Today, May 29, Leon Toye and his all-star funk collaborators have delivered the latest single and official video from Toyesauce, a reimagined take on the Meters’ classic “Give It What You Can.” A studio product that involved two years of work, the song attests to the ensemble’s confidence in their soul-stirring craft and groove-focused deliverable. Call it a sonic gumbo of New Orleans flavor; the single drips with contributions from The Big Easy and is a master classic in funk flair.
Tracking back the song’s history, Toye recalls, “Since first listen, I’ve loved the Meters version of this song and thought it would be a blast to recreate, particularly with an end-of-the-song instrumental jam.” Rather than bust into the studio, Toye was adamant in showing respect and, in turn, requested the use of the song by Meters’ founding member and bassist, George Porter Jr.
With Porter’s approval and a self-delineated mission to do right by the original, Toye began the next phase: Discussing his ambitions in conversation with the original songwriters Jimmy Tarbutton, who co-wrote “Give It What You Can” along with Steve Cropper and Carl Marsh. Once the copyright was obtained, Toye tracked his initial guitar part at his home studio with assistance from a friend and the Nashville bassist, Kenny Jackson.
In the year and a half that followed, Toye tapped an all-star cast of contributors for one-on-one recording sessions, including Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk, Neville Brothers), Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk, Harry Connick Jr.), Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph (Galactic, Tank and the Bangas), George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Stanton Moore (Galactic), Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band), Big Sam (Big Sam’s Funky Nation), Amber Woodhouse (Moon Taxi, Trigger Hippy), Jannelle Means, Emmanuel Echem (Joss Stone, LeAnn Rimes) and Troy Atkins.
Two-plus years of passionate commitment to the process has yielded the latest take on the Meters’ ‘77 New Directions originator from Toyesauce. In an exclusive quote, Toye told Relix, “Over nearly two years, recreating ‘Give It What You Can’ was an adventure and labor of love, featuring a collection of some of my favorite musicians. I experimented and built on lessons from previous collaborations, making an effort to be present for most of the sessions and capturing videos on my phone.”
The recordings took place in multiple New Orleans studios (Buckjump, Esplanade, Marigny, and Artisound) and in the Nashville home studios of Jeff Coffin and myself. As with previous songs on this (Toyesauce) project, the process brought many learning experiences, new friendships, and ideas for future releases. After organizing the footage, I handed it off to award-winning New Orleans videographer Lily Keber, who did a wonderful job telling the story through video,” he concluded.
Scroll down to watch the star-studded studio capture. “Give It What You Can” by Toyesauce is available for streaming on all major platforms on April 30.
For more information on Toysauce, visit www.toyesauce.com.
The post Video Premiere: Toyesauce Debut Take on Meters’ “Give It What You Can” with All-Star Cast of New Orleans Contributors appeared first on Relix Media.
