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Blink-182 | Coral Sky Amphitheater Photo: Tom Craig
Matt, Christine & Anne | Funky Biscuit Photo: Jay Skolnick
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Umphrey’s McGee | The Fillmore Miami Beach Photo: Brad Stevens
JP Pardi Soars || Coral DoubleSky Roads Tavern John Amphitheater 6 | www.SFLMusic.com
Photo: Brad Stevens Jay Skolnick
CONGRATULATIONS
JESSE FINKELSTEIN’S BLUES RADIO INTERNATIONAL, FILMED THEIR MILESTONE EPISODE: IT’S 400TH WORLDWIDE LIVE BLUES SHOW FEATURING ALBERT CASTIGLIA!!! WWW.BLUESRADIOINTERNATIONAL.NET 8 | www.SFLMusic.com
September 2019
Issue #87 PUBLISHERS Jay Skolnick Jay@SFLMusic.com
Gary Skolnick Gary@SFLMusic.com Brad Stevens Brad@SFLMusic.com
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Sean McCloskey Sean@SFLMusic.com SENIOR EDITOR Todd McFliker Todd@SFLMusic.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Gary Skolnick Gary@SFLMusic.com OPERATIONS MAGAGER Jessica Delgadillo Jessica@SFLMusic.com ADVERTISING Info@SFLMusic.com CONTRIBUTORS Ray Anton • Lori Smerilson Carson Tom Craig • Megan Garzone Aaron Gilbert Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro Alex Liscio • Janine Mangini Angel Melendez • Nathan Rose Romy Santos • David Shaw Darla Skolnick COVER PHOTO Courtesy Photo SFL Music Magazine is a community newspaper that is published monthly in Boca Raton, Florida. All contents are copyright 2019 by the AWG Group, LLC, and may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.
4. BLINK-182 | MATT & CHRISTINE 6. UMPHREY’S MCGEE J.P. SOARS 10. MARK TELESCA | CRUSH 11. ZACH DEPUTY 12. RON DESARAM BERES HAMMOND 14. 311 16. CONCERT DATES 18. SHAUN MURPHY 21. THE INTERRUPTERS 22. THE FLOYD EXPERIENCE 24. BIG BROTHER BACKSTREET BOYS
26. SCOTT STAPP 32. BILLY PRICE 34. SPEAK SHAKERS 38. KISS 40. REBELUTION 42. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS 46. RICK WAKEMAN 50. BLUE OCTOBER 51. KARL DENSON 52. DOUBLE ROADS SHOWCASE 54. MADE OF METAL 57. FALL FESTIVALS 59. CLASSIFIEDS
Mark Telesca | Crazy Uncle Mike’s Photo: Janine Mangini
Crush | The Venu Photo: Janine Mangini
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Zach Deputy | Culture Room Photo: Brad Stevens
Ron DeSaram, Bruno, Mark Telesca | The Funky Biscuit Photo: Jay Skolnick
| Broward Center Mary Beres J BligeHammond & NAS | Coral Sky Amphitheater Photo: Tom Craig Photo: Larry Marano
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music, spreading a positive message because someone’s got to. So jump for joy with us.” It was fantastic to hear modern classics, like “Come Original,” “Beautiful Disaster” and the reggae-infused “Amber.” Concertgoers also heard new material, including “Stainless,” “Better Space,” and “Don’t You Worry.” The coolest part of the evening came after drummer Chad Sexton’s rich solo in “Applied Science.” The four other musicians, guitarist Tim Mahoney, bassist Aaron “P-Nut” Wills, SA, and Hexum formed a drum-circle of their own and beat the hell out of their own stand-up kits, like they’ve done at every concert since 2000. Inches apart, Hexum and P-Nut each took a knee and played their instruments while facing one another. The singer eventually took off his shirt to display a sweaty wife-beater and muscular arms. By the time the mighty set came to a close with the passionate “Down,” Eventually, Hexum ran around with his shirt off. He was having a ball onstage. So were the thousands of spectators that were still shining from 311’s timeless grooves.
311
August 2, 2019 | Coral Sky Amphitheatre 311’s enchanting blend of rock, hip-hop, funk and reggae was a delightful treat for South Florida music lovers on August 2nd at Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Headlining summer tours for the last two decades, the quintet from Omaha, Nebraska just released its thirteenth album, “Voyager,” in July. After getting their name from the police code for indecent exposure when original guitarist Jim Watson was arrested for skinny dipping in a public pool, 311 crosses genres, as well as generations at live performances. It is quite special to see my middle-aged friends sharing “our music” with their children. The concert experiences are now shared with family members of all ages, not unlike my parents’ classic rock. Following the Dirty Heads’ orderly set of reggae-rock, 311 got the crowd moving with 1994’s strong rock track “Homebrew.” The well-groomed singer and guitarist Nick Hexum wore a white polo and jeans. Throughout the performance, the tall and skinny frontman danced in-between a dozen or so flashing spotlights while gripping the mic to his mouth and waiving the other arm above his head. Often times Hexum emphasized his lyrics by squatting down and jumping to his feet. Similarly, DJ and vocalist Doug “SA” Martinez circled around the stage, while hopping up and down, doing the robot dance, and rapping lyrics of his own. After singing a highlight of the night, the monster ska single “All Mixed Up,” Hexum addressed the crowd. “So how are we doing out there? Is everybody happy? Well I know we are because this summer we celebrated 29 years as a band,” he said. “We get to do what we love, which is bringing people together through 14 | www.SFLMusic.com
“We’ve always been a touring focused band. We tour every summer, rain or shine,” Hexum explained to me during an interview in 2017. “Touring is our focus. It’s our bread and butter. Preforming music onstage is something that can never be replaced by the internet or the studio. Seeing different people there in front of you every night is a very special thing.” – By Todd McFliker • Photos Alex Liscio
