The Phunk Nastys to perform at the Bluebird

The Phunk Nasty’s will perform at the Bluebird Nightclub tonight.

The show begins 10 p.m., and tickets are $5. Audience members must be at least 21 years old to attend.

Marshall Robbins and the Phunk Nasty’s formed about three years ago, and have performed at the Bluebird for the past two years.

Dave Kubiak, owner of the Bluebird, said part of what the nightclub looks for on Wednesday nights is an energetic local band.

“They always have a good college audience,” Kubiak said, “We are looking forward to having them.”

The band is mostly made up of students from Jacobs School of Music.

The vocalists for the band are part of a touring a capella group called “Gentleman’s Rule,” which is an offshoot of the group “Straight No Chaser.”

Marshall Robbins, founder of the Phunk Nasty’s and senior at IU, said the band formed because of his love for jam-band music.

It was during his sophomore year he met the keyboardist, Shawn McGowan. Robbins and McGowan are the only two original members of the band, which started as a funk jam band.

Robbins selected the band’s name from the nickname Robbins had given the original bass player. He called him “Phunk Nasty” for his funky style.  

“We kind of have two bands,” Robbins said, “but we go under the same name. So, the original band was a jam and funk band. We still do that, but tomorrow we are doing the pop set.”

For the pop set the band features two additional vocalists, Will Lockhart and Jesse Townes.

“We also have a third vocalist, Emily Schultheis,” Robbins said.  “She is amazing. She actually won’t be with us tomorrow, because she is auditioning for a musical on Broadway in New York right now.”

Robbins said he met Schultheis through the theater program at IU. He met Lockhart and Townes through mutual friends when the vocalists were in need of a band to back them up.

“We went from just being a jam-band to adding in the pop sets where we do covers and sing-along songs,” Robbins said, “but we still flip in the jam-band set.”

Robbins said the jam-band set plays original music for half the set and cover music for the other half.

The pop-set focuses more on cover music, but still incorporates original pieces.

“When we do our pop sets we generally play for three straight hours,” Robbins said, “We let everyone get a featured moment.”

Among the covers favored by the band’s audience are the songs, “Play That Funky Music,” originally recorded by the band Wild Cherry, “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Stacy’s Mom.”

From the cover band perspective, Robbins said Bloomington has a good audience for his group, and the Bluebird has provided his band with a venue affordable for their audience.

The Phunk Nasty’s have also played at the Mousetrap in Indianapolis.

A future ambition Robbins has for the band is recording original music for an album.

He is not sure where the band will be in the next year and a half, since it is primarily made up of students with various interests, but Robbins hopes to keep the band together somehow.

“I’m sure for the rest of my life I’ll be playing these original tunes and the covers we have enjoyed playing,” Robbins said.