A group of people stand in line waiting for popcorn at last year’s Burning Man Decompression party in San Francisco—organized, calm and fixating on their next salty snack fix. Flash forward 20 minutes later to a scene in which said popcorn line has morphed into an all-out dance party in which any remaining “line” is buried beneath an amorphous unit of booty-shakers and stilt-walkers crowding around one feverish Santa Cruz ensemble, Trip Delight Fantastic. “ There’s so much happening [at Decom] with different stages, and the only thing in front of us when we started performing was the line for popcorn,” recalls Kevin Dorn, the man behind the electrobeats and bass. “I had just hoped the sound system would be loud enough so that people could hear us.” No surprise, Dorn and his cohorts, singers/dancers Tica Bonita and Marsha Butler (who also share keyboard duties), were heard loud and clear. Commandeering its spot in the annual street faire, Trip Delight Fantastic showcased its body-blurring concoction of electro-infused funk, house, dance, and syrupy vocal harmonies that’s been getting people blissed out since the three members joined flashy musical forces three years ago. With Dorn wanting expression outside of his usual role as bassist for SambaDá, Trip Delight sees him experimenting with his Korg Electribe and exploring his songwriting skills alongside the lyrics penned by his two frontwomen—all in an attempt to bridge the DJ scene and the live music scene. With the tight trio (Butler is Dorn’s girlfriend and Bonita is Dorn’s sister) now working in the addition of a drummer, Trip Delight will be pulsating under black lights on Thursday, April 8, at the Catalyst. So what makes the dynamic threesome gel so well together? Dorn thinks it’s all in the stars. “Marsha and Tica are both Geminis with the same birthday, so they can explain to me why the other is the way she is. There’s just a lot of coincidences in this band.” Ain’t that a trip.
INFO: 9 p.m. Thursday, April 8. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $4/adv, $7/door. 423-1338.