GO SEE IT LIVE! September 1 / Sunday Jeff Kashiwa – Funky Biscuit Chris Brown – BB&T Lotus Music Fest – Mizner Park Amphitheatre 40 Years of Churchill’s - Michael Freiwald book release w/Amanda Green September 2 / Monday Biscuit Jam – Midnite Johnny – Funky Biscuit 40 Years of Churchill’s - Miami Jazz Jam & Theatre de Underground September 3 / Tuesday 40 Years of Churchill’s - Dollhouse September 4 / Wednesday Rockin’ Jake & Steve Laudicina – Funky Biscuit Steepwater Band – Double Roads Tavern Elvis Presley Tribute with Scott Ringersen – The Venu 40 Years of Churchill’s – Drop Out of Life September 5 / Thursday The Steepwater Band & Ben Sparaco/The New Effects – Funky Biscuit A Tribute to 3 Dog Night – The Venu The Midnight – Culture Room September 6 / Friday Peter Frampton – Coral Sky Amphitheatre Kung Fu Plays Kung Fu – Funky Biscuit Beach Boy Tribute (The Shindigs) – Double Roads Tavern Ball Greezy – Revolution Heather McMahan Live – Kelsey Theatre Guavatron Duo – The Brewhouse Gallery Classic Rock with The REGS – The Venu Look Alive Presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 7 / Saturday Daniela Mercury – The Fillmore Kung Fu Plays The Who – Funky Biscuit Across the Universe (Beatles Tribute) - Double Roads Tavern Still Alive with Crackerman – Revolution Crazy Latin Nites with Fabian Farina – The Venu Hialeah Fest Presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 8 / Sunday Dave Koz & Friends – Broward Center Daniel Caesar – The Fillmore School of Rock – Funky Biscuit Sunday Kind of Blues – The Brewhouse Gallery 40 years of Churchill’s hosted by Danny Drums September 9 / Monday Biscuit Jam – The Cravens – Funky Biscuit Miami Jazz Jam – Churchill’s September 10 / Tuesday Jenny Lewis – Revolution Dollhouse presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 11 / Wednesday Lizzo: Cuz I Love You Too Tour – The Fillmore 16 | www.SFLMusic.com
Mike Garulli & Jeff Lloyd (The Heavy Pets) – Funky Biscuit The String Assassins (acoustic eclectric) – Double Roads Tavern Frank Sinatra Tribute w/ Toy Quaranti – The Venu Alt Miami presents 40 Years of Churchill’s
September 12 / Thursday BoDEANS – Broward Center Cat Power – Revolution Crystal Visions of Fleetwood Mac – The Venu Snow Tha Product – Culture Room INC presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 13 / Friday Urban RaQ soul Funk Experience – Broward Center Uproot Hootenanny – Funky Biscuit PJ Sin Suela w/Special Guest – Culture Room Food Truck Invasion – Abacoa Death to the Sun presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 14 / Saturday Unforgettable Sifi Music & Sitar: Maestro Ustad Shujaat Hasain Khan – Broward Center Chris Young – Coral Sky Amphitheatre Dirty Dozen Brass Band – Funky Biscuit FTPW Presents Fight Club: Forever/Live Pro Wrestling – The Kelsey Theatre The Jake Walden Band – Brewhouse Gallery Fiona & the Rock Its: 80s Tribute – The Venu Churchill’s 40th Anniversary Celebration September 15 / Sunday UB40 – Mizner Park Amphitheatre Nip & Tuck – The Brewhouse Gallery September 16 / Monday Biscuit Jam – Rockin’ Jake – Funky Biscuit Miami Jazz Jam – Churchill’s September 17 / Tuesday We are Two Different People Tour – Broward Center Bad Religion – Revolution September 18 / Wednesday Albert Castiglia Solo Acoustic – Funky Biscuit Day 6 World Tour ‘Gravity’ in Miami – The Fillmore Local Natives – Revolution PUP w/special Guest Illuminati Hotties Potty Mouth – Culture Room September 19 / Thursday Chain Reaction: A Tribute to Journey – The Venu Hardcore For Punx presents 40Tears of Churchill’s September 20 / Friday The Who VIP Packages – BB&T In The Light of Led Zeppelin – Funky Biscuit Big K.R.I.T. – Revolution Matchbox 2.0: Matchbox 20 Tribute – The Venu The Growlers – Culture Room
September 21 / Saturday George Porter Jr. & – Funky Biscuit Game of Thrones Concert – Coral Sky Amp Leoni Torres – Broward Center The Rust Market – Kelsey Theatre Disbarred: Tribute to Matt Fiorello – The Kelsey Theatre Kate Skales – The Brewhouse Gallery The Pure Zeppelin Experience – The Venu Half*alive, Sure Sure – Culture Room Sinatra Salute & Crystal Visions of Fleetwood Mac –Abacoa Concert Series September 22 / Sunday Billy Cobham Crosswinds Project- Randy Brecker – Funky Biscuit Sunday Kind of Blues – Brewhouse Gallery Senses Fail w/special guest Hot Mulligan Yours Truly – Culture Room September 23 / Monday Biscuit Jam – Hurricane Hawk – Funky Biscuit September 24 / Tuesday Meek Mill – Coral Sky Amphitheatre Jai Wolf – Revolution September 25 / Wednesday Toubab Krewe – Funky Biscuit A Tribute to The Beatles White Album – Broward Center GWAR – Revolution September 26 / Thursday Jimmy Shubert – Funky Biscuit Nonpoint – Revolution Tribute to Huey Lewis & The News – The Venu September 27 / Friday Danielle Nicole – Funky Biscuit Big Al & The Heavy Weights (Canned Heat) – Double Roads Tavern Scott Stapp of Creed – Broward Center Blue October – Revolution Danny Duncan – Kelsey Theatre The Livesays – The Venu Tiger Army – Culture Room Cheap Miami Records presents 40 Years of Churchill’s September 28 / Saturday Steve Cole & Oli Silk – Funky Biscuit GENTRI presented by BBI – Broward Center Blue October – Revolution Burtonlesque – A Burlesque Tribute to Tim Burton - Kelsey Theatre Paul Anka Songbook Tribute & Crazy Latin Nites – The Venu Highly Suspect w/special guest Slothrust – Culture Room September 29 / Sunday Ambrosia – Funky Biscuit Sunday Kind of Blues – Brewhouse Gallery September 30 / Monday Biscuit Jam – JP Soars – Funky Biscuit Wale - Revolution
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brant rhythm; Tommy starts wailing on guitar; Eric and Kevin kick the keyboards up several notches and hot damn, mass just turned into a funk fest. Every fan of Shaun’s has their favorite type of song they love hearing her sing and this fans favorite is slow, bluesy, soulful and emotional ballads. The kind where she just blows you away with her amazing note holding ability and takes you on a roller coaster with that limitless range of hers. I got a “Thang For You” (M. A. Barnette/J. Hinson) is just that song. That said, you just can’t beat the soul a saxophone gives a song like this and Miqui indeed put his soul and his heart into this one. The first time I listened to the title track “Reason To Try” (D. Flowers), although there was so much more going on, Shaun’s voice and Kevin’s piano playing were so compelling that I was totally consumed by them. That said, the second listen broadened my pleasure but it was that third listen - the one where I stopped typing and sat back with the headphones on - that had me in awe. Now I need to correct myself and say these are not some of Nashville’s finest musicians, they’re some of music’s finest musicians.
