The Phunk Junkeez Official Story of the formation and demise of America's underground rap-rock pioneers.

Please visit some of the Perpetrators on the Internet: It has been brought to our attention that The Phunk Junkeez have made some contributions to the English language and Pop-Culture in general. Please visit some of the businesses and artists that have embraced the use of a word that was created back in 1991. The Funk Junkeez Music Band - Available for weddings and lounge settings ( I hope they know that there was a metal band from NY back in the 80's called "The Funk Junkies" - and they were not very funky at all). The Game Junkeez - Get your X-Box on peeps! The Travel Junkeez - Good to know that there are other types of Junkeez out there. Religious Paintball Addicts - Killing in the name of... Fashun Junkeez - Definitely something that the real Junkeez were not...... maybe fashionably late? Tech Junkeez - These guys actually have some interesting articles to amuse your mind Phunk Investigation - look out! As you can clearly see, the spelling and "street" slang version of being an "addict" or "junkie" if you will, invented by two kids from the Phoenix area has become a main-stay in urban, web, and pop culture, signifying that, for some, the only way of life, is being associated with a group of junkeez.
2 Bands: 1 Lame Town / 1991 Kirk Reznik (K-Tel Disco) and Joe Valiente (Soulman) had paid their dues performing at one-off car shows and community event centers with their white-boy riddled rhetoric of Bum Rap. A two man show emulating their influences ranging from RUN DMC and Public Enemy to underground punk legends Minor Threat and the infamous Ramones. After some changes in format, direction, and behind-the-scenes personel, Bum Rap became The Phunk Junkeez. And the Phunk Junkeez became one of the largest underground, anti-mainstream music movements in the southwest region. Unfortunately, the lifestyle they lived, and the attitudes they projected, eventually sank the success, and left the band hanging in limbo.
James Woodling (Jumbo Jim) and Dan Mueller (Disko Danny D, DK Mueller) were a dynamic rhythm secion who had been through four bands prior to dedicating their talents to the formation of their own concept group. A hyper-speed punk-funk onslaught fusing traditional funk and disco, with hints of a current rap/ industrial metal sound. Mike Kramer was recruited to play the guitar along with a local sound technician filling in on the lyrical content resulting in a four piece conglomeration called Freaksquad. They were a red-hot rhythm section, but lacked any vocal presence, or lyric writing.
Freaksquad was the opening act for the Phunk Junkeez very first show. It was a round-a-bout room-mate type of favor deal of one band hauling a PA, and the other providing a guaranteed 200 people in attendence. Together they promoted the event at the now non-existant Sub-Cultural Arts Center in downtown Phoenix. The night was a success. The attendance reached 450. Higher than most national touring bands could pull from the wasteland desert. The Phunk Junkeez had two energentic frontmen performing to a tape. Freaksquad had an energetic rhythm section with no "lead" singer.. Things were about to change. The Phunk Junkeez needed a live band. Freaksquad needed a frontman, or two for that matter. The very next day, the meeting was called, and the brotherhood began. The Phunk Junkeez was now a five man operation. Six months later, DJ Roachclip joined the group making the operation one of the very first goups to integrate a DJ with a live band. The unique sound and style was an instant stand-out from the current metal scene, the glam scene, and the developing grunge sound out of Seattle. Around this time, the "Tempe Sound" was developing as well producing groups like the Gin Blossoms and The Refreshments, eventually becoming Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers. National Exposure The Phunk Junkeez began performing underground warehouse parties, and local venues that could hold an unbelievable (at the time) 1500 person draw.The band began venturing out into new territoy on a consistant basis. Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Flagstaff, El Paso; anywhere within reach and within budget. The regional exposure created a buzz, and landed the Phunk Junkeez a recording contract with Ichiban Records out of Atlanta, Georgia. The Phunk Junkeez self-titled first album put the band in the Billboard Charts for club tracks (I Am a Junkee) and into national television campaigns for Adidas Soccer. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, which helped to spread the Phunk Junkeez word around the local Sunset Strip scene. The touring and weekend gigs continued, and the fan-base reached impressive proportions. Unfortunately, just as the band was really starting to take off, guitarist Mike Kramer decided to leave the operation. After a brief stint with a few local replacement players, Jeff O'Rourke (Rourkey) auditioned for the band in front of a live audience, and was immediately accepted into the group. Jeff's punk-rock background and natural songwriting ability added to the all ready success-hungry group, and the band began travelling more and more. The Phunk Junkeez were becoming a house-hold name around the southwest region, and it finally reached the offices in Los Angeles, where record companies began to take notice.
