With Grammy-nominated producer John Custer at the helm of the project, You Make Me Feel, by Bull City Syndicate, is the most ambitious recording by a Raleigh/Durham-based band in a generation.

Over the course of 13 years, formerly known as Soul Kitchen & The Bull City Horns, Bull City Syndicate (BCS) has successfully scaled the local scene of dance-cover bands, ascending during those years from a top-drawing club act to one of the most in-demand private and corporate party bands in the Mid-Atlantic region. Then, someone had an idea . . . and a good one at that. Specifically, to hand over to a world-class producer the yet unrealized potential of nine individually unheralded talents, and have them recreate tunes from some of North Carolina’s rich history of funk, soul and pop songwriters.

Featuring songs exclusively written by composers with a significant connection to North Carolina, either by birth or current residency, BCS entered John Custer’s Jag Two Studios in October of 2006, and didn’t exit until the following April.  The product of those six-plus months is a genuinely compelling funk/horn-band experience, referencing and paying homage to the broad spectrum of funk, soul and R&B’s most enduring musical traditions.

Retro, while not blatantly so, the record often reminds us of what the current R&B hit-factories most often fail to deliver, namely, great melodies, real vocalists, and an in-your-face horn section. While it’s easy to point out the influences, (both subtle and overt), of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Sly, James Brown, The Temptations, and the like, the originality of Custer’s horn arrangements help sidestep any presupposed comparisons to the most famous of horn bands Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, or Chicago.

Bull City Syndicate will celebrate the release of You Make Me Feel with two CD Release Parties at Oliver Twist Tapas Restaurant & Lounge, on August 10th and 11th.  A $10 cover charge will also include a copy of the CD for each patron.  Shows each night will go from 9:30pm to 1:30 am.

Oliver Twist
8111-137 Creedmoor Rd.
Raleigh, NC  27613
(919) 844-4426
http://www.theolivertwistlounge.com

Bull City Syndicate
c/o  SMB Management, Inc.
302 Bridgepath Drive
Cary, NC  27513 (919) 981-0303
http://bullcitysyndicate.com
http://myspace.com/bullcitysyndicate