3 Fingers and a Smile

WAR is one of my favorite bands. I call them a soul band, but their vibes combine funk, Latin, jazz, blues, rock, and other elements. They sound what East LA in the 70's would've sounded like. WAR is Chicano music with a lot of extra flavors to make feel-good jams. They have a very laid back style, especially compared to a group like TOWER OF POWER (who I also love) out of Oakland with it's in-your-face horn section. If I had a car and/or could drive I'd probably say WAR is great cruising music.



The trouble with WAR is, they have two songs that have been through the Hollywood and Madison Ave. juicer so many times that everybody recognizes them; Low Rider and Why Can't We Be Friends. Both are great songs and the differences between them highlight the dynamism of the group, so if there had to be two popularized WAR songs, these aren't bad chocies, but some people think freaking George Lopez wrote and recorded Low Rider. He didn't, by the way, it was WAR.

I don't usually make a thing out of race, but the diversity of this band is worth noting. The 1970's didn't see that many multi-ethnic bands, but WAR was one of them. This band had black guys, Hispanic guys, and one white guy from Denmark, Lee Oskar, who was wild on the harmonica and had a fro like Bob Ross.

Front with that fro. Front.

I never understood WAR's name though. They're one of the happiest bands I know (Why Can't We Be Friends for Christs sake!). Every time I mention them by name people assume I must be talking about some Scandinavian death metal band. The origin isn't explained in any of the album notes I own anyway.

But yeah, check these guys out if you wanna put some Zoot Suit sauce on your funk flakes as a part of this nutritious musical breakfast. You know I do!