Don't miss T Bird and The Breaks

Catch T Bird and the Breaks opening up for Galactic on Wednesday night at Music Farm.

"We're going to melt your face off with our funk jam," said T Bird, aka Tim Crane. "You'll dance, you'll smile, you'll meet some cool people. It might make you feel creative; it might make you feel like jumping on the table.

"I like to think we bring the pain. We get amped up," he continued. I'm not the kind of guy who shows up to a gig without his homework done. We bring it."

The 10-piece funk band out of Austin, Texas, includes guitars, heavy bass and percussion, horns and multilayered vocals backing up Crane.

"It's funky soul with influences from hip-hop to blues, Beck to Dylan," Crane said. "It's pretty raw."

While they incorporate covers into the live performance, T Bird and the Breaks play mostly original material, the bulk of which is written by Crane. He draws inspiration from everyday experiences.

"It could be anything. It could be heartbreak, a rough night, spending a night in jail. It could be a ham sandwich. Sometimes, you just want to throw some words together," he said.

It's the singing, not the writing, though, that really steals his heart, he said.

"I love to sing, first of all. It makes me feel good," Crane said. "It's a great release of energy. Some people play sports; I sing. You're out there to win it and you're doing your best."

He said one of the things T Bird and the Breaks does best is perform.

"I get to play music with my best friends. I'm having a good time," Crane said. "It's infectious. We're all having a good time on stage and when we look out into the crowd, we hope people are digging it and having a good time too."

The band is following up their debut album, "Learn About It," released in January 2009, with a singles campaign.

Starting last November and going through April, they have been releasing a two song singles every month. The singles are self-produced and are available on seven-inch vinyl 45's as well as digitally.

Next week, they'll have them available live.

"If you like to dance, if you like to sweat, if you like to party, if you like to throw down, meet people, get together and have a great time. Young or old, we don't discriminate," said Crane. "I don't mean to sound like a hippie, but I just want people to have a positive, good time. If they're smiling and sweating a little bit, then I'm happy."

If you go

Who: T Bird and the Breaks and Galactic.

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: The Music Farm, 32 Ann St., downtown Charleston.

Cost: $20 in advance at www.etix.com, all Cat's Music and Monster Music locations. $25 the day of the show.

Hear the Music: www.tbirdandthebreaks.com.

Info: 577-6989, www.musicfarm.com.