Papa Funk was formed in the Fall of 1997.  The band then consisted of two guitarists, Matt Steidle and J.P. Priecko, bassist Paul Fulbright, and drummer Adam Funk.  Luke Powell joined in the fall of 1998 on the saxophone and flute.

    The current line-up consists of Funk, Fulbright, Powell and Seth Fromal on the keys.  Vocals are provided by all members of the band but the majority of songs are sung by Powell and the Fulbright Experience.
 
    The Papa Funk Family extends beyond the musicians including a dedicated sound technician-James the uncredited, a lighting technician-Light man Brad Hester, a graphic designer/official Papa Funk artist-Bruce Pye, as well as an extra fancy web administration, consisting of Josh Jessee, Danny Watkins, and Luke Powell

    All of the members met through connections at Radford University except Fulbright and Funk, who grew up together, and have been playing together for about ten years.  All members are originally from different parts of Virginia.   Funk and Powell are graduates of Radford University.

    Papa Funk began playing out in the Winter of '97/98.   Working very hard and determined to have a great time while doing it, the band worked on primarily original songs (with a cover here and there), which make up the majority of performance material. In the Fall of '98 Papa Funk began playing bars and venues around the New River Valley (including Radford, Blacksburg, and Roanoke Va).  The band then expanded regionally, playing venues in such areas as Harrisonburg, Fredericksburg, Maryland, etc... Papa Funk inc. continues the groove in Georgia and is looking to expand nationally with their innovative and original sound.

Since relocating to GA,  PAPA FUNK has performed at:

Georgia State Theatre (Athens)
Last Call (Athens)
DT's (Athens)
The Nowhere Bar (Athens)
Wild Wing Cafe (Athens)
Tasty World (Athens)
The 40 Watt Club (Athens)
Compadres RIP (Athens)
Little Turniptown Music Festival (Elijay, GA)
Loco's (Gainesville)
The Brandyhouse (Atlanta)
And various Private Parties

Style - Papa Funk has a style all it's own, blending a mix of funky-psychedelic-jazzy-fusion type music and a variety of other genres.  Influences include bands ranging from Slack (a little known 80's era L.A. band) and Snoop Dogg, to The Allman Brothers and Primus.  Every performance includes funky/jazzy/groovy improvisations. Audiences are generally broad, and respond with much enthusiasm to the non-discriminative music that Papa Funk continues to pump out.

Equipment and Promotional Details - Papa Funk owns a full PA setup (4 monitors, 4 main speakers, a sub-woofer, 24 channel mixing board, 2000 watts of power, endless microphones etc..) and a sound engineer runs the board; however, the band is willing to use any available sound system and personnel if it is recommended by the venue.  Papa Funk also includes a lighting technician who owns thousands of dollars worth of lights and adds to the ambiance of the music.   Promotional items (flyers, posters, artwork, etc.)  can be provided by the band and Papa Funk will work with the venue to promote shows.