Mind Funk

Influences

• Jane's Addiction — Pat Dubar explicitly cited Perry Farrell’s vocal delivery as the primary catalyst for his shift from the bark of Uniform Choice to the melodic sprawl of Mind Funk. You hear the ghost of Dave Navarro in the early psychedelic guitar textures of the debut record. It’s the blueprint for how they tried to marry art-rock weirdness with heavy riffs.
• Celtic Frost — Drummer Reed St. Mark came straight from the 'Into the Pandemonium' era of Frost, bringing a cold, avant-garde rhythmic sensibility to a band that could have just been another funk-metal act. His double-kick work and unorthodox fills on the self-titled record are pure Tom G. Warrior disciple shit. He kept them from sounding like a generic Chili Peppers clone.
• Black Sabbath — The band famously covered 'Cornucopia' during their live sets and soundchecks to find their internal pocket. On 'Dropped', the swing of Iommi’s riffs replaces the funk-metal popping of the first album. It’s the foundational DNA for the doomier, slower tempos they adopted once the major label money ran dry.
• Bad Brains — Before the band even formed, Dubar and Monte were disciples of the 'I Against I' era where hardcore met heavy metal and dub. You can hear that high-speed precision buried in the bridge of 'Sugar Ain't So Sweet'. They took the Brains' lesson that you could be the tightest players in the room without losing the punk vitriol.
• The Stooges — The raw, unhinged energy of Iggy Pop was a documented touchstone for Dubar’s stage presence and the band's later, more caustic recordings. By 'People Who Fell From the Sky', the production is thinner and nastier, chasing the 'Fun House' vibe of a band falling apart in real-time. It's the sound of a group abandoning the studio polish for pure, ugly friction.