Tampa, FL funk-fusion outfit Displace is playing two Charlotte area shows this weekend as their 2018 summer tour rolls on. Displace will be playing the Vinyl Pi in Huntersville on Friday night and make their return to Heist Brewery on Saturday night.
Formed in 2012, Displace has brought high energy jams to some of the nations finest stages. What started on small stages in hometown Tampa, FL has grown to regular tours of the US, including some of the largest festivals in live music. Two studio albums later, Displace shows no signs of slowing down.
Displace is a Floridian psychedelic, funk-fusion outfit with disco and jazz influences. Known for their high energy, catchy vocals, and stirring improvisational passages, this dynamic genre-blending platform is a highly sought after rising talent in the Southeast.
We had a chance to speak with Displace founding member and multi-instrumentalist Chris Sgammato this week about musical influences, tacos, and Betty White.
ROTW: What are a few of your musical influences as a band?
CS: The Beatles, Lettuce, Herbie Hancock, Erykah Badu, Jimi Hendrix.
ROTW: How would you describe the music of Displace to someone who hasn’t seen or heard you before?
CS: Have you ever been to the Sistine Chapel with all of your enemies and discussed the current climate of the Spice Trade? That.
ROTW: For more experienced fans, how is the new album different/better than the old stuff/ or just give a quick story riff about the new album.
CS: The new material retains our familiar “jam” song forms, but within the constructs of a more refined Beatles-esque pop/rock format that provides a solid launching pad to spring into hard funk, avant-garde Jazz, and sultry soul. It’s kind of all over the place, without ever leaving the place at all.
ROTW: Any thoughts about Charlotte/what brings you back so soon? What are you looking forward to?
CS: Honestly, Heist Brewery. It’s one of our favorite venues in the southeast U.S. – great vibe, delicious food and beer, cool hangs.
ROTW: Burritos or tacos?
CS: Tacos. Smaller increments give the option for variation in both filling and shell. They’re a modular, decentralized cuisine.
ROTW: Favorite dinosaur.
CS: Betty White.
Displace – Undertow (2016)