Shaun Murphy Reason To Try Vision Wall Records Just for the record, Shaun Murphy doesn’t sing the blues, she doesn’t sing rock, she doesn’t sing soul, she doesn’t sing Gospel, she doesn’t sing country and she doesn’t get funky .....she does ALL OF THAT and more. As a matter of fact, after just saying that a crazy thought just ran through my head. Her versatility kind of brings to mind that Robert Klein “Every Record Ever Recorded” skit. It’s the one where he spoofs those TV record sales commercials by saying “if you act now, we will send you every record ever recorded” and then goes into a rant with a lengthy and hilarious list of examples. “That’s right,” he says, “we will send a tractortrailer full of every record ever recorded, right to your door.” That said, if there was ever a person who could sing every one of those recordings, it would be Shaun Murphy. Shaun Murphy’s latest release is titled “Reason To Try” and although she does sing most of the above-listed styles, she doesn’t sing every song ever recorded. She does, however, belt the hell out of fourteen diverse songs that include a handful of covers and a handful of new material written just for this project. Musically, Shaun Murphy - on all lead and background vocals and tambourine - is joined by some of Nashville’s finest musicians. That very recognizable list of names includes: Kenne Cramer and Tommy Stillwell on lead guitars; Tom DelRossi on drums; John Marcus on bass; Kevin McKendree on piano and synthesizer; Eric Robert on B3 organ; and Miqui Gutierrez on saxophone. On the opening track - “Hurt Me Good” (D. Burgess) - between Shaun’s soulful, Gospel style vocals; her ability to sing her own background vocals and sound like a small choir; and the hymnal vibe Kevin’s laying down on the B3 organ; you’re immediately taken straight to church. But just as your about to comfortably settle into a pew - BAM! - Tom and John start pounding out a vi18 | www.SFLMusic.com
So the title of this one - “Road House Rockin’’ - (J. Neel) pretty much made telling you about this one an easy task. This rhythm fueled rocker features the Shaun Murphy who’s mic could blow out and you might not even know it. Whoa! Speaking of powerful performances, the next track is titled “Power Of Love” (A. Cleaveland/K. Greenberg) and with the help of that small choir of hers - as crazy as this may sound - she actually kicks it up a few notches on the vocals. Of the tracks mentioned thus far, this is the first that features Kenne Cramer working his magic on lead guitar and his monster performance is a testament to why Shaun uses him on all her releases. Sounding snide, sarcastic and snarky - all characteristics required to be employed there - Shaun sounds quite proud of the first-rate work she does at her second job as a writer at the “Rumor Mill” (R. Gulley/D. Gulley/C. Kirby). Sadly, some know some people who actually do work there and as it’s said to be a dirty job, I disagree that somebody has to do it. Fun song on which Shaun’s having fun singing. Already having a hit with a song of the same title, if she sang this version half as good as Shaun’s doing, with that name recognition of hers I can see Miranda Lambert also having a hit with Kenne Cramer’s “Same Old You”. Better yet, sell it to Blake Shelton and have Shaun add him to the list of giants she’s sang back up for. Other tracks on the must-have album include: “Turn Me On” (Edwards); “Dancing In The Sun” (Greenberg); “Can’t Blame Nobody But Me” (Barnette/Muir); “Don’t Come Crying to Me” (Steen); “Welcome To Bluesville” (Cramer/Stillwell); and “Someday” (Seger). This is the part of the review where I tell you that should you like to learn more about Shaun Murphy just go to www.shaunmurphyband.com - and I just did. That said, let me now say that visiting that website is not something you should do, it’s something you must do. Shaun’s bio: from her days performing on Broadway with Meat Loaf; to her days performing on stage with Muddy, B. B. and more; to touring and recording with the likes of Little Feat, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Bob Seger; is one of the most storied and interesting bios you’ll ever read. - Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro
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The Interrupters | Coral Sky Amphitheater Photo: Alex Liscio
The Floyd Experience August 17 | Seminole Coconut Creek Casino The Floyd Experience shined on The Pavilion at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek on Saturday, August 17. The 9-piece ensemble from South Florida delivered 90 minutes of electric, acoustic, classical and lap steel guitars, along with two keyboardists, drums, a bass, a sax and spectacular backup singers. The sensational set-list gave proper attention to The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall, but also included beloved gems from psychedelic Syd Barrett-era More to Animals and The Division Bell. The music’s effects on the mature crowd were heightened by an intense laser light show and giant monitor showing classic photos, spacey videos, and memorable clips from The Wall. Getting better with each live performance, The Floyd Experience successfully reinvented Pink Floyd’s timeless studio sounds. “The fans are going to see as close a recreation to the original Pink Floyd material as humanly possible,” drummer Roy Fantel explained to me. “We try to do the original recorded material note for note. We have all done our homework to do Pink Floyd justice.” There wasn’t an empty seat in the sold out house where folks were lined up against the walls to see The Floyd Experience. Dressed in all black, the musicians took the stage as we heard the familiar alarm clocks intro22 | www.SFLMusic.com
ducing “Time.” Vivid beams of red, purple, green, blue, pink and yellow danced from various directions around the stage. We then heard a variety of popular hits, including Pink Floyd’s two Number One singles, “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall,” along with “Breathe,” “Brain Damage” and “Learning to Fly.” It sounded like an entire orchestra was present during “Hey You,” and psychedelic artwork was shown onscreen. Before Dennis Freireich played the bass-heavy “Pigs,” keyboardist, guitarist and singer Jeff Leone asked “How many of you out there are animals?” Guitarist and vocalist Tom “TC” Christopher was fantastic during “Have a Cigar,” while Joe Tierney executed a soulful sax in “Us and Them.” Backed by Kayla Kuecha, Lucie Pierro’s vocals in “Great Gig in the Sky” were phenomenal and earned a standing ovation. Keyboardist Stan Bernstein received a similar reception after “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The Floyd Experience then got old-school with 1969’s trippy “Green Is the Colour.” The entire room hummed along with TC and Tommy Strowd’s guitars in a heartfelt “Wish You Were Here,” as touching photos and videos of Syd appeared onscreen. Images of the math and sciences guru Stephen Hawking were displayed throughout The Division Bell’s “Keep Talking” “Are we having fun yet,” Leone asked and requested that audience members sing along to “Comfortably Numb.” Again, concertgoers erupted in ovations before The Floyd Experience wound down the evening with “High Hopes.” “I am truly blessed to be able to share the stage with this fabulous production of musicians and some of the hardest working people in the business,” Pierro said after the show. “Young and old, we connect with this music that stands the test of time.”
