The Bamboos were formed in 2000 in Melbourne Australia by NZ-born producer/guitarist/songwriter Lance Ferguson. The initial line-up consisted of Ferguson, Ben Grayson on Hammond organ, Stuart Speed on bass and Scott Lambie on drums. The band's first live performances were at The Night Cat in Fitzroy, where over an evening they would play three sets of instrumental material drawn from artists such as The Meters, James Brown, Grant Green, Ivan 'Boogaloo Joe' Jones and Reuben Wilson.
In 2001 The Bamboos released their first self-funded 7" 45 RPM single containing the original songs "Eel Oil" and "Blackfoot", earning them international acclaim from UK Deep Funk DJs Keb Darge, Snowboy, Mr Scruff, Patrick Forge and Russ Dewbury. This recording would begin the studio partnership between Ferguson and Producer/Engineer John Castle that would see every Bamboos release until 2015 being recorded at Castle's The Shed Studios in Canterbury, Melbourne...