Let Us Play - Lettuce

What if the name of one of the greatest funk bands alive came from a bunch of teenagers crashing other people's gigs and begging to play? That's exactly how Lettuce was born — and thirty years later, they're still showing up and earning it every single night.

In this episode, Schecky tells the full story: how a group of sixteen-year-olds bonded over James Brown and Tower of Power in the dorm rooms of Berklee College of Music, became regulars at Boston's legendary Wally's Cafe, and eventually landed a residency at New York's Wetlands Preserve — where funk legend Fred Wesley walked in one Wednesday night and changed everything. We break down why Phyllis is the one song every new listener needs, go deep on the historic January 2001 Wetlands jam that put Lettuce on the map, and reveal how that same residency accidentally handed jazz guitar icon John Scofield his next drummer.

Subscribe, drop a comment with the first Lettuce show you ever caught — or the one you're about to book — and share this episode with someone who still thinks funk is a thing of the past. Also, please email me at scheckysjambands@gmail.com to suggest a Jam Band or two that you want me to review in a future podcast.