After taking their bows, the band members handed the spotlight over to their Production Manager, Casey Huneycutt. He politely thanked the crowd for supporting live music. He then acknowledged every member of The Floyd Experience and their management, as well as the members of the original Pink Floyd and the blues artists that had such a big influence on Syd, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. “I couldn’t help feeling the impact of this giant among bands,” Huneycutt said onstage. “With light shows, extended songs, philosophical lyrics and iconic album covers, our band’s goal has been to pay tribute to that legacy.” “It all comes down to the live show,” Leone explained to me. “When you’ve got your monitors on, the house music is up loud and the audience is hot out there, that’s when all the practice pays off.” Members of the band were all supportive and complimented one together. Every artist got to take the lead at some point, and the sound was incredibly full. Hardcore Floyd fans were thrilled. Meanwhile, unfamiliar spectators made exciting discoveries. “It was powerful, but still a perfect tempo to relax and chill,” said Randy Nutt, Owner of Aqua Moon Adventures in Fort Lauderdale. “I appreciate Pink Floyd more now than ever. And it’s all thanks to The Floyd Experience.” Discover more about The Floyd Experience and at www.floydatribute.com. Barbara Strowd of Endless River Productions is the Developer, Producer and Promoter of The Floyd Experience, as well as multiple musical productions. “The Floyd Experience and my other projects include some of the best musicians in South Florida,” said Ms. Strowd. “In addition to the musicians, it takes a professional team to make these shows possible,” she explained. Her
team includes Ray Rivard of Audio Events, Danny Colica of Hypnotic Productions, Kim Reilly of SeaSide Music Management, Production Manager Casey Huneycutt and Tommy Strowd of ERP. The future looks bright for Endless River Productions, The Floyd Experience and Ms. Strowd’s additional projects. Look for more concerts and productions coming soon.–By Todd McFliker, Photos by Jay Skolnick
Big Brother the the Holding Company Center Jason Ricci&and Bad Kind | The| Broward Funky Biscuit Photos: Tom Craig Photos: Jay Skolnick
Backstreet Boys | BB&T Center Photos: Tom Craig
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SCOTT STAPP By: Lori Smerilson Carson
Scott Stapp will be performing at the Broward Center of the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale on September 27th. Tickets are available at www.BrowardCenter.org
Stepping back into the spotlight Grammy Award winning Songwriter/Vocalist Scott Stapp is taking his The Space Between the Shadows tour across America. Florida fans will be able to catch this amazing talent on September 26th at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, September 27th in Amaturo Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, October 3rd at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville and October 4th at Hard Rock Live in Orlando. Taking a moment during this summer tour Stapp, Creed front man and solo artist (actually platinum certified from his previous two solo albums) revealed details of his tour and album The Space Between The Shadows, his first released in six years, which has already spawned four singles. Two, “Purpose For Pain” and “Face of the Sun,” with “Name” and “Gone Too Soon” on the verge of being released. SFL Music: The Space Between The Shadows, this album title sums up the songs on the album? The tour? Scott Stapp: Well The Space Between the Shadows is to me, 26 | www.SFLMusic.com
light. You know, it’s color. It’s finding the positivity and the light and the color in light. It’s coming out of those dark places and back into a place of peace and love and happiness and joy, and this album’s really a journey to that place. It’s actually a lyric from my upcoming new single which will be going to radio in about, oh five or six days called “Name.” It’s a lyric from that song, and when I was thinking about what to name the record, I felt after going over the body of work that, that was just the perfect title to sum up what my goal was. What it ended up being as I listened to the body of work, and that’s to find the light. SFL Music: What prompted you to write this album? There are some serious topics. How did this all come about? Stapp: Well I just felt it was time to make a new record and felt the creative juices beginning to flow, and decided to make an album. When I’m in the studio, I don’t go in with anything preplanned. I really want to kind of come from at times, a stream of consciousness place, and at other times just digging deep within myself in terms of reflection on the past, or digging deep
into what I’m feeling at the time, and then it all just, you know, kind of floods out as the process goes on. SFL Music: The tour goes into the Fall. What can fans expect from this show? Stapp: It’s a real high energy rock n roll show. I try to bring that arena type rock show with production, lights and all the bells and whistles into whatever venue that I’m playing. So, it’s a journey. It’s a musical journey that will encompass a lot of material off my new album. A couple of songs off my previous solo album and then of course songs from my Creed catalogue. So, really encompasses my entire career to date with an emphasis on my new record. SFL Music: Well people are looking forward to that. What prompted you to go into music? You were an athlete and you had offers (scholarships) to play baseball in college, but you chose music. Why did you choose this route? Stapp: Well it started at a very young age. I started performing and singing publicly when I was eight or nine years old, and then got tuned in to a few rock bands watching MTV. That’s when the seed was planted. I remember being nine and watching the Def Leppard “Photograph” video come on MTV and I remember thinking in my head, man I want to do that, but also you know, I wanted to be a pro-ball player. So, I went and pursued both of those my entire life and then life situations and life circumstances just came to a fork in the road, and I made the decision to pursue music. SFL Music: Two of your children sang on “Wake Up Call” that is on the new album The Space Between The Shadows?
go into my piano lessons or whatever lessons they were, and I was you know, look what I learned. Look what I taught myself. When I was getting shut down and never wanting to teach me the basics and how to read music and notes I just lost interest, because I wanted to go ahead and play what I was hearing on the radio. So, I played well enough and had self-taught enough to use the piano and guitar as writing tools, but by no means am I a virtuoso or would call myself a pianist or a guitarist. They’re just writing tools for me that I use to create with.
Stapp: Yes.
SFL Music: The Doors are one of your influences?
SFL Music: How did that come about?
Stapp: Yeah, The Doors and U2. I could rattle off a bunch of other bands, but I think The Doors were a huge influence in terms of how I read and saw in movies how Jim Morrison approached his lyric writing and the importance he put on that, and how he looked at it as poetry. Then U2, major influence again, you know, how the lyric writing was looked at. How prominent it was, and how meaningful it was, and then also how they wrote these songs that just made you feel, and cited an emotion and had meaning. It was more than just the rock n roll lifestyle, and so I would say U2 was the largest and biggest influence on me as a songwriter and as an artist.
