Grupo Fantasma

This article is about the American Latin funk group. For the Peruvian cumbia group, see Grupo Fantasma (Peruvian band).

Grupo Fantasma is an eleven-piece, Grammy Award winning Latin funk orchestra from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2000 from the merger of two Austin acts, The Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, the band emerged with a sold out show at the former Empanada Parlour in Austin. The band is best known for their exuberant live shows and their recent association with Prince and his 3121 Club in Las Vegas. The band has backed Prince on numerous occasions, including his performance on the ALMA Awards in 2007, and often perform at his afterparty jam sessions. The ensemble has sold more than 20,000 albums independently.

Grupo Fantasma twice played the Austin City Limits Music Festival and taped an episode of the popular Austin City Limits TV Show on PBS, which first aired November 17, 2007. They have also performed at such festivals as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Calgary Folk Music Festival and have headlined numerous SXSW showcases in their career. They also played at the inaugural South Padre International Music Festival in 2007. The band performs relentlessly, regularly doing over 150 performances a year. Their horn section has also made various appearances on worldwide releases and has recently been performing with indie rock band Spoon. Grupo Fantasma's music was featured prominently in the NYC Cable Public-access television cable TV show, The Unbelievable Show from 2001–2004. The group's album Sonidos Gold was nominated for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for the 51st Grammy Awards. Grupo's album El Existential was awarded the Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards two years later.

Grupo Fantasma’s songs “Chocolate,” “Barretta” and “Perso Fra/Mesquites” were featured in Showtime’s “Weeds” season 6 premiere episode which debuted on August 16, 2010.

Discography

• Grupo Fantasma (2002)
• Movimiento Popular (2004)
• Comes Alive (2006)
• Sonidos Gold (2008)
• El Existential (2010)

The band has also been featured on various other albums:

• Mascaras by Sergent Garcia (2004 EMI France/Virgin Records)
• Uno, Dos, Banderas by Control Machete (2004 Universal)
• Eklektikos Live (2005) – "Cansado"
• El Nino y El Sol by Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada (2005, ESL Music)
• Homenaje by Brownout (2007, Freestyle Records)
• Aguilas and Cobras by Brownout (2009, Six Degrees Records)

Band

Current members

• Beto Martinez - Guitar
• John Speice - Drums
• Jose Galeano - Percussion, Vocals
• Greg Gonzalez - Bass
• Mark Gonzales - Trombone
• Josh Levy - Baritone Saxophone
• Gilbert Elorreaga - Trumpet
• Kino Esparza - Vocals, Percussion
• Matthew Holmes - Congas

Former members

• Johnny Lopez III- Drums
• David Lobel - baritone saxophone
• Jeremy Bruch - percussion
• Brian Ramos - vocals
• Joseph Serrato - saxophone
• Dave Wolfe - trumpet
• Gene Centeno - saxophone
• Leo Gauna - trombone

External links

• Grupo Fantasma (official page)
• Grupo Fantasma at MySpace
• Grupo Fantasma at the Austin Music Database