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Collective Hallucination is featured on Outbound Radio |
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 Whatever the feeling about Ant Boogie or his band Collective Hallucination may be to many, which since 1999, has gone through more changes than Joan Rivers has had plastic surgery, the fact remains they are one of the most dynamic, impressive original live bands in Houston. The band seamlessly mixes soul, funk, jazz and rock into a sound that would make most music fans proud knowing the band is from HTX! The best compliment the band receives in most cases is the fact that they don't sound like "other" bands or major recording artist. Ant Boogie has been honing the sound of CHfAB lately by foraying deep into a jazz/soul/funk mix which has been inspired by his favorite band Incognito and its leader Bluey. Ant says he wants to be respected as a writer, musician, producer and band leader like his idol Bluey. “I love Bluey and Incognito!, he says all the time, “I listen to them continuously. Every time I listen to Incognito I hear something different, something fresh, something better. Ant also credits Prince, Quincy Jones and Carl McIntosh and huge influences. For those who aren’t in the loop, Carl McIntosh is the brain behind the 80’s/90’s british outfit Loose Ends. Collective Hallucination featuring Ant Boogie’s sound is infectious and catchy as they perform mostly original tunes penned by Ant Boogie and obscure covers by artist as varied as Miki Howard, Kenny Lattimore, Zap Mama and Duran Duran! Through the years Collective Hallucination has not been known to have a recognized line-up of members; CH is essentially one man's dream, namely Anthony “Ant Boogie” Frazier. Since the inception of Collective Hallucination in 1999, many musicians have been involved in creating the sound of CH. Rather than focusing on individuals; equal credit is given for their contributions. This approach, to quote Ant himself, "promotes and encourages the talents of the musicians and in turn teaches all of us humility and a sense of sharing that is not usually present in most other bands". While the rhythm is held down by some of the best Houston has to offer, Ant Boogie handles most of the guitar chores with vocals supplied by an incredible array of female and male vocalists with raps and poetry held down by various, very talented individuals. Ant Boogie has created a mood so to speak with CHfAB’s soulful vibe that echoes back to the days when artist relied more on talent and ability to play than pre-recorded tracks, samples and programmed beats that dominate the marketplace today. The band has finally released their much anticipated 4th cd to much critical acclaim. The cd “The Eternal Quest For Authenticity” is a concept cd from start to finish. It sports two titles! The subtitle is “The Search For Something Real”. Just take a peek at the back cover! Ant says his approach to the songs on the new cd was simple. “I got tired of some of the world’s greatest artist re-recording songs of yesterday and packaging them up as new recordings honoring those artist and songs who have come and gone. I didn’t want to hear another tribute album by anyone. It seemed like everyone was doing them. This person sings the Big hits of the 60’s and 70’s while this artist sings the Gershwin song book and everyone and their mother’s seemingly has recorded a Beatles tribute album. I didn’t want to go there. I was afraid if I did I wouldn’t make it back!” Ant wanted to get back to basics and pay homage to his heroes at the same time. So how did he do it? Ant says each song on the new cd “borrows” a line or a title from someone else’s tune. For instance there’s a song titled “Every Time I Close My Eyes” which is the same title as the Babyface tune. The catch is it’s not a remake and it’s a much funkier take on that particular title. Ant says you’d have to listen close and really know your music to catch the many artist he pays homage to on this release. He says there are over 100 artist and songs he pays homage to on this release. He say’s he gives nods to everyone from Alexander O’neal to ZZ Hill and many rock, soul, jazz and funk artist in between. The new cd is a smorgasbord of great musical taste and eclectic style. It has funk, it has soul. It has slow jams and it rolls. Every song on the cd was written by Ant Boogie or his alter ego Anthony Frazier with the exception of “You Remind Me Of Music” which was written by Ant’s good friend Angela Bonton. It’s a poetry piece that pays homage to Ant’s old music store High Volume. The cd was produced entirely by Ant and features a who’s who of great Houston artist including jazz giants Joe Carmouche and Kyle Turner. It also features Cher Anderson, (sister in law of the great Carleen Anderson), Houston songbird Caretta Bell, Kmonte’, gospel great Loretta Williams Gurnell, Jamila Hodge, Stacy Butler, Anthony also hand picked a lot of young, upcoming talent for the cd including kids from the Houston based Summer Jazz Workshop led by Mr. Al Campbell. Ant says he’s proud of the cd and he knows once people hear it they’ll want to listen to it over and over and over! |
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