Stapp: That was an amazing experience to have them sing. You know, I was in the studio with my producers, and one of my producers Scott Stevens said, man it would be awesome to have kids singing in this one section. I was like dude, that would be awesome, and he’s like, you know anybody? I was like, my kids! So, to have them involved in the studio process and have them come in, and we brought in some of their friends as well, and to have them see what daddy does making a record, and for them to be a part of it, was awesome, and it turned out great on the record. SFL Music: That is very cool! Do they take formal music lessons as well? Stapp: They both take formal guitar and piano lessons and they also have taken vocal lessons in the past, but I find that I work with them as well on all that, but sometimes, it’s funny to see your kids sometimes listen to other teachers better than they do you, he laughed. SFL Music: Did you take lessons too growing up? You taught yourself as well? Stapp: You know, I never had the attention span to stick with any lessons, any formal training with piano and guitar. I was playing by ear and learning songs off the radio, and so I would
SFL Music: Did you go to Florida State (FSU)? Stapp: Yes, I did. I went to Florida State. SFL Music: Majoring in music? Stapp: No. I was all over the place. At one point in time I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer so I majored in Political Science and minored in English, and also studied film and also studied Philosophy, Psychology. I just kind of bounced around trying to find myself and ah, got a record deal, was called off to New York during my final semester. Midterms of my senior year. SFL Music: Wow, so you went with your passion of music.
Stapp: Yeah, really had no choice at the time. SFL Music: Good choice. Stapp: Yeah, it turned out to be a good choice. SFL Music: There are a couple of songs on the new album. One was written for your children (“Name”) overcoming obstacles and another was “Gone Too Soon” for Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell. Were you friends with them? What inspired you to write that song? Stapp: Yeah, I wouldn’t say we were friends in the traditional sense, but we definitely were acquaintances. Everyone was kind and polite and I had much admiration for them, and that song “Gone Too Soon” was inspired by a culmination of events in one day. Chester passed on the same day as Chris Cornell’s birthday which brought up the memory of Chris’s passing and then you know, I’m flipping through the TV and I’m seeing a school shooting, and I’m seeing suicide rates for Vets going through the roof, and I even believe right around the same time I heard of an elementary school student committing suicide, and drug overdoses were up, and it all just hit me about the loss. The loss of lives, and I went to the studio, got together with a couple of buddies of mine and wrote that song. Really, it’s just kind of how that impacted me in that moment, but also with a hopeful feeling of, you know, celebration of their lives and then realizing from my belief, that we’ll meet again one day. So, that song really has got much of a broader reach besides those specific things that I listed, and really can relate to anyone who’s loved somebody and lost them. SFL Music: Your songs are definitely relatable. Is there anything you’d like your fans to gain or learn from your music? Stapp: You know, I just want to connect with people. I just want to connect with people on an emotional level. On a human level through my music, and that’s been my goal since day one. To kind of share this human experience and the gamut of emotions that we experience as human beings. I’m not trying to tap into a niche or limit my creativity and my work to any kind of specific genre. That’s why my albums have been so diverse from the heavier rock tunes, to the songs that have become big pop hits. I write based on feeling and wanting to connect, and feel that I’ve always had the desire to connect with the masses, just like the bands that I’ve looked up to the most like U2. So, really that’s what it’s all about for me. 28 | www.SFLMusic.com
SFL Music: What encouraged you to start With Arms Wide Open Foundation? Stapp: I started that in 1998 with really, just a conviction and a passion to help children and families in need. For many, many, many years I just did that behind the scenes and partnered with other organizations, or helped people as my heart felt compelled; but then as my life had its own struggles and trials and tribulations, the foundation has since expanded, and now we not only help children and families, but we also help Vets that are suffering from mental health issues, PTSD. It also extends to help those suffering from addiction and alcoholism. So, it’s really grown and just over the last, I think few years, I’ve kind of taken it public because I realize you can do much more to help if more people are involved. SFL Music: Your children also have organizations that they volunteer time to? Stapp: That’s my wife’s foundation which is in partnership with mine. She started a foundation while she was in college at Stetson (University) and it’s really taken off. I am so proud of her. Every year now here in Nashville she does a big back to school bash which continues to grow and grow and grow, where she provides back packs full of school supplies to children in need and families who can’t afford them. We had a huge event this year again where the kids got haircuts, medical exams, school supplies, new clothes because of her passion for education and helping kids and families that need help, because she really thinks that it’s not only giving them something that they need, but that, that first day of school and feeling prepared and feeling confident sets the tone for the entire year, but also is a valuable life skill about preparation. So, it’s something that the whole family has become passionate about, and now that Jaclyn has involved our children in, I’m just so proud of her for the works that she’s doing there. SFL Music: What is the name of the foundation? Stapp: It’s called Children Are Magical and it goes by the acronym CHARM. You can find out information about it at childrenaremagical.org. SFL Music: Well this is an organization our readers should look into. What made you move from Florida to Nashville, TN? You’re from Orlando? Stapp: Yeah, we’re both from the greater Orlando area, my wife and I. We lived in Miami for a while and then Boca Raton. Then a little over three years ago, we decided to
move to Nashville. You know, I was here so much, writing and rehearsing with my band and stuff when I wasn’t on tour, that it just made sense that I could spend more time with my family. We could be together more when I wasn’t on tour if we lived here. It’s such an amazing place to raise kids and has such a thriving music community and music scene and again, it just enables me to take the kids to school, then go do what I’ve got to do in the studio or with my band, then pick them up from school and be a coach. When in the past living in Florida, I would be gone. I’d be away from the kids, and so it’s enabled me to be more involved in my children’s lives. Be more present, and that’s always number one. SFL Music: You were inducted into the Florida Music Hall of Fame. How did that come about? Stapp: I just got the call and got the letter that I had been inducted and it was such an honor, and I’m just filled with gratitude that I was inducted and honored in that way. I would have never thought. SFL Music: Yeah that’s awesome. Now you worked a variety of various jobs in the past prior to your career. Do you think that played into your work ethic? What do you think you learned from those jobs, Oyster Shucker, Bar Tender, Pizza delivery, Stapp: Landscaping, construction worker, roofer. You know what I mean, it taught me the value of work. You know I had to begin taking care of myself at a very young age, at 17, and so from 17 to the present, I’ve had to work and pay for everything
