PORT ANGELES — In its effort to raise money for scholarships and activities, the Peninsula College Foundation has chosen something less expensive — and more danceable — than before.
The New Orleans-style R&B band Bump Kitchen will arrive for a “hot August night,” aka a concert on the campus green, this Friday evening.
The sextet will play at 6 p.m. after the college’s central amphitheater opens at 5 p.m. Admission will be $10 to benefit the Peninsula College Foundation.
This is a long way from the high-priced American Conversations programs the college has hosted for some 15 years.
Up through 2012, the foundation brought in speakers such as Rory Kennedy, Ellis Marsalis and Jean-Michel Cousteau to give lectures; tickets rose to $95.
This spring, Peninsula College Foundation Executive Director Mary Hunchberger announced that instead of big-name lecturers, she would try hosting less-costly events.
A concert on the green might be one, she said.
Funk and soul
And here it comes: Bump Kitchen, led by New York City’s Harlem-born “head chef” and drummer Everett James, will dish up original funk and soul plus select covers to be given the Bump Kitchen treatment.
These covers come from the likes of James Brown, Dr. John and the Neville Brothers, James promised.
But what’s up with that band name?
James explains:
“You know how when you’re in the kitchen, you’re cooking and you’re having a good time with your favorite family member? What happens? You start bumping your bodies together,” he said.
Bump Kitchen originals, developed over nine years and three CDs, have titles such as “Who Ordered the Waffle?,” “I’ll Decide” and “Don’t Doubt.”
With James on drums and vocals, Tony Harper on vocals and percussion, Mark Bittler on keyboards and vocals, David Broyles on guitar and vocals, Aaron Dressler on saxophones and flute, and Marc Miller on bass and vocals, the songs are about good food, good love and good dancing, especially by the women who get out on the floor first.
Bring soul
“If you want your soul to feel good,” James said, “bring it.”
If it rains Friday evening, people will need to bring it inside to the college’s Pirate Union Building, aka the PUB.
Otherwise the band will set up on the east side of Keegan Hall, facing the grass area at the center of the campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Guests also may purchase hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie wraps, Camaraderie Cellars wine, soft drinks and Barhop beer on site for an additional cost.
All proceeds will benefit Peninsula College Foundation scholarships, professional development for faculty and staff, and programs such as the Maier Hall concert series.
For information about the show and the foundation, visit www.PenCol.edu or phone 360-417-6264.
_________
Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
