Scary Pockets


Scary Pockets is an American funk band formed in Los Angeles in 2017. The band was founded by keyboardist Jack Conte and guitarist Ryan Lerman who invite other musicians to collaborate on individual songs. The band has released 31 albums, with most of their releases being funk covers of popular songs. In December 2023, Scary Pockets announced they would pivot to releasing original music.

Background

Lerman and Conte met in their high school years at The Branson School. Conte, then a senior-year student, was paired with first-year Lerman to "show him the ropes". Conte invited Lerman to play miniature golf, and later Lerman introduced Conte to music recording by sharing recordings of his own guitar playing.
When Conte married his wife Nataly Dawn, Lerman played them down the aisle.

History

Several years after co-founding Patreon, Conte had little time to play music anymore. The day after a dinner for Lerman's 30th birthday, Conte pitched the idea for Scary Pockets to Lerman. Lerman has said that the core of Scary Pockets was to "make the most amount of music in the least amount of time and have the most amount of fun". Conte envisioned Scary Pockets as "Postmodern Jukebox meets Vulfpeck".
Scary Pockets uploaded their first video, a funk cover of Shape of You, to YouTube on March 1, 2017. Conte and Lerman agreed to release videos weekly, initially recording twice per month and eventually transitioning to once per month. The band would then regularly release their recent covers as an album.
On December 11, 2023, Scary Pockets announced that they would stop releasing covers. During the 6-year period where they primarily made funk covers, Scary Pockets collaborated with 144 vocalists, 42 drummers, 31 guitarists, 30 bassists, 18 percussionists, 17 saxophonists, 16 keyboard players, 13 trumpeters, 11 trombonists, 10 organists, 7 synth players, 7 pianists, 2 wurlitzer players, 1 talkboxer, 1 vocoder player, and 1 banjo player.

Discography

Albums

  • Scary Pockets
  • Funk Walker
  • Nu Funk
  • Kitsch Funk
  • Funk-ish
  • Funk Ninja
  • Star Funk
  • Funk Box
  • Humpty Funky
  • Ups & Downs
  • Colors
  • Off Center
  • Modern Art
  • Sca Ryp Ock Ets
  • Stick the Landing
  • Cycles
  • Find the Light
  • Agoraphobia
  • Technicolor Magic
  • LIFE
  • Windows
  • Frisky Business
  • Late Nights
  • 2am Funk Dance Party
  • Jeff
  • Magic Hour
  • Stank Face
  • Pockets Presents: Swatkins!
  • Pockets Presents: David Ryan Harris!
  • Heat Check
  • ''Electric Dreams and Cosmic Nightmares''

    Singles

Scary Pockets has also released many of the songs from their albums as singles before the release of the full album.