Weapon of Choice in Venice

Some acts are the best-kept-secret-types, where the people in the know go and love it while others have never heard of them. Weapon of Choice is one of those acts. Like other spectacle shows/acts like Powder and Mini-KISS, Weapon of Choice is something else live. They play at the Air Conditioned Supper Club in Venice Thursday night at 9pm and if you're in the area, check it out.

Los Angeles native Lonnie Marshall (who has labeled himself the 'Meganut') is the leader of the band, playing funk bass on an odd-looking Steinberger instrument and singing lead. The music is a frenetic blend of ska, funk, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, alternative and rock that Marshall has labeled "nutmeg music" and the live shows explode with energy with multiple people on stage at once, including dancers.

Lonnie and his brother Arik - who played guitar with The Red Hot Chili Peppers briefly in the early 1990's and now does with Macy Gray - were exposed to funk early and both are heavily influenced by Parliament/Funkadelic. Lonnie then created his own style, labeled it and started a band called 'Marshall Law,' and later formed Weapon of Choice in 1992.
LA funk band Fishbone later incorporated some of the sound and attitude and also got attached to the nutmeg label and now both Weapon of Choice and Fishbone sound like they've siblings from the same family. In fact, former members of Fishbone sometimes play in Weapon of Choice including drummer Phillip 'Fish' Fisher, who will play tomorrow night.

Thursday's show in Venice promises to be a crazy event, with several other bands playing including Spliff Tannen and Spankie Valentine.

You can hear Weapon of Choice's music and see some photos on their myspace page and on their band site here

You'd anticipate a wild show, when the people onstage look like this.