30 | www.SFLMusic.com
that I have in my life to date. I had no help. So, I think it taught me the value of work and how to set goals and work to achieve those goals. It definitely has affected me in terms of my approach to how I handle my business, and my wife and I handle my business now. Also, just what you put into it. You know, what you put in is what you get out. So, I think learning the value of good hard work and self-sufficiency and paying your bills and learning that at a very young age, definitely think, has a great and positive influence on your life as you grow and mature and become an adult. SFL Music: That’s great advice. What would you advise up and coming artists? Stapp: I would say focus on your music. Focus on writing good songs and then the best way to get that music heard and exposed is to record it and record it with quality. You know, your initial presentation of your work is very critical into getting discovered or getting it in the right hands of someone that can take you to the next level. So, hone in on your song writing, and then get it recorded and make it the highest quality recording and presentation that you can make so you can catch the eye of someone, if that’s the career that you want to pursue. SFL Music: Is that how you approached your first band in Tallahassee? Stapp: Yeah, that’s exactly what we did. We wrote our first twelve songs, found a local producer, put our heart and soul into recording the music, packaged it like it was something you could buy in the store, created our own fictitious record com-
pany name, went around to the various CD stores in the city and said hey, we’re from Blue Collar Records, which was the name of the record company and company that we created, and we want to sell our CD’s here. Would you give it a trial run? They said, yes, and then our local radio station there in Tallahassee began playing us on the Local Bands Only show, and because of the feedback from the listeners, they ended up moving it to the regular radio station play list, and we ended up selling 5,000 CD’s that we had out within a week. That was enough to flag all the major record companies from all over the United States into, who’s this no name band from Tallahassee who sold 5,000 records in one week? So, you know, yeah, we approached it very seriously from the art design, to the packaging, to our pictures, and to our presentation, and to the quality of the recording, and looking back, that made a huge difference and paid off for us. SFL Music: Is there anything else you want SFL readers to know about the show and new album? Stapp: “Well, I’m just excited for everyone to go check out my new album The Space Between The Shadows. We had an amazing first week, you know being the number ten highest selling hard copy album in the country, the United States. Top five, actually number three Rock Album in the United States and the UK, and so, I really want to get that out there, and for those who haven’t heard the album yet, to check it out. It’s something I’m very proud of and if they’re going to come to the show, I think they’ll enjoy having heard some of the new material before we play it live.
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BILLY PRICE
ances by Rick Estrin, Alabama Mike, and Mike Zito. Estrin plays harmonica on the title track, which he wrote and recorded on one of his earlier albums. A big fan of Alabama Mike, Price was thrilled to share the lead vocals with Mike on “Dog Eat Dog.” Gulf Coast Records co-founder Mike Zito also contributed a scorching guitar solo on “All Night Long Cafe.” Dog Eat Dog contains 12 songs, 8 of which are original compositions. The album opens with “Working on Your Chain Gang,” co-written by Price and his longtime collaborator, keyboardist Jim Britton. Price and Britton also co-wrote the atmospheric “Lose My Number,” “All Night Long Cafe?,” and “Toxicity” (with Executive Producer Guy Hale), and Britton wrote “Walk Back In.” Price teamed with another longtime collaborator, French guitarist Fred Chape?llier, to write “Remnants,” a great new blues song, and the tuneful sweet soul track, “More Than I Needed.” Price worked with Bill Troiani, writer of “Reckoning” for the last album, on a great new blues for this album titled, “You Gotta Leave.” The covers, in addition to “Dog Eat Dog,” are Bobby Byrd’s “We’re in Love,” the Otis Rush blues classic “My Love Will Never Die,” and “Same Old Heartaches,” first recorded by the Impressions and written by Price’s friends, the songwriting team of Melvin and Mervin Steals, best known for writing “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” by the Spinners. The Otis Rush song, a staple in Price’s live repertoire, was added after Andersen saw a YouTube video of Price performing the song and suggested recording a new version of it.
On August 2nd, Gulf Coast Records will release Dog Eat Dog, the new studio album from soul blues singer Billy Price. After the critically acclaimed success and Blues Music Award nomination of his last album, Reckoning, Billy was excited and eager to get back into Greaseland Studio in San Jose?, California with producer Kid Andersen. Kid and Billy’s mutual love for the music and commitment to making an original contribution to the soul blues genre is evident in this new collection of recordings. Kid and Billy assembled a first-class group 32 | www.SFLMusic.com
of musicians on Dog Eat Dog, which features Price on vocals along with Andersen (guitars and assorted instruments), Alex Pettersen (drums), Jerry Jemmott (bass), Jim Pugh (keys), Eric Spaulding (tenor sax), Jack Sanford (baritone sax), and John Halblieb (trumpet). Andersen added congas to most tracks, covered by Jon Otis (son of the great Johnny Otis) and Vicki Randle (Jay Leno Tonight Show Band, Mavis Staples). Randle also provided background vocals along with Lisa Leuschner Andersen, Charlie Owen, and the Sons of the Soul Revivers gospel group. Dog Eat Dog also features guest appear-
2016 Blues Music Award Winner Billy Price first attracted national attention during his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan. Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan’s LPs, That’s What I’m Here For and Live Stock. Since then, with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band, and solo projects, Billy Price has recorded and released a total of 17 albums, CDs, and DVDs. In April 2016, he was officially recognized and inducted as a Pittsburgh Rock ’n Roll Legend at an award ceremony. Price’s album This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2015. Billy’s last album, Reckoning, was released in June, 2018, and nominated for a Blues Music Award for Best Soul Blues Album of the year.
