Bucket drums and bongos: Funk Plastic

Short clip of Funk Plastic playing


A full set


Interview with Osiris Stargod and Funk Plastic

Osiris Stargod
A funky-ass name for a funky-ass drummer with one funky-ass groove. But would you believe it, he’s from Missouri, albeit St. Louis. Stargod came to New York to “develop [him]self as a percussionist and see where [he] stand[s] in the world of music and performance.”

Stargod has been a performer all his life, even in grade school. Once he got to high school he made it official by joining the marching band. Although he was cut his Freshman year for, well, being a freshman, he went on to be captain of his high school’s and college’s drumlines up through sophomore year of college. After that, Stargod took off to focus on sharing his gift in a different way - teaching.

Stargod, who is also a spoken word poet and hip-hop artist is uniquely eloquent. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, here are some words straight from the man himself.

Osiris Stargod on…
Being born - “I was born drummin’. I was beatin’ in my mother’s womb, I sent her into labor.”

Teaching - “That’s actually, my greatest gift…I’m the world’s greatest drummer because I make other drummers better than me.”

Performing - “Gigs limit by ability to give my gift and my love for music to everyone. Playing on the street gives me the arena to play for people that may not come to the club, or don’t have money for the club. Street performing is not about not being able to play in the club, it’s about giving you gift out to the world. So someone that’s walking by, that’s had a bad day…they hear some good music and it takes them away for a moment. So I like to play on the street because it gives me the ability to give my gift back to the world.”

Drums - “I don’t play drums, I am the drum. So everywhere I go I drum so I could make sounds everywhere. So, someone heard me drumming on a trashcan that said, ‘Yo, I got some bongos that I know you could make sing…and I’m not doing nothing with them, so here’ that was the universe telling me ‘ok.’”

Music - “That’s the greatest gift, breakin’ peoples’ hearts. Makin’ ‘em come out of their stone.”

Osiris Stargod has been in NY since June 13th. He came after he was found playing on the streets in California and someone presented him with a ticket, gave him $200 and said “Go to New York and play in New York, man. That’s where you need to be…New York is where they’ll let you know if you’re good or you’re not.” And, as Stargod testifies, it’s the truth.


Tide “Funk Plastic” Irving
When I took this video a few weeks ago, Funk had been in New York for 2 days. Initially from Portland, OR, he came to audition for stomp but got axed in the first round. No matter, “There’s certainly been a warm reception out here in regards to street performing.”

From a young age Funk was “indoctrinated into music. My dad’s a pastor, [and] all my siblings are musicians.” The street performing and buckets, however, “came by way of desperation.” High unemployment rate once Bush took office meant restaurants started cutting back on musicians. Funk explains, “I had just picked up some buckets because I was trying to eat…[and] to try and avoid eviction”. After 5 and half years, though, “it’s just become my mainstay and my passion…This [is] my passion…because this is a bigger stage than I’ve ever played on, it’s a universal stage, you know?...We’re sending positive messages out to this environment and that’s what’s crucial about street performers.”

Thus, “[New York] is like a Mecca for me…’cause bucket drummers originated here. In order to validate what I do as a bucket drummer…I had to come to New York for the grand initiation…But much to my surprise I’ve given the New York drummers the grand vaporization…so New York is taking notes.”

To clear up the name, Tide is “Funk Plastic” but when him and Stargod started jamming together they just seemed to merge and they had the instinctive knowledge that they were a group and were both “Funk Plastic.”

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