Funny Money was formed in the fall of 1996 when Billy Andrews met Steve Whiteman at a fundraiser in Baltimore. “He asked me what I had been up to since the demise of KIX and I shared with him that I had been teaching vocal lessons and kind of wanted to start a band again. Billy pretty much invited himself to my house one day and we listened to some of the old KIX demos I had laying around the house and some new material I had written with Shea Quinn of The Sharks fame. He pretty much sold himself to me on the idea that we could launch a band around the original music that I had lying around and we could even mix in some cover stuff as well. The only thing we needed was a band!” said Steve Whiteman in the online article “How did FUNNY MONEY begin?” on the FUNNY MONEY website.
Billy recruit bassist Ned Meloni. After adding Ned they added drummer Bobby George. Steve also invited one of his vocal students Dean Cramer. After a few rehearsals their drummer, Bobby George, quit, so they added drummer Geoff Burrell from Tubefreeks and Swingin’ Dix fame. “After a few gigs, it was fairly obvious that the fans wanted to hear some of the old KIX material, I finally relented and started mixing the originals with the KIX stuff and it seemed to work as the crowds continued to get bigger each week. In 1998, we released our first, self-titled CD which was produced and engineered by Billy. It got rave reviews! We followed that one up in 1999 with Back Again which was recorded, produced, and engineered at the House O’ Billy! After that, we thought it would be fun to try and capture the energy and humor of the live show, so we released Even Better Live, which was recorded at Jaxx nightclub in Springfield, Virginia in 2001. Things were going well until 2003 when the line-up took a hit. Billy, Ned and Geoff all announced they were leaving to pursue other interests. At this point, Dean and I decided to keep things going, so we recruited former Centerfold bassist Mark Schenker on Ned’s recommendation, Sam Stillwell on drums, and Lewis Coppola on guitar. Things were good again on the Funny farm!In 2003, we were working on our fourth release, Skin To Skin, when Ronnie Younkins’ band the Blues Vultures were playing some shows with us and Ronnie had coaxed Jimmy out of retirement to play in his band. Mark suggested we ask him if he’d like to play on a few tracks for the album. He agreed and I made a call to KIX guitarist Ronnie Younkins to see if he’d like to join us on a song as well. Mark invited his friend and former Centerfold guitarist, Rob Galpin, to join the fun since a couple of the songs on Skin were co-written by Rob and Mark. What we found was that there was a definite chemistry flowing in the studio with Mark and I, and Rob and Jimmy. I really had a tough decision to make because Rob and Jimmy provided so much in the way of writing, arranging and creativity on that record and it just felt right with them there. After much thought, I decided to approach Sam and Louis to ask them if they would mind me giving Rob and Jimmy a shot in the band. This was a tough decision because they were both great musicians and fun guys to be around, but they understood and were quickly snapped up by other projects that were equally as talented. As a result Skin To Skin was our best reviewed and top selling album to date!” Steve Whiteman stated in the online article “How did FUNNY MONEY begin?” on the FUNNY MONEY website.
In 2006 Dean Left the band. The band did not replace Dean though. Funny Money went on as a four piece band. After “Stick It!” released Rob left FUNNY MONEY, and Dean Cramer rejoined the band. The current Funny Money line-up is Steve Whiteman –Vocals, Jimmy Chalfant –Drums, Dean Cramer – Guitar, and Mark Schenker –Bass.
Billy recruit bassist Ned Meloni. After adding Ned they added drummer Bobby George. Steve also invited one of his vocal students Dean Cramer. After a few rehearsals their drummer, Bobby George, quit, so they added drummer Geoff Burrell from Tubefreeks and Swingin’ Dix fame. “After a few gigs, it was fairly obvious that the fans wanted to hear some of the old KIX material, I finally relented and started mixing the originals with the KIX stuff and it seemed to work as the crowds continued to get bigger each week. In 1998, we released our first, self-titled CD which was produced and engineered by Billy. It got rave reviews! We followed that one up in 1999 with Back Again which was recorded, produced, and engineered at the House O’ Billy! After that, we thought it would be fun to try and capture the energy and humor of the live show, so we released Even Better Live, which was recorded at Jaxx nightclub in Springfield, Virginia in 2001. Things were going well until 2003 when the line-up took a hit. Billy, Ned and Geoff all announced they were leaving to pursue other interests. At this point, Dean and I decided to keep things going, so we recruited former Centerfold bassist Mark Schenker on Ned’s recommendation, Sam Stillwell on drums, and Lewis Coppola on guitar. Things were good again on the Funny farm!In 2003, we were working on our fourth release, Skin To Skin, when Ronnie Younkins’ band the Blues Vultures were playing some shows with us and Ronnie had coaxed Jimmy out of retirement to play in his band. Mark suggested we ask him if he’d like to play on a few tracks for the album. He agreed and I made a call to KIX guitarist Ronnie Younkins to see if he’d like to join us on a song as well. Mark invited his friend and former Centerfold guitarist, Rob Galpin, to join the fun since a couple of the songs on Skin were co-written by Rob and Mark. What we found was that there was a definite chemistry flowing in the studio with Mark and I, and Rob and Jimmy. I really had a tough decision to make because Rob and Jimmy provided so much in the way of writing, arranging and creativity on that record and it just felt right with them there. After much thought, I decided to approach Sam and Louis to ask them if they would mind me giving Rob and Jimmy a shot in the band. This was a tough decision because they were both great musicians and fun guys to be around, but they understood and were quickly snapped up by other projects that were equally as talented. As a result Skin To Skin was our best reviewed and top selling album to date!” Steve Whiteman stated in the online article “How did FUNNY MONEY begin?” on the FUNNY MONEY website.
In 2006 Dean Left the band. The band did not replace Dean though. Funny Money went on as a four piece band. After “Stick It!” released Rob left FUNNY MONEY, and Dean Cramer rejoined the band. The current Funny Money line-up is Steve Whiteman –Vocals, Jimmy Chalfant –Drums, Dean Cramer – Guitar, and Mark Schenker –Bass.
Mark Schener
Jimmy Chalfant
Dean Cramer
Steve Whiteman
Albums
1998 Funny Money
1999 Back Again
2001 Even Better Live
2003 Skin To Skin
2006 Stick It!
Resurrection
Funny Money
Pink Glasses
Sloppy Kisses
Wrapped Around You
Horny Little Angel
Damage Control
I Felt Everything (...But Sorry)
Owe It All To You
Boogie Man
Funny Money
Pink Glasses
Sloppy Kisses
Wrapped Around You
Horny Little Angel
Damage Control
I Felt Everything (...But Sorry)
Owe It All To You
Boogie Man
TUNES