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By: Lori Smerilson Carson They say experience is key. Well, these two ladies have the experience to play right on key, with every note they perform with their power duo The Spear Shakers. Ohio native Vocalist/Guitarist Kelly Richey explained how she and Drummer Sherri McGee, from Lexington, KY, paired up to utilize their past experiences in the music industry with this duo which was recently nominated for an LA Music Critics Award “Best Video Official/Group” for their video “Leaving It All Behind.” SFL Music: How did you start this duo with Sherri McGee? Kelly Richey: Well, when I first starting touring, I was in a band on Arista Records called Stealin’ Horses and we were based out of Lexington, and Sherri McGee had moved to Lexington to go to UK (University of Kentucky), and she was in a band called Velvet Elvis on Enigma Records. So, we were both the two bands that got signed and were on tour and we never got to play together, but we knew who each other was because we had a lot of friends. All these years, she ended up in LA. I ended up in Nashville. I ended up relocating back in Cincinnati because I wanted to be closer to my parents, and I was touring anyway so it didn’t really matter. I was living out of 34 | www.SFLMusic.com
a suitcase most of my life. She moved back to Lexington and had a couple of kids, which by the way her son is a phenomenal guitar player having a lot of success now, but I was asked to do three things that I never do. One, play on a New Year’s Eve gig in my home town, and to do cover material, but it was going to be on women in rock and it was to benefit a girl’s rock camp of some sort there. Then to play in an all-girl band. Well, when I was in Stealin’ Horses we were an all-female band and one year we did I think, 275 shows, and its three females in the front seat of an S10 pick-up and it’s like, I don’t want to do that again.” She laughed. “I say that in jest, but I said, you know what? I’ve never gotten to work with Sherri McGee. If you could get her to do the project, I’d drive back and forth for rehearsals and I’d love to do it. So, Sherri was like wow, if Kelly’s going to do it, I’ll do it. So that was our first time to get to play together and the show was great. The woman that put it together just picked the best songs. I asked Sherri, I said, you
know I’ve always wanted to do a power duo and I had just sold my house of seventeen years. Downsized to a beautiful little condo and I just released my 16th CD the year prior to that. I wrapped up touring for that. It’s like, I don’t know what I want to do next, but I’m going to take a minute and sort that out. That’s when this project dropped in my lap and so I asked Sherri, would you want to do something like that? She’s like, absolutely! Said you know, I’m envisioning like the White Stripes, Black Keys. I think we had two rehearsals and that’s like well, we don’t need to do that again. I mean, we just clicked. I was in there with an MP3. If there’s something that I want to do, she listens to it and we run through it at sound check and it’s just magic. she’s really the drummer that I’ve always looked for. She’s very musical. We have fun and she’s a rock star. She’s such a great performer that you know sometimes, I’ll be up front and do-
ing a guitar solo and I’ll think people are clapping for me and I’ll look back and it’s like no, Sherri’s back there doing something crazy. So, it’s wonderful to share the stage with someone that people say look, I don’t know who to watch when I watch you all having so much fun up there. So, that’s the story of how the Spear Shakers came about. SFL Music: Where did the name The Spear Shakers come from? Richey: I’m an avid reader and learner and I was curious about Shakespeare and the story of Shakespeare, and I found a documentary on Sir Francis Bacon. One of the theories is that the Greek Goddess of Damon was a spear shaker. That name turned backwards, Shakespeare, is where the name came from. I’m no historian on Shakespeare, but I liked that story. So, The Spear Shakers, you know, the Greek Goddess of Damon is shaking her spear for justice. It’s like, that’s appropriate! So that’s our story. SFL Music: Who inspired you musically? Richey: I grew up in a southern Baptist church and I mean Casey Kasem, top 40, roller skating, Barry Manilow. Then I got a longhaired boyfriend. He liked rock n roll and if I was going to be cool, I needed to kind of up my game and put away my Barry Manilow records. I grew up playing piano, but I was dyslexic so it was no fun for anyone involved. My next-door neighbor had a set of drums and I’d babysit for his kids when I was in junior high school, and I’d always play the drums until he finally said, why don’t you take them home with you. They were tired of hearing me play them in their basement. So, I played drums for a little bit and then I got an electric guitar. One of my cousins made this guitar that wasn’t playable, in shop (class) and I tried to give it to my boyfriend. He said, mm, why don’t you play it? Well it wasn’t playable and my dad said, Kelly if you get rid of those drums, I’ll buy you anything you want. I said, well I want an electric guitar. I don’t want an acoustic. I want an electric. So, my dad worked at Sears and I picked out a Sears guitar in the catalogue, and I didn’t know if I’d get it or not, but for Christmas, it was the first time I ever got to open my presents on Christmas Eve. They put it at the next-door neighbor’s house and I got an electric guitar and a little 3-Watt amp, and when I hit a power cord, it kind of bounced across the floor. I went through three of those guitars in three months. They just fell apart. The
tuning keys fell off, the pickups broke, and so they got me my first good little telecopy. There were twins that I would go roller skating with, and their dad was a guitar player that taught in town. He was real, real well known, and so I immediately started taking lesson from him, and it really matters the teacher that you have. He was a brilliant teacher and he taught me how to play by ear, and he had a way of breaking down theory to where you could understand it. Then I used his teaching methods and went on to teach because, as someone with Dyslexia, I really struggled in school and so whenever I had those teachers that took time for me, it mattered. So, teaching has always been one of my greatest passions. I have an online classroom with 150 guitar instructional videos that I show myself. Then I’m a TrueFire online guitar instructor. They’re the largest online guitar teaching platform on the planet. They brought me down to do two different video series, and so I have two series for them in a channel that people can subscribe to for $5.00 a month and access all the videos. Then if they want to take lessons, they can do that as they wish. So, that’s kind of been my journey musically. Then I have a whole other side of my life. In 2010, I came off the road for a year. The only time I’ve ever not toured, and got sober and got healthy. I’ve picked up weight over the years and just the road was beating me up, so I thought, you know, if I’m going to continue to do this, I have to get healthy, and just like guitar teaching really helped me progress as a player in ways that, you know when you’ve always got a guitar in your hand no matter what. So, I started getting certifications as a life coach and I’m a dream coach, helping people accomplish what they most want to do, and I’m a true purpose coach helping find what they are most designed to do and to be. I finished a threeyear training just this last May. I’m a spiritual director and I’m about to do this week, my final certification as a health and wellness professional. So, I weave all of these things together. I coach clients from all over the world and I’m a writing
facilitator as well. Women Writing For Change, it’s a writing program that I offer. So, I stay really busy, but it all fits together in this real lovely way. I’m very happy to not be living on the road and touring. If there are festivals and things we get and I want to take them, we go because its real simple. I don’t have to worry about the labors of the band and all the orchestration. So, if I say hey jump, she says how high, and we go. SFL Music: Who or what influences you when you write? Richey: I’m a very riff driven blues-based songwriter so (Led) Zeppelin, (Jimi) Hendrix. Those kinds of, you know, when you’ve got a groove, you’ve got a riff and the verses are what happen in between guitar solos, but throughout the years my riff is more and more, and I’m a writing facilitator. I have an awful lot to pick from. So, it has as much to do with kind of, words having a musical sense as having some deep meaning, but I can’t sing a song that doesn’t hold a meaning for me, so I tend to just turn on if I feel inspired. A lot of times it’s because I ran across a riff that I like and lay down a rhythm and pull up a drum track real quick and just write a stream of consciousness. I’ll hit record and I’ll sing all kinds of ideas, maybe for ten minutes. Then I’ll go back through and edit out what I like and put that in a pile. I’ve got hundreds of songs that at some point may get written or may not. Some float to the top. I used to carry around a Walkman recorder, a cassette recorder and a few years ago, I ran across in my basement, three milk crates filled with cassettes. When I transferred those over, I thought, you know, I better transfer those over while they’re still transferrable. I had 72 hours’ worth of song ideas.
