D'Rivera and Melissa Aldana. The premier International Festival of Jazz in Patagonia took place July 18-21, 2012 at the spectacular Teatro Del Lago in Frutillar, Chile. Prior to the fest, Fareed Haque's trio feat. Greg Fundis on drums and Alex Austin on Bass made an impromptu appearance at Club Parenthesis; Santiago, Chile's newest live jazz club before making the trip down to beautiful Chilean Patagonia for the festival. At the festival, the Flat Earth Ensemble (with Shivalik Ghoshal on tablas and Alex Brown on piano) and special guest Paquito D'Rivera, sax and Diego Urcola, trumpet & ewi, played a headlining performance on Friday night to a full house and the trio (Fareed, Alex and Greg) performed as the jam session house band each night bringing all the musicians and locals together for a super-jam after party. Here's a pic of a few of the drummers at the fest Mark Walker (Paquito D'Rivera Orquestra), Andy Baeza (Melissa Aldana trio), Greg Fundis (Fareed Haque's Flat Earth Ensemble) and Edu Ribeiro (Trio Corrientes).
Come check out this Lollapalooza pre-party throwdown feat. Greg Fundis on drums and percussion. . . Full Court Press 3; A Chicago All-Star Jam at Abbey Pub Thursday Aug. 3. This month's jam features members of Umphrey's McGee, Ray White (Zappa), Digital Tape Machine, Math Games, Twin Cats, Cosby Sweater, Hood Smoke, The Coop, Groovatron, Old Shoe, Freek Johnson, Eumatik.Last months show was sold-out so get your tickets early at the link above!
56 HOPE ROAD is returning to their hometown making a rare Chicago appearance Sat. Aug 11 and will feature founding members Dave Hamilton, Chad Sanders, Greg Fundis, Matt Katzfey, Anne Katzfey plus Ryan Behling (AfroZep) and Adam Lewis (Family Groove Company) performing new music and arrangements by Dave Hamilton.
Greg Fundis will be appearing throughout the month of August with Fareed Haque in three different ensembles. MathGames!, Flat Earth Ensemble and Fareed's trio are scheduled to appear at festivals and clubs throughout the midwest so check the schedule at gregfundis.com and spread the word.
Fans can catch Greg Fundis performing with a variety of ensembles throughout the Summer of 2012 at amazing venues throughout the Midwest as well as in Patagonia, Chile! Drummer Greg Fundis will be performing with Fareed Haque's Flat Earth Ensemble at Festival Internacional de Jazz Patagonia. This year's lineup features Paquito D'Rivera, Freddy Cole , Hilary Cole and Melissa Aldana performing at the beautiful Teatro Del Lago in Frutillar, Chile July 18-22, 2012. Click on the Festival logo below for more info.
If you you are anywhere close to the midwest June 23, 24, Stranger Danger fest is a must-see. The line-up features 2 nights of Chicago-based touring jam juggernaut Strange Arrangement plus all the latest, hippest Chicago bands. You can see Greg Fundis performing with local hip-hop phenom Young General closing out the Saturday Late Night in the Green Room as well as on Sunday at 4pm appearing as a special guest drummer for the whole set with Chicago funk fusion moguls Spare Parts.
MathGames! performs at Alpine Valley VIP Club for Phish Summer Tour 2012 Sunday July 1
Click here to purchase tickets for Phish shows
MathGames! will be performing at an exclusive "VIP ticket-holders only" pre-party and after-party at the Alpine Valley VIP Club for the PHISH show Sunday July 1, 2012. If you already have tickets to the PHISH show and would like to attend the VIP party on the sky deck, send an email to greg@gregfundis.com, there is a limited number of wristbands available on a first come first serve basis. Hope to see you there!
If you cant make this show, catch MathGames! with special guest DJ My Boy Elroy at Taste of Randolph, Saturday June 16th at 8pm on the East Stage.
