The Witzard

Steve Haney is a drummer and percussionist widely known for his expansive body of work with Latin & Funk/Soul ensemble Jungle Fire. Haney's recording and performance highlights include Stevie Wonder, performing for President Obama at The White House with Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire composer,) The Oprah Winfrey Show, Greyboy Allstars, The M-Tet, Joe Bataan, Quantic, Ozomatli, Kelly Finnigan, and GRAMMY-winning vocalist Gregory Porter. However, in addition to his musical endeavors, Haney moonlights as visual artist VISIONS COLLAGE (@visionscollage) tranforming mixed media into paper-cut collages. We've, personally, been Following Steve Haney's various VISIONS COLLAGE & Jungle Fire social media pages for quite a few years now. Haney's collages are typically hand-cut, extremely vibrant, often primarily feature musicians, and are, sometimes, shared with various alternate renditions. While boasting a multitude of musicians and bands from across ...

CREDIT: Ivan Scruby/NOBL (@noblphotos) Total Nonstop Action by The M-Tet "Growth is a slippery slope for musicians. Once you've become established for a sound and style, the expectation to adhere to what put you where you are looms overhead at every writing session, rehearsal, and show. Purists for Meters-style Funk would, probably, scoff at a band suddenly rolling out Yamaha DX-7's and double-neck guitars, no matter how stank the groove. But, then, there's the musician's inner itch for exploration, experimentation, and expansion that keeps the process that much more exciting at a time where most of us won't reach higher tax brackets through music. The incentive to keep going is growth. But, perhaps, the most difficult feat is straddling the line—to grow and build upon a trademark sound while managing to not alienate a core audience. Bay Area Funk quartet, The M-Tet, manage to pull off the ever elusive Option C on their sophomore long-player, TOTAL NONSTOP A...