Lettuce - Outta Here (2002)

With their new Velour Recordings release, Outta Here, Lettuce comes raw: no fluff, nothing smooth, just hard funk. The record combines the grit of the Meters, the harmonic textures of Herbie Hancock, and the hyper-tempo funk of live James Brown.

Back in ‘92, the guys met at the Berklee summer program and were drawn together by their love of classic funk. Only 15 years old, they began taking over clubs and jam sessions in Boston, storming the stage whenever they could. Underage and with no gear, everywhere they went it was, "Let us borrow your drum kit" and simply "Let us play." And Lettuce (Let us) was born. Since that summer, the guys have all had success -- Eric & Sam play with Soulive, Adam drums for AWB and the John Scofield Band, Erick produces for Sunshine Anderson, Ryan was a founding member of Rustic Overtones -- but they’ve all waited for this long-overdue reunion.

On the new record, Lettuce is joined by some of their heroes. Guitar great John Scofield rips on Flu the Coop and Back in Effect, to which Neal Evans of Soulive lends his B-3 chops. Trombone legend Fred Wesley lends some funk to the James Brown-inspired Superfred and the title track Outta Here.

Despite the record’s title, Lettuce is anything but outta here. The band is focused on their upcoming tour of the U.S. and Japan. It’s been ten years in the making, but Lettuce’s bid to re-land the funk mothership on planet Earth has begun.