Lastly, following in the footsteps of legendary drummers Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Gene Krupa and Dave Tough, Greg Fundis will appear with the legendary Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in a big band tribute on July 27 at Rhythm and Dunes Summer Concert Series in Ludington, MI.
Greg Fundis' Summer Camp Re-Cap. . .
(Photo Copyright 2012 C-Style Photography)
"Summer Camp Music Festival 2012 was the best S-Camp experience I have had to date! Every year seems to be cleaner and more organized with increasingly amazing line-ups. Besides the plethora of musicianship abounding on every stage throughout the weekend (see my list of favorite performances below), the upgrades in production on the smaller stages as well as a markedly improved green conscious cleaning and recycling efforts were definately a plus. This was my 8th year of Summer Camp Music Festival appearances and last year the MathGames! set was rained out so this year I took full advantage of every opportunity to play with as many of my homies in the hot sun as possible throughout the weekend just in case. . . 7 sets of music w AfroZep, 1 rare Shiny Faced Monks drum parade, gangsta djembe beats and 7-6-5 combos w Brainchild, hot samba action w Jaik Willis, a long awaited EPIC set with MathGames, drum clinic get-down w Andy Farag and Nigel Felony. Topped the weekend off with topless bartending at the VIP lounge w Michael Harrison Berg, Ryan Stasik and Jaik Willis. Must not forget the the Thursday 1-3am Chitown Superjam with members of Jaik Willis, Cornmeal, Family Groove Company, Strange Arrangement, Old Shoe, Zmick and The Coop.
What a weekend!! I already can't wait for next year!!" -Greg Fundis
Favorite acts that I saw this year at Summer Camp: Common, EOTO, Break Science, Umphrey's, Galactic w Corey Glover on vox!, Victor Wooten w DeRico Watson & JD Blair!! dayum!,Spare Parts (always!), This Must Be The Band (DJnoDJ), Jaik Willis, Chicago Farmer, Pretty Lights, Gramatik, Jane's Addiction, Cornmeal, Kids These Days, Zmick, Van Ghost, Family Groove Company, Digital Tape Machine and Twin Cats
Here's some photos and videos of me and the bands I rocked with from this awesome festival. . .
GREG FUNDIS at Lincoln Hall Chicago 4/18/2012 (photo by Justin Barbin www.justinbarbin.com)Greetings fans of drummer Greg Fundis!!
It's festy season and these early summer months are chocked full of festival appearances that feature Greg Fundis on drums starting off with a trip to Europe with Fareed Haque's MathGames! for Twents Gitaar Festival May 17-20th in the Netherlands just a few kilometers west of Amsterdam.
May 25-27 2012 will mark Greg Fundis' 12th year of appearances at Summer Camp Music Festival.!!!Greg Fundis will appear with MathGames! on Saturday May 26 at NOON on the StarShine Stage and a late night gorilla set on Saturday night playing djembe with AfroZep. Click here to see Summer Camp's SCHEDULE.
(MathGames! from left to right Alex Austin, Fareed Haque and Greg Fundis)
APRIL RE-CAP. . .
A quick yet huge THANK YOU to all the peeps that represented at the Abbey Pub's "Full Court Press 2" April 26 All-Star Chicago Pre-UM Bowl MVP jam featuring Greg Fundis on drums playing with members of Umphrey's McGee, Digital Tape Machine, Family Groove Company, Strange Arrangement and The Coop! That night was off the hook for sure!! Also, love and props to sold-out standing room only crowds at both the Haque/Monaco/Fundis trio hits at the legendary Green Mill as well as the Young General and FiveSTAR hip-hop rager supporting RJD2 at Lincoln Hall. Click on this link for some more fantastic photos from that show by Frazier and Zlatko of Soundfuse Magazine online.
Friday, November 2, 2012 at 5:27PM 
It's Official!!! After a series of successful shows together including a debut performance at the band's very own SHOE FEST, Greg Fundis is proud to announce that he has officially joined Chicago-based band Old Shoe! Here's the announcement from Old Shoe's website. . .
