The American Band

03/05/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker

There is no question about it, Grand Funk Railroad is "the American band." But what a lot of their fans may not know is that there latest tour is benefiting the unfortunate orphans and refugees in Bosnia. The story begins with their reunion tour last spring in when they played fourteen shows across the country. "We did it just to see where we are with our fans and see our ability to play together." So, when asked about their current tour, revolutionary guitarist and lead singer Mark Farner said, "why not?" After the American leg of their tour ends tonight in Los Angeles, they are headed into the studio and then straight to Japan.

There is, however, more to their current tour than that. Now the band is involved with a promotion to aid the war orphans in Bosnia. Grand Funk is even going to Sarajevo to put on a rock concert to bring awareness to the Bosnian situation that still exists. "It isn't reported every five minutes on CNN, but that doesn't mean that there is still a massive problem. When they presented it to us, they said do you want to do this with the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra. We said that we have wanted to do this all of our lives with an orchestra." So, after they kicked off a massive tour with the Sarajevo Symphony in Detroit, the rest is rock 'n roll history in the making. "It's grown into something bigger than we anticipated. There is a lot of press that is very interested in Grand Funk—not only what we are doing on Bosnia, but what we are doing, period. You know, 48 year-old guys rockin' rollin'. The American band is back."

Before the initial reunion last spring, there was a lot of talk and rumors about the band's future. "There was a lot of talk, there was a lot of internet chat and after we did the tour last spring, there was more and more people added to this buzz. It's great, I love it." said Mark. Check it out for yourself—there is stuff all over the internet about Grand Funk Railroad, and when asked what they thought about web sites in places like Japan, Sweden and Australia, they were quite honored. Mark Farner and Don Brewer agreed, "It's an honor to have people on a world-wide basis interested in what we are doing. It is a tribute to this band's contribution to American music. More importantly, as ambassadors using music as our vehicle to the world."

And what about the true Grand Funk fans? Although they still roll in the fans from their "heyday," they not only roll in their kids, but also the teenagers who have heard their music on alternative radio. According to Farner, "there is a lot of alternative radio that plays some of the seventies stuff…we are among some of the select few that get played on alternative radio." As their listener base grows in the nineties there is a lot of intrigue around Grand Funk. "We've been called the 'grandfather's of heavy metal', and we are definitely contributors to the music scene that is now existing." The boys believe that they have also added a little bit of class to modern music. Ingredients like the orchestra, the cause, and the fact that they are doing something for people and not getting paid for it. Now, that is the true American spirit. "We're doing this for these people, but there has also been such an embracing from the folks. People are genuinely happy about us being back on the road." Drummer Don Brewer explained the rush of being back in the spotlight by saying "it's great to see people out there singing the songs, reliving their childhood or their experience from Grand Funk the first time, and even the college kids especially are very intrigued by it all."

One question that Grand Funk Railroad is often asked deals with their off-beat album covers. One cover in particular, Born to Die, which featured the band in caskets, has stirred up controversy and speculation over the years. Apparently, Mark had written the song "Born to Die" right after his cousin was killed in a motorcycle accident. After the album was recorded, their manager Andy said, 'what a concept. We're all born to die.' So, he suggested shooting the album cover in caskets. Don and Mark also claim that it was the death of an era for them because it was the end of their contact with Capitol records, before they signed with MCA. "It the whole era was ending," Don added.

Grand Funk Railroad had been given opportunities to work with some of the best producers in the biz, including Todd Rungren, but one big rush for them was working with Frank Zappa. "He was a musical genius, and we had always admired his work before we even knew him. When the concept of producers came up, we said Frank Zappa." As it turns out Zappa wasn't as off the wall as they originally thought. Don relived their initial introduction at The Swamp, their studio in Michigan. "Zappa wasn't weird at all. He drank a lot of coffee. We looked at him like he was going to be a music purist, and think that Grand Funk was a piece of trash. But, it turns out that he was really into Grand Funk."

"The American band" really has seen and done it all since there dramatic launch to the top after the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1969. They have seen all the ups and downs of the music industry. It is good seeing them as American ambassadors sharing their music with the world.

Fearsome Foursome

Favorite Movie, Television Show, or Book

Mark Farner: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Don Brewer: Seinfeld

Favorite Food

Mark Farner: Soul Food
Don Brewer: Anything Italian

Worst Vice

Mark Farner: Caffeine
Don Brewer: Caffeine

Secret Ambition

Mark Farner: Actor
Don Brewer: To jump out of an airplane.