By Joe Contreras, Latin Life Denver Media

I remember meeting Skip Reeves more that 15 years ago at the home of long time business consultant and educator Cheryl Lucero. I was in the process of launching Latin Life Denver Media and Cheryl thought it would be a good idea to hook with Skip who was doing a radio show at KUVO at the time and promoting big time concerts in the Denver Metro area. Among the groups Skip brought to town include Cameo, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Lakeside, Slave, Tierra, Tony Dize, Midnight Star, The Dazz Band, Brides of Funkenstein, Con Funk Shun, Brick, Lee Oskar of War, Techeetah, Carl Carlton and several others.

He had an idea for a radio show that he came up with while standing in line at his favorite Mexican eating spot, The Original Chubby’s Mexican food restaurant. Their motto is “A Taste Above The Rest”. He thought, “why not a radio show titled ‘A Funk Above The Rest!’ He has been producing the show ever since and it has now achieved global prominence.

Skip is a tall lanky man, soft-spoken for someone who is on the radio. But his passion for music was then and now is unmistakable. Skip especially loves ‘funk’ music, that sound that started back in the sixties with those complex melodies and chord progressions, horns, basslines, and drums to create an interlocking, hypnotic groove.

Who can forget the P-Funk with George Clinton formed bands like Parliament-Funkadelic, blending cosmic science-fiction themes with heavy bass and psychedelic rock. Acts like Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, and the Ohio Players brought elaborate horn sections and smooth vocal harmonies to the charts. Groups like Sly and the Family Stone mixed rock technology.

Now regarded as Skip “The Funktologist” Reeves, he imagined an idea (back in 1996) while traveling on the road performing with national artists such as The Drifters, The Coasters, The Platters, Alphonse Mouzon, Buddy Miles, and The Marvelettes to name a few. Skip grew up with a family that loved music. His mother was a piano and trumpet player while Dad was good at singing the blues. Social gatherings with music and dance was a regular part of our families recreation.

At 7 years old Skip started messing around with the accordion due to living in Germany at the time as a military brat. At 9 years old he moved over to the piano, at 11 years old the guitar, then the drums at 16 which he stuck with. “The drums just proved to be a natural fit. It seems I was born to effect groove”!

As Skip was traveling around, many times listening to the radio in vehicles the band was traveling in, “radio got very boring to me because whatever city we were in radio sounded the same. Along the way I collected many independent artists CD’s. Listening to them introduced a ton of new good music. I started saying to myself, this stuff needs to be on the radio!

But mainstream media, being trapped as it was to corporate music industry dictators, could never accept such a thing. They are backed into a corner they can now never get out of. I thought to myself, If I were a radio host I would play all this great stuff from independent artists, which is as good if not better than some major artists releases.

I decided to retire from drumming in 2003. Along came a stint with local TV and the children’s reading show “Bigmouth and Knucklehead”. After about a year at Radio Disney, the desire to host a music show had now become intense. Why? From the early 2000’s the R&B, Funk, and soul radio scene was dead. The one station that played those genres of music was off the airwaves. The Rock, Pop, Country, and even traditional Jazz was receiving attention, but no Funk N Groove!

That was a void that needed to be filled. I approached two popular stations in the Denver Market about my concept for a show idea. The program directors respectfully told me that there was no market for that in the Denver area and that the show would likely flop.

My heart said something different and so did people in the streets! In 2005 at the suggestion of a close friend, (Charles Dottson), he encouraged me to approach KUVO Jazz Radio since they were doing specialty shows on the weekends. After a meeting with the music director, program director, and general manager, who all agreed my show concept was a good one.  January 7, 2006, A Funk Above The Rest debuted on a major local public  radio station. The show’s popularity grew so quickly that syndication was suggested by listeners. I reached out to a friend, Art Thomas, who at the time was working for a TV network. He included a link to my show on the TV station website which supported further exposure.

Then I started contacting internet stations about carrying the show. Many agreed to do so. “A humorous memory, I contacted a station programmer in Atlanta, told him about my show. When he found out I was in Denver Co, he said, “Denver, the Cowtown, ain’t no funk up there”! After he heard a sample of the show he said, oh yeah we can work with this”!

2026 marks 20 years A Funk Above The Rest has been broadcasting. It is now heard in over 180 countries on over 80 mediums by means of terrestrial, digital radio, and the Sparkx Radio & TV Media Network, on the Roku streaming platform. Not bad for a show that was suppose to flop!

Due to the success of A Funk Above The Rest on the Sparkx Media Network, the network has offered Skip his own channel to broadcast the  show 24/7. It will be heard on the Sparkx Classics TV Channel stay tuned for further details at www.sparkxtv.com.

You can hear the show now every Tuesday from 8am-10am, Saturdays from 6pm-8pm, and Sundays from 8pm-10pm all times MST at https://sparkx24.com/playlist

Skip is a huge supporter of independent artists. If you as an artist have music you feel fits the vibe of his show, by all means send it to skip@afunkabovetherest.com either as an mp3 or wavfile.