Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Alfred Howard and the K23 Orchestra

RIYL

Ozomatli, Soundtribe Sector 9, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Slightly Stoopid, Fishbone, the Living Legends, Digable Planets, the Beat Junkies, Mikah 9, John Brown's Body, 2Mex, Digital Underground, Brand Nubian

Influences

John McLaughlin, Charles Mingus, Aesop Rock, Digable Planets, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Bright Eyes, Neutral Milk Hotel, Tower of Power, Wilco, the Grateful Dead, Graham Central Station, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Weapon of Choice, Stevie Wonder, Parliament/Funkadelic

Discography

Sponsored

Alfred Howard and the K23 Orchestra (AHK23) combined in-the-pocket funk, staccato spoken word, classic soul, aggressive rock, and vintage psychedelia. Their musical style moves seamlessly through tightly arranged changes to extended open jams with powerful crescendos and quick shifts in dynamic, while Alfred Howard's lyrics transcend a style or genre, appealing to humanity's most primal essence.

The band's five strong rhythmic voices (Rhodes & organ, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals) sculpt a collective and cohesive expression delivering a high-energy live show fueled by rapid-fire conscious lyricism. AHK23 has found an audience in the world of funk fiends, indie-rock fans, hip-hop heads, reggae followers, and even poetry lovers. Their message is one of social change through music and art.

K23 won the San Diego Music Award for "Best Funk/Hip-Hop Band" three consecutive years (2003 - 2006) and preformed at festivals on the West Coast like High Sierra, Xingolati, Reggae on the River, Earthdance, Harmony Fest, the Whole Earth, and Wakarusa.

Alfred Howard has sat in with Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Umphrey's Mcgee, Perry Ferrel, Digital Underground, Garaj Mahal, the Slip, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, ALO, the Breakfast, and many others.

Steve Craft (drums & percussion) is influenced by everything from jazz to '60s and '70s funk, rock and roll, soul, real R&B (not the crap they call R&B today), and even metal.

Ian Wright (guitar) has been playing guitar for 17 years in various Southern California bands. Versed in rock, blues, funk, ska, and jazz, Ian stands at 6'8" with a stage presence just as large.

Matt LaBarber (bass) is from the Buffalo area of New York and likes to rock.

Josh Rice (keyboards) has played locally around San Diego since 2000.

The band is now defunct, as of a final gig at Winston's on December 5, 2008. "We will be kicking it Tupac style with a posthumous release somewhere down the line," says Howard on the band's website.

In 2009, Howard launched a new band, the Heavy Guilt.

Sponsored

Upcoming Local Shows

No shows scheduled

Post a show View show history
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader