Gorilla Funk Mob Bass Axeman G Rock--Takes His Playing Where Most Players Fear To Go

By Mark Grove



Greg G Rock Sanders, the Frontman and Bass Axeman for The Gorilla Funk Mob has been blasting the night air with his band and backing up some of the most well known artists around. While opening for the likes of Keisha Coles,the Mob has been working with R and B Gurus the Blackbyrd Revue and Michael Walden.

By the way this article is a repost,and is so old that it has a link to GFM's Myspace page,which is no longer valid. I'll have some contact info later. But these are players who run the fuckin' gamut of rock n' roll!  They can play beside or back up the best hip-hop or rap artists as well as old rock n' roll icons for that matter.

This is their life and they love it!  I keep meaning to contact G Rock,since I turned down writing for them a number of years ago. Yes, I turned down an offer to get paid by musicians who could have helped me make a lot of cash. Yes, I left a lot of cash on the table.

I may just talk to G Rock at some point.

If you're a hip-hop,rap or blues and rock artist---you'll learn so much from Greg. Sometimes I fuck up and don't care about making money. Funny, I can make good money fairly easily; yet I don't care about money.

Some of the best musicians I've dealt with are old school, and yes I'm mainly a blues guy with rock n' roll roots from the 70's. So, I'll get back with Greg and give you some contact info for the Gorilla Funk Mob. They are session players who I normally associate with old rock, but they are players who will play their asses off no matter what!

So, start doing what you love as a musician and listen to cats like Greg and The Gorilla Funk Mob over In Detroit.



GFM's resume is long, and they've been able to take their playing to whole new levels and do backing session work most bands never get because of lack of dedication to their craft--not because they're the best. Basically The GFM just fuckin' kill it!

On top of all that The Mob have recently been doing work with Hip-Hop man Danny Brown who were produced by G Unit. When you're like G Rock and a great Bottom Feeder with one foot in the underground and one in the mainstream, heads in the music industry are bound to turn to your type of groove and be more than a little interested.



This short little interview with G asks him how he wrote and composed his EP tunes, as well as who he's been working with and the rig he cuts his bass axe with.



GR:'Tony's Joint' I wrote a long time ago. Of course 'If You Want Me To Play' is Sly & The Family Stone's 'If You Want Me To Stay', just with a different arrangement. If you listen to the guitar/bass duet in the middle/end of the song that was really section of the arrangement that I added to give a different feel.


'Tony's Joint' & 'If You Want Me To Play' were recorded in March of 2002 at Full Sail Recording School down in Winter Park, Florida. The personnel on those songs was myself on Bass, Tate on drums, and a guitarist by the name of Jason Mood on guitar. Tony Ozier & I co-produced the songs 'G2' and the reworking of Stevie Wonder's 'That Girl' that we did. Tony was also the one who helped me set up the sessions at full sail, and played keyboards on all 4 songs.





Resume

GR: On the Jazz/Funk tip right now we've been performing with 'The Blackbyrd Revue' a Blackbyrds/Donald Byrd tribute group that features Allan Barnes, the Blackbyrds original sax/reeds player. In the past Tate and I worked with a variety of groups and musicians from Michigan. Groups like Innervisions, Ubiquitus, and the Urbanights were all part of that period. I also played behind famed Lansing saxman Shawn 'Thunder' Wallace.

MG: info on G's rig and set up.(this is on the MP3's)

Type of Guitar: Tobias 4 String Bass modified w/ Music Man
Humbucker Pick Up

Type of Strings/Gauge: GHS Boomers medium gauge long scale

Amp/watts: Trace Elliot 400 watt head w/ 4x10 cabinets

Effects: Korg G-4 Bass Synth Processor
(nowadays I use the Zoom B1X Bass effects pedal)



Currently, I'm playing a Fender Jazz Bass (Marcus Miller Edition) & a Hohner Six String

The Gorilla Funk Mob are always busy working with the who's who in music, and so you better look for the Mob coming to your town soon with G Rock swingin' his Bass Axe to the throngs of music lovers who don't come to see the headliner, they want to see The Gorilla Funk Mob.

Mark Grove