Students' funk band wins Battle of the Bands

By Anna Herkamp
Staff Writer

On a campus so full of pop-punk and garage bands, one new band stands out from the rest with its own concoction of funk and blues.

Although new listeners may think the band’s name, Mama Jines, is a reference to a female body part, it actually refers to the last name of one of the band members, drummer Mike Jines, senior in the School of Agriculture.

On April 19, Mama Jines, made up entirely of Purdue students, won the Battle of the Bands at Luckey’s, an all ages venue in West Lafayette.

As a cigarette hung from his lips, Mike Jines played a beat on his drum set that got the crowd on their feet dancing to an eclectic mix of funk and blues.

One new fan, Ben Borne, a junior in the School of Technology, said they are like no other band he has ever heard. "They do the Grateful Dead better than the Dead ever did," he said.

The quartet plays a combination of bluegrass and funk and covers artists including Bob Dylan and Phish. "We try to incorporate everything we do into funk," Jines said.

John Burruss, keyboardist and sophomore in the School of Liberal Arts, has had a varied musical background. He gives his mom credit for some of his musical talent and interest. Since he was little, Burruss, one of the founders of Mama Jines, has always listened to his mom play blues on piano. In addition to his skills on piano, Burruss also plays guitar and mandolin.

Brad Beach, guitarist and sophomore in the Schools of Engineering, also has music in his family background. "I love music. I’ve grown up with it my whole life," said Beach, whose family sang in church when he was a child.

Beach, the other founding member of the group, has been playing guitar since his sophomore year in high school. He also took piano lessons for about 6 years, but his true inspiration comes from the Blues. He cites Jimi Hendrix, Phish and Stevie Ray Vaughn as his inspiration.

Many times Darren Egbert, bassist and senior in the School of Agriculture, will start with his slap style bass and each instrument adds its own sound. The "jam session" style reminds listeners of Eric Clapton, to whom the band compares itself.

Watching the band at a house party, one listener, Karen Lewis, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts, said, "They are far superior to any college band I’ve ever heard."

Egbert has a sound that Beach immediately responded to when the band first got together, said Beach. He plays with a slap style on bass that really lays down the funk beat, he said. All four men immediately "clicked," Beach said.

Though the band still has aspects they are working on, they will not be giving up soon. The group needs to work on stage presence and communication while playing, but the group definitely has potential, Beach said.

Burruss would like to see "Mama Jines" record an album in the future, but mostly, "I just want people to hear our music," he said.

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