Miles Tackett, or Music Man Miles as he’s colloquially called, is the lead man of Breakestra, the ten-piece funk orchestra from Los Angeles. He also heads the Funky Sole and The Root Down club events, where he spins classic funk, soul and jazz records to packed audiences. In the nineties, he formed a band called The Inclined with a couple of high school friends. The band got its start through Battle of the Band competitions and party gigs in the Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica area. Their progressive rock and melodic pop foundations bode well for the then-burgeoning grunge scene. Three to four years after high school, The Inclined was signed and opening shows for Blind Lemon (of “No Rain” fame). Local contemporaries during that time included Ozomatli, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weapon of Choice, who further expanded L.A.’s musical reputation.

Miles’ current band Breakestra is an amorphous lineup of soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop musicians modeled after Sun Ra’s Arkestra and the breakbeats of 1970s South Bronx DJs. This is no doubt inspired by his musical upbringing. His father is Fred Tackett, one-time instrumentalist for seminal L.A. band Little Feat. As a kid, Miles was an avid listener of KDAY radio, where he picked up on rap groups like the Jungle Brothers.

Breakestra’s latest record Dusk Till Dawn (2009) is a reverent exploration of latter-era funk and soul intermixed with nineties-era hip-hop lyricism. Accompanied by vocalist and “hype man” Mixmaster Wolf, Miles and his orchestra revive the sounds and personalities of a more soulful and stirring American musical tradition (e.g. James Brown and Jimmy Smith). In this interview, Miles talks about the state of funk  and hip-hop music today, along with the business and creative process of his music.

EM: What did you and the other guys of The Inclined listen to growing up in Los Angeles?

When we first started out, everything from classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to progressive rock like King Crimson. Also, progressive pop like The Police and some of the post-punk sounds coming out of Europe.

EM: Did you listen to much “yacht rock”?

I had grown up listening to only certain elements of yacht rock, like Doobie Brothers. And, of course, Steely Dan, through my father. There was no serious yacht rock in effect at that time.

EM: Describe the music scene in Los Angeles during the nineties. There were a lot of amazing musicians coming out during that time. Was there anything going on with funk music in particular?

There was a definite lack of anything going on with funk. The only group that was bringing it out were the Chili Peppers in L.A. They’re the ones who brought that back into the city. There were a fusion of other styles at that time, but there was a definite void for funk music. Right around that time, when Inclined had just started, L.A. had really come into its own sound. That’s when a lot of things started coming together—Jurassic 5 and Cut Chemist were developing their style, and we all started meeting at underground events. I had my band going, which was not strictly funk or hip-hop. It was rock and progressive pop as well. L.A. was very progressive-minded, musically.

EM: A Tribe Called Quest sampled one of your father’s songs, “Fool Yourself,” in “Bonita Applebaum.” I read somewhere that you were the one who originally sampled that track. Tell me about that.

I did it at home. Before they put that record out, I had looped it up and made a beat of it. I wasn’t that big of a record collector when I first started making beats, but one thing that I did have access to was my dad’s records. I raided his collection and went through all of them to find that song.

EM: Growing up in a musical family, what advantages or disadvantages did you have in approach to your own music career?

The disadvantage was that I became aware at a younger age of the necessity of doing business, which I don’t want to do, but I force myself to deal with it. If there isn’t somebody else doing it, it forces me to put my brain into a different mode. It’s a challenge to find somebody I can trust to handle that side of music, connecting commerce with the art.

EM: How has the business of music changed for you over the years?

Well, the medium for how music gets out there has changed completely. With so much of it being online, there’s definitely less development going into music. I’ve never relied too much on that kind of thing, waiting for somebody to do something for me. I always make my own demos, make stuff to sell, like cassettes. Nowadays, mid-level to major labels are looking for groups that have everything established, including a fanbase. Then they want part of the group’s touring and merchandising. They’re called “360 degrees deals” now. They want you to do everything and want a piece of everything you’ve built in exchange for distributing your record and maybe a pittance of cash.

EM: Hip-hop musicians these days are moving away from samples and toward more electronic sounds. A lot of this has to do with copyright issues. What do you think of this change?

It’s a long, painful process. You have to make decisions like instead of using a sample you have people replay parts. To not have to pay for a sample, you make it a publishing thing where you don’t have to get permission but you have to give them a cut [of the profits]. You do have to come in agreement, but you don’t have to pay as much money.

It started like that years ago. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was actually the first sign of the times. That was a record that had tons of interpolations. He just had somebody replay a bass line and guitar or even recreate a whole rhythm section sample. And that’s why people moved away from that. It was just coming out of their pockets. The bummer is that even people who are doing original stuff rely on their keyboards and drum machines. Sometimes, there can be interesting things, but very often I’m bored to death—keyboarded to death—with a lot of the beats. They could very easily connect with musicians and producers who know how to record new stuff and collaborate. They’re not necessarily writing musical pieces together or considering the way that a bass, drum, guitar and keyboard can interact and make something, like the syncopation and harmonics that go into it. You can make some cool sounds on a keyboard that will get your ear for a day or two, but for me, it doesn’t stand up.

EM: How did you acquire an ear for putting together old breaks and samples?

I probably learned by hearing music my dad played around the house, hearing stuff like Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. Later on, I started dissecting songs, trying to figure out how to recreate parts from old funk, soul and jazz grooves. To really get it right, you have to get in and pick out what’s there. None of this stuff is done by reading.

EM: I read that setlists for Breakestra shows are exceptionally long. How do you go about composing those?

It’s usually the case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach. I find myself having to reduce the different sections down to shorter pieces to get it all in. It’s a long, torturous process, just trying to decide what I want to do and making it work musically, but it’s fruitful after I see it come together. I think about transitions and what’s going to make sense. Rhythm, melody, tempo, what point to peak, all these things. Also the energy and dynamics, how they’re all going to fit into the set.

EM: Would you say that there’s been a resurgence of interest in funk music lately?

There hasn’t been much of a revival of real funk music as of late. There’s been a revival of Motown soul and pop, which are different from funk. The biggest example I suppose would be Amy Winehouse, who had some funk on her record, but her hits were all pop music.

EM: You’ve done production work for Shaquille O’Neal in the past. What was that like?

That was definitely for something to pay the bills, no question. Shaq was pretty funny. He had a four-feet-tall assistant named Uzi who he wanted to have rap on his record and was also the wackest rapper. Of course, because Shaq said so, we had to record him and work him into it.

EM: Funky Sole has moved across several venues over the years. How do you go about selecting the right place for events?

It’s hard to find the right home. For events like that, even the right home after a while needs to get reinvented. The Echo is not quite as intimate, but overall it’s good if not better. It’s a better area in Los Angeles for what we’re doing, and it’s got the best sound system of any place we’ve been. You have to sacrifice having us right in the midst of people and not being up on a stage.

EM: You’re a big fan of mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell. Do any of his ideas make their way into your work?

I don’t know. I’d like to think that it would translate at some level, as far as expressing some of the things that he gives a hint of unlocking within yourself. Maybe someways it does, some of the emotions and feelings I express musically and lyrically. Campbell reminds you of certain things. He points the way; he doesn’t tell you what to do. That’s the difference between spirituality and religion.

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Miles and the rest of Breakestra are currently on a tour of Europe. Their latest record Dusk Till Dawn is available now on Strut Records.

For more info on the artist, visit:

http://www.breakestra.com/

http://www.myspace.com/breakestra

http://www.myspace.com/milestackett