Injected was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia in the Summmer of 1994. Intended for Ichiban Records, but the majors were ready to step in after hearing the rough mixes of the recording sessions. The Interscope subsidiary Trauma Records picked up the album, and signed the band to a two album deal. Injected was released, videos were shot, promotions began. The band was in full swing. National promotional tours with label mates Bush and No Doubt lasted for an entire summer. Inedependent tours with new found friends 311 out of Omaha, The Urge out of St. Louis, 2 Skinny J's out of Brooklyn, Sublime, Shrinky Dinks (Sugar Ray), Sprung Monkey, Slightly Stoopid, and thousands of others all kept the Phunk Junkeez busy on the road for a full year and a half. The Junkeez existance had become a suitcase, cases full of equipment, sold-out shows, tour buses, unlimited alcohol supplies, and thousands of eager fans all across the country.
The Phunk Junkeez were reaching their maximum potential. They had videos on MTV, and were featured on countless compilation albums, soundtracks, promotional pieces, television commercials, along with national radio play. The hard work was paying off, and the band was selling units all over the world. The band was one of the most talked about live shows in America. An onslaught of aggressive behavior with a turbo-charged "rap/rock" sound to back it up. Not only was the stage show an uncontrollable spitfire of mayhem, the musicianship involved was dead-on, and tight. A unit that utilized the inner-city workings of rap, suburban punk, disco, hip-hop and a gung-ho team attitude of "take no prisoners," was slowly earning the respect of their peers. They had nothing to lose, and plenty to gain. But not everyone was hip to the Phunk Junkeez game. In an industry where bands are primered to befriend the industry associates, the Junkeez mocked thier positions, and made jokes about radio disc jockeys, label promotions, radio interns, and promoters nation-wide. The Phunk Junkeez were ruthless. Other bands feared their live shows, and their backstage antics. Many shows would have fights break out in the crowd. Sometimes the promoter would fight with the band over casualties that occured during a live performance. In many occurances, the band would annoy a radio station program director during an interview or promotional concert, thereby banning them from any future radio play. The song "Radio Sucks" deemed the nail in the coffin for many courtships between the Junkeez and much needed radio markets. On other nights, the band was taunting each other, and fighting in the dressing room prior to shows, or after their performance. The Phunk Junkeez were an emotional time-bomb waiting to explode.
The Final Session / 1996 After five years of touring and promotions for both the self-titled album, and Injected, The Phunk Junkeez returned home for a much needed break. During this time, the writing process began for a follow-up album to Injected. Tension was high due to the high expectations from the label, and from themselves as well. Label mates Bush and No Doubt were multi-platinum artists, and had the industry in their back pockets. They were selling out 10,000 seat arenas, and headlining large outdoor festivals. The Phunk Junkeez wanted to elevate the operation to the next level. During this time, the band locked themselves up in the now defunct Phase Four Studios in Tempe, Arizona with a half-inch Reel-to-Reel 8-Track Machine. The direction of the music was the number one concern, followed by the consequences of their self-absorbed "fuck you" attitude that they applied to almost every aspect of their lives, including their relationships with each other. It was a cut-throat environment, and any resistance to the majority rule could land a member on the hot seat. Band direction was up in the air. With the oncoming success of Kid Rock and Limp Biskit, The Phunk Junkeez felt as though they were losing their grip on the genre that they created, and becoming irrelevant in the new world of "Rap Rock."
Later that summer, after a freak altercation between K-Tel Disco and several of the members friends and girlfriends led to the removal of K-Tel Disco from the Phunk Junkeez. The pressure cooker had finally exploded, and all angers and resentments began to soak up all of the members.
Post K-Tel Era The Phunk Junkeez continued on without K-Tel Disco for several more years releasing their follow-up album Fear of A Wack Planet which contained leftovers from the '96 Summer Sessions, but failed to make an impact on radio. The music scene was now saturated with Phunk Junkeez take-off bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Kid Rock, and the upcoming Linkin Park. The style that the Phunk Junkeez had pioneered was now thier biggest fault. It was no longer cutting-edge or anything that could compete with bands with larger recording budgets and proper radio payola.
Two years after the release of Fear, long-time guitarist and post K-Tel era songwriter Jeff O'Rourke exited the operation. He was replaced by local Phoenix guitarist Danny "P" Patterson. He and the Phunk Junkeez then recorded the album Sex, Drugs, Rap & Roll in the Summer of 2000, and released it in early 2001. Once again album sales fell flat, and radio was no longer interested in the now "common" sound. One year after the release of SDRR founding drummer and the driving force of the Phunk Junkeez rhythm section "Disko" Dan Mueller left the operation to pursue other musical endevours. The Phunk Junkeez had now lost three of its main founding members and three key songwriters. In desperation, the last remaining members began cycling through several drummers, and eventually several guitarists with the departure of Danny P in 2008 due to personal problems and financial hardships. The Phunk Junkeez had run their course. As of now, the name merely implies a group of individuals who are just re-playing the works of the individuals who wrote, lived, breathed, and bled life into one of Arizona's most notorious underground memories.
• Please note: the story on wikipedia has been hashed at, and altered to conform to the needs of people not directly involved with the Phunk Junkeez operation of yesterday or today, and contains much false and biased information. The story you have read is absolutely true, and all members of today and yesterday can account for the accuracy of this story.