You Do You

Funk rock party band You Do You is back with “Live it Up,” the lead single off their forthcoming album, Funky Dinos. The 11-track concept album will be released next spring, with more singles to come in the new year.

The jazzy new track is inspired by the Philly Soul of the 60s and 70s, with lush instrumentals and a smooth, dreamy sound. “You gotta just do you / baby, live your truth / is that the only thing we can do,” songwriter and vocalist Katie Feeney sings, as the band echoes, “live it up, live it up.”

“Lyrically, the song explores the concept of ‘the meaning of life’ and the internal struggle between fighting for a better society for all, or blindly pursuing one’s own happiness at the expense of [or] in ignorance to the burning of the world around you,” Feeney shared over email.

The five-piece band has been working on Funky Dinos since the release of their 2017 EP, Political Party. The self-produced album was recorded at Retro City Sound Studios, Sound Plan Productions, and Brolik. Listen to “Live it Up” below. - WXPN 88.5 FM's The Key

It’s starting to get REAL cold out there, but You Do You is warming us up with their new single Live It Up. This song is the musical equivalent to sitting by a crackling, cozy fire. It warms your heart and lifts your spirit, AND it makes you hot chocolate. What more could you want?

The band has been hard at work on the 11 song album since the release of their 2017 EP, Political Party, which (if you haven’t guessed already by the aptly chosen title) explores political themes. Live It Up is the first song off the upcoming full length concept album, Funky Dinos. It feels like it transports the listener to a different time, all the while discussing current issues. Katie Feeney, lead singer for the band, tells us that she was motivated to write about the current political climate by her own experience as an environmental activist (no pun intended there). Funky Dinos was recorded at Sound Plan Productions, Brolik AND Retro City Sound System, “y’know, where Lizzo records, NBD” Katie casually mentions to us. The entire album was mixed and mastered by Lucas Kozinski at Sleepless Sound Studio.

We’re already excited for the 2020 release of this album, but You Do You is giving us even more goodies by way of an accompanying full length visual concept that “tells an apocalyptic story of dinosaurs and wizards.” We don’t know what that means but we’re here for it!

You can follow You Do You on instagram here and facebook here! Check out the new single, Live It Up, below! - Cherry-Veen Zine

Philly disco / funk party time crew You Do You return to the Philadelphia stage this Saturday night at Manayunk’s long standing outpost The Grape Room, and they have a new music video to celebrate.

Set in a dreary, mind-numbing office space staffed by the band, we make our way through the filing cabinets and exposed brick walls to see some clicking listlessly at spreadsheets, others chatting between cubicles, and one lone rebel doodling on a notepad about how boring her job is. That last person is caught by her uptight boss, and a dance-off ensues, with YDY lead singer Katie Feeney playing both employee and employer.

The video was directed by Marcus Neal Gordon; give it a watch below, and get more information on their January 13th show opening for Somethin’ Devine at its Facebook event page." - John Vettese

“Their sound can be described as new wave lounge disco, with a lot of soul, a little funk, and a pinch of bossa nova. When the seven members take the stage they generate an energy similar to that of Parliament Funkadelic...”
- Hannah Kubik for JUMP Philly magazine Fall 2017 issue - Hannah Kubik

"You Do You is a local Philly pop act fronted by the beautiful Katie Feeney. If you’re not yet familiar with them, their sound is a unique pop rock blend dripping with funk, R&B, and soul influences. Feeney’s voice is (deservedly) featured prominently, along with the band’s funky bass, grooving drums, and catchy hooks. Featured in our May Music Discovery and as our current video of the week, You Do You is quickly becoming an ROP fave." - Justin Harlan

"Have you ever heard of space cats? Me either, until I saw the music video “I Got Time,” this week’s edition of Video of the Week! The video opens with the narrative of space explorers sent by NASA (re: the space felines and the band’s own kitties) wondering if they should return to Earth…and a crazy dance party hosted by Philly’s own funky five-piece You Do You ensues! Let the band whisk you away to outer space with beautiful, jazzy vocals, psychedelic instrumentals, and cats in space." - Samantha Sweeney

"If you are familiar with You Do You , you are aware that they are a band that you just cannot keep down. Their self-described genre of “that funky soul rock” begs for listeners to get up off their seat and join in on the fun and their newest video for “I Got Time” shows You Do You and friends – including cats in space – doing just that. The band extends the track to an over six-minute jam, allowing them to keep the party going as long as they damn well please." - Sean Fennell

"The funky fun Philly group You Do You just released a recording live set from May 29th at Ardmore Music Hall via Soundcloud for your listening pleasure. Included are some new originals like “The YDY Theme Song” and “Don’t Stop My Groove”, as well as a few (pretty amazing) covers of Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel and more. The set is lively and has YDY’s signature blend of genres, from funk to country to pop." - Hannah Borghi

"You Do You opened strong: with singer Katie Feeney proclaiming “Let’s get weird!” They piled up tight, fun funk jams, one after another.
The party moved back and forth between the venue’s two stages, so there was rarely much of a break in the action." - Elizabeth Thorpe

"You’ll also notice that the Best of Philly 2014 Playlist encompasses a range of Philly music from pop to rock to hip hop to singer/songwriter. There are artists included who are household names like The Roots and Dr. Dog but there are also a ton of artists you may not have heard before but need to like City Rain, Cruisr, Nico’s Gun and You Do You." - Jennifer Logue

“Eclectic local outfit You Do You has been described as many things - funky, sweet, party rockin’ - and all are apt descriptions. It’s that diversity that endears the Philly group to so many listeners, whether they’re fans of front woman Katie Feeney’s powerful vocals or favor the rhythm section’s dance friendly-groove.” - Breanna Perry

"Funky Philly five-piece You Do You are true party rockers. I don’t necessarily mean that in the LMFAO sense, but it’s not too far off, in that these eclectic music heads from Pennsport take a wide assortment of sounds and styles – from disco to jam rock – mix them in the proverbial blender set to puree and cut the results with a healthy dose of Sly Fox. As a band, they’re way heavy energy – frontwoman Katie Feeney can belt vocals with the best of them – and their playing is impressively tight. When You Do You recorded this set for the Key Studio Sessions, they nailed almost everything in one take – three-part harmonies and everything." - John Vettese

“It’s probably an exercise in futility to pin down Philly five-piece You Do You to a single genre. Unless of course we can call “PARTY” a genre. Fitting somewhere in the interzone between Parliament, Chic, The B-52’s, Lady Gaga and more upbeat moments of Phish…(YDY) can be anything from disco to pop to jammed-out funk.” - John Vettese

"Feeney, indeed, dazzles…her voice slips between a soulful softness and a jazzy rock-flavored scream. It’s pretty seamless. from Mama Cass to Janis Joplin and back to Joan Jett she can go throaty and raw and it’s fun to watch.” - Bill Chenevert

"They won me over with the promise of free nachos." - Erica Minutella

"Fresh off the release of their aptly-named debut EP, The Sweet Sounds of the Funky Sounds, the five-piece outfit combined elements of soul, funk and even a little disco into their energetic 10-song set. The raw, sultry vocals of lead singer Katie Feeney once again took center stage, but guitarist Drew Parker, bassist Alex Baranowski, keyboardist Crills Wilson and drummer Aaron Boczowski each took turns standing out on their respective instruments." - Kyle Bagenstose

"If you gave Janis Joplin a 5-Hour Energy, or a few Victory Golden Monkeys, you'd have a good idea about what Katie Feeney is all about on stage." - James Jennings