Camp Bisco 11: Kung Fu Says They Will 'Let The Music Speak For Itself [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

With Camp Bisco 11 just one day away, Todd Stoops of Kung Fu says that he and his band are ready to go and couldn't be more pumped for their highly anticipated set.

"It's always a good time at Camp Bisco, and it's a pretty insane weekend every year," Stoops said in reference to the annual jam hosted by the Disco Biscuits.

With Kung Fu being just one of over a hundred bands slated to play the three-day music festival, Stoops' group stands out among the roster as one of more improvisational acts set to play.

Consisting of Tim Palmieri on guitar (the Breakfast), Robert Somerville on tenor sax (Deep Banana Blackout), David Livolsi on bass guitar (Jazz Is Dead/Scofield), Adrian Tramontano on drums/percussion (the Breakfast) and Stoops on keyboards (RAQ), Kung Fu prides itself on its ability to bring something new to the stage every night.

"Our philosophy out here is treat every gig like it's our last one and go out like a bunch of commandos ... blow the place up," the Kung Fu keyboardist said. "And I think it's that kind of mentality that's led to so many great performances." 

Kung Fu has been touring on the recent success of its self-titled debut album and has even gotten the opportunity to enjoy its own mini-residency at one of the most prolific improv music venues in New York, Brooklyn Bowl.

The Connecticut natives enjoyed four well-received dates at the same venue that plays host to the legendary Soulive "Bowlive" residency. On its last night in Brooklyn, Kung Fu even surprised the audience by bringing on Soulive's Erik Krasno for a one night sit-in.

"The residency we did in Brooklyn was awesome. We played different kinds of shows every week, because we were playing with a bunch of different musicians, so our style kind of morphed into the style of whoever was sitting in with the band at that moment."

Throughout their four weeks at the Bowl (one night each week), Kung Fu treated fans to a roster of guest performers, including bass guitarist Victor Bailey, Disco Biscuits guitarist Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig, Royal Family members Adam Deitch and Nigel Hall and even jazz pianist Bill Evans, who has played with the likes of the legendary Miles Davis.

With the Brooklyn shows serving as momentum builders for their summer tour dates, Stoops says that he and the band are very much looking forward to putting on some more stellar shows at festivals such as Bear Creek, Green Mountain Getdown and the more-popular Gathering of the Vibes

"Vibes will be great, because it's a lot of our fans. ... We're from Connecticut, and the Vibes festival takes place in Fairfield County, so we'll definitely experiment a little bit more there, and we'll definitely have a great time."

While Kung Fu definitely has a lot on its plate at the moment, it would seem as if everything it has been doing has been in anticipation for their Camp Bisco performance.

Stoops and the crew are scheduled for a 3 p.m. set on Thursday at the beautiful Indian Lookout Country Club, located in Mariaville, N.Y.

"Something like Bisco, you definitely wanna go in there and put your best food forward," Stoops suggested. "It's an opportunity to play for a lot of fresh ears, so I think naturally we would be prone to putting forth our heaviest hitting material."

Bisco 11 goes from July 12 to the 14th and will feature 3 days and nights of music on 5 stages, including 2 side-by-side main stages, 2 dance tents featuring top international dance acts as well as a silent disco.

When asked if he had anything special planned for the 11th annual jaunt in Mariaville, Stoops revealed that Kung Fu would premiere a new song during its set and might even bring out some special guests.

"We might have some dancers I think," Stoops said jokingly.

As he calmed down from laughing over the idea of dancers accompanying Kung Fu's performance, he got serious and explained that Kung Fu doesn't really "rely on shticks too much.

"A lot of the times, we're pretty intense about the music that we produce and create, so we tend to let the music speak for itself."