"The Truth" Back in the 90's When Jara started Slapbak, everyone thought the name meant the slappin' of Jara's thumb up against his bass strings. Some even thought that it meant slappin' back against society because he never drank, smoked or tried drugs in his life. Well years later we discovered that Slapbak means none of the above, a matter of fact Slapbak isn't even a noun. It's a verb.... its an untouched force of action. This band hates hype, just like their song says "Dont Talk About It, Be About It" which means they are all about the delivery. This is the reason Slapbak hates bios or introductions before they hit the stage. The show and the music speaks for it's self. They have a undeniable sound that Jara has fine tuned over the years the he calls "Urban Crunch." This is a sound made up of Funk, Rock, Hip Hop & Alternative that is mixed up in his own special way. Here's some of the things I know for a fact. In the early 90's got signed to Warner Brothers and released their debut album "Fast Food Funkateers". This record included George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley (James Brown), Larry Blackmon (Cameo), Dawn Silva (Brides of Funkenstein). Needless to say this instantly gave Slapbak the title "The New Keeper of the Funk" by 92.3 The Beat. Their single "True Confession" had video rotation on BET and did well with radio. Since then Slapbak has produced 7 more cds. They have toured and performed with artists like Snoop Dogg, Mint Condition, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy Collins, Roger Troutman and Zapp, The Time, 2 Live Crew, Fishbone and Digital Underground just to name a few. Then Shock G looked up Slapbak after seeing them 8 years prior and asked Jara for Slapbak to be Digital's band as well as opening the show. Slapbak toured and record with them for a year. Shortly after that Slapbak started working with Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire. This has always been a stand alone band. They've toured in Europe 3 times and they're about to go back to support the release of their latest cd "Underground Mayhem." Slapbak's music has mutated quite a bit over the years and like the music has, so has the band. Some musicians that came through the Slapbak camp have gone off to play with The Time, Nikka Costa, Erukah Badu, The Gap Band, Good Charolette, Ben Harper, 112, Jordin Sparks to name a few, but the new band is the most interesting combination yet. You have African-American, Caucasion, Mexican and Japanese ages ranging from 20 - 40. This wasn't planned, this is just the pieces of the puzzle that fit. This band will make you a true believer that music is truly universal!!!!!