Even if you've never heard of the Meters, there's a good chance you've heard the Meters. The New Orleans funk pioneers disbanded in 1979 after more than a decade of soulful, booty-shaking merrymaking, but their sound has endured.
The foursome of frontman Art "Poppa Funk" Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentilli, drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste and bassist George Porter are the kind of rare act other musicians simply can't get enough of. Back in the day, their prowess was so respected that they were tapped as the backing band for both Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer.
They're adored by today's jam bands (Porter has recently played with Government Mule), and have repeatedly been sampled by hip-hop pioneers from Public Enemy to Queen Latifah. There aren't exactly many acts with this cross-genre appeal.
"I've always thought that musically the Meters were musicians' musicians," Porter says. "The only people who really listened to our stuff, who really heard it, were musicians."
That's probably not quite true, given that this band did crack the top-40, open for the Rolling Stones and consistently chart respectably on the R&B charts. But when you spend most of your life around music royalty, you know where you rate.
"I look on my wall; I'm looking at three platinum records and a couple of gold records and they all have somebody else's name on it," Porter tells me from his home in Darrow, LA, referring to recordings he played on by artists including Patti Labelle, Harry Connick Jr. and Tori Amos. "I'd like to look on the wall and see one of my own, or one of the Meters."
But Porter has no bitterness in his voice when he says this.
"I'm not holding grudges because of the success that has evaded us," he continues. "In our own way, we've been very successful. The fact is, most of us have been able to earn a living as musicians with a band that hasn't performed in years and years. The royalty checks still come in the mail. There are bands that come and go that don't last. This band's been around for almost 40 years. Luckily, we're still alive and when we play together we sound damn good."
You'll have a rare chance to see for yourself when the band plays the Vegoose Festival. They've reunited to recapture the magic they had before they broke up 25 years ago, and they showed they can still bring the funk earlier this year with a triumphant show at April's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The Meters haven't always seen eye to eye in the past, including a period when Neville and Porter played in a spin-off band called the Funky Meters, but Porter downplays any talk of business disputes and personal turmoil.
"The misconception is we all hate each other and that when we see each other, we start shooting and shit," he says. "We don't have bullet holes. I don't think any of us even carry a gun."
Porter comes off as a guy who's seen a lot in his four decades in music, a guy who's just happy he's still got songs to play. He's living in Darrow, 52 miles west of New Orleans, for the foreseeable future after his two New Orleans homes were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. I ask him if it's more crucial for the band to keep the New Orleans sound going, in light of the recent disaster. Porter replies by saying that the legacy of that sound is in no danger.
"Katrina just displaced some human beings," Porter replies. "The music cannot be displaced because it is a part of all these human beings."
Porter's been around long enough to know that special sonic moments don't just get washed away, and he's ready to create some more memories. He's confident his band won't disappoint in Vegas.
"Sometimes you get these bands together; they rehearse for a year after reuniting. Then they go out and hit and miss," he says. "That's not us. At Jazzfest, we played our absolute butts off."
So maybe you should get ready to shake yours.