Talley Up! is a psychedelic New Orleans funk band featuring some of the finest players in Marin County, Ca including bandleader Jim Talley (Bob Weir, Eric McFadden, Karl Denson, Stu Allen) on keyboards and lead vocals, Tom Finch (Big Brother & the Holding Co., Pamela Parker, SF Airship) on guitar and vocals, Michael Pinkham (New Monsoon, Scott Law, Albino) on drums, Jen Rund ( Stu Allen, Mark Karan, The Real Sarahs) on bass and vocals as well as regular special guest Aaron Saul (George Clinton, Soul Ska, Vinyl) on alto sax.
The band has released their first cd entitled “Funky Alchemy”. Recorded 24 track live at 19 Broadway in Fairfax by ace live recordist Bob Cogswell the 9 song 74 minute cd showcases the band’s instrumental songs and their amazing alchemy of funky improvisation and telepathic musical interplay. The current focus in the band are the vocals with 3 part harmonies.
Mixing funky originals by Jim Talley with New Orleans classic hits from the Meters, Dr. John, Neville Bros., Allen Toussaint, Dumpstaphunk, Jon Cleary and Little Feat among others the band constantly stretches the limits of New Orleans funk to find new musical destinations and discoveries.
Talley Up! performed on the main stage of the Fairfax Festival in June of 2019 and have opened for Moonalice, Sambada, Kermit Ruffins and Stu Allen. The group jammed with Karl Denson at the 2017 High Sierra Music Festival which was followed by an appearance at the 2017 For the Funk of It Festival in the High Sierras. Locally the band has performed 7 times at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael with their latest appearance being in the Grate Room opening for Stu Allen and Cryptical in February of 2019. The band has appeared multiple times as well at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley including opening for New Orleans trumpet maestro Kermit Ruffins! In their home town of Fairfax the band has played extensively at 19 Broadway, the Iron Springs Brewery and Peri’s as well as regular appearances at Smiley’s in Bolinas and the Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma. Talley Up! has also appeared in the East Bay at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley and has played regularly in San Francisco at the Tupelo in North Beach as well as Union Square Live, Amnesia and the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Talley Up! brings together the dance mania that is New Orleans funk with extraordinary improvisation skills to take the music and the audience to higher realms with each successive show!”
Talley Up! brings together the dance mania that is New Orleans funk with extraordinary improvisation skills to take the music and the audience to higher realms with each successive show!