So, I’ve gone through those. All of the songs on my last two CD’s came from those song ideas and those were collected over the 80’s and 90’s, maybe early 2000’s. Now, all the stuff that I do I sent on my computer or my iPhone but, you know, I hear things and there’s like, oh I love that because sometimes for me, I have to have, here’s something that hooks me in. I’m not the typical singer songwriter. I write a lot of poetry. Its usually pain driven, and then when I’m not in pain, I tend to not write as much because I write too much curriculum development for my coaching platform. So, when something rises to the top, I grab it real quick. I capture it whether I finish it or not. I’m running a six week writing series. It’s one that I run quarterly here in town called Celebrating Our Struggles and it looks at how the gifts that each one of us has, comes from the things that we’ve overcome. A number of people take it every time. Each time we go through it, I find new poems to open the circle with, and new writing prompts, add a little different twist, but the themes remain the same. Learning to find those gifts within ourselves and then how to look at our dreams as a journey and not a destination, something that we don’t fail at, and then how we carry those gifts out into the world of our lives. It’s the center of self-care. I do selfcare workshops for health care professionals in corporate settings and in community settings, because if we’re not taking care of our self, people tend to take care of everything else and everyone else around them and then there’s nothing left. So, the quality of all of our interactions degrades. So, I’ve always known that music is very healing and a source that would allow people to step away from the stress of the day and come hear some great rock n roll or some great blues, and I find that writing. I always had a saying, a piece of paper always listens, because when I was growing up, I struggled with a lot of things and didn’t feel like anyone was listening, and so I always wrote. Even though I didn’t claim to be a writer, I wrote and I shoved it in a milk crate underneath my bed. So, that was my story and my journey and I kept everything I ever wrote, and I like to inspire or encourage other people to write as an outlet. SFL Music: That’s a great idea. Is that what you’d recommend 36 | www.SFLMusic.com
to new artists that you’re working with? Richey: Yes, if I’m working with a guitar student or someone who comes to me for like coaching and kind of music, entrepreneurship, because I have my own Vanity Record label. I released all of my own records and I have national distribution. When I was on Arista Records, I saw what the industry looked like and it’s not for the faint of heart. I think the industry is a wonderful machine for those people that can do that thing. I think it crushes a lot of sensitive and creative artists. It’s not a mold that works for everyone. So Ani DiFranco had just hit the scene in the midnineties and she was putting out her own records, and I had a real love of rock as Stealin’ Horses was a soft rock band, and so I was a fan of Ani’s first two records and I thought you know, if she can do that I can too. What I had seen in the industry was something that I didn’t want to repeat for myself. So, a lot of times if I’m working with artists, the first advice I’ll give them is, if you want to do this for a living, it really needs to be something that no matter what, you couldn’t live without this in your life as your central focus, and if you can’t say that for certainty, than please approach it
as a hobby so you really love it, because it’s not an easy career and it’s something that will require constant work. I mean, whenever you work for yourself, you’re faced with that, but when you’re an artist, it’s difficult to modify. You’re going to have to figure out how to do that. There’s no template. If I’m working with someone and life coaching that has, maybe substance abuse issues or that just has lived life you know, and wants to get in touch with their own stories. I keep writing when I’m dong coaching and I encourage people to write, and there’s a number of trade practices that I have and tools that I use that encourage people to write to their own truth, and it’s a powerful tool, and things happen when you pick up a pen with a writing prompt and you just write and get out in your own way. Things hit that page that are very much deeper than the surface that your mind will allow you to process, and you can always throw it away you know, you don’t have to keep it. You don’t have to say it out loud, or you can hold onto it forever. When people write, they’re forced to listen and when I facilitate writing circles, they’re forced to listen to themselves and then each other. It’s a powerful tool. I’m really thankful to be able to do what I love. That’s another thing. You don’t have to support yourself at what you dream of doing. It can be something that you just simply enjoy and it doesn’t have to look like the way anybody else does it, because those would be best if you do your version of yourself, and the world doesn’t really promote that. It promotes conformity and yeah, I could go down the road with that so. SFL Music: How did the nomination for the LA Music Critics Award come about? Richey: I hired Doug (Deutsch) to be my publicist because I wanted somebody out working my press, and usually when I have a record that comes out, I always get a publicist. I wanted somebody to support the Spear Shakers in general, and he works with so many of the big blues artists today, and just works hard. He knows where all the outlets are, and he took my stuff and when he and I talked about what he needed to promote me, it’s like, I had fronted my own band, The Kelly Richey band. So, people knew me as Kelly Richey the guitar player. So, having the Spear Shakers was going to be new because I had no name recognition with that. I wanted some-
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body to get that out there.
here and we keep going.
However, I’d gone through all of my material in mind, my favorite songs that I thought would work best as a power duo, and that’s where we started. So, I said to Doug, I said, look, I want to go on and record three songs live. There’s a great little studio here in town. They have a beautiful room, perfect for live set up, and then I want to do a music video on each one of them. Then from there, we’ll weave together the right promotional reel and put all the quotes from the Guitar Player Magazine, Blues Revue (Magazine), all the quotes from the articles that I’ve had throughout my career. Therefore, we’ll have four things for you to promote. Got some really cool photos. Sherri, she’s such a character. If we throw this together, there’s a good visual appeal that I thought was interesting. So, I got him the tools that he needed and he went to work. They liked the video and gave us a nomination, and so we shall see.
songs and do the videos one at a time and for the most part, I plan to continue that message and as I collect material for an album, then I’ll put together an album. I have the luxury to look now on creative impulse and not based on just monetary, you know like, oh yeah, I’ve got a band. Oh, these are expenses, this is the tour cost. It’s like no, you know, I have a lifetimes work under my belt and I have the ideal situation, and I have my own studio, and I have access to some amazing studios here in town that have really nice rooms and good music producers as I need them. So, we’re just going to kind of walk our way through it and do what our instinct tells us. I’m sure we’ll be doing more recording and more videos this winter, and I love working with Sherri because I mean, she’s a one take kind of girl, you know. All I have to do is worry about having myself together,” she laughed. “She’s right there. She’s always got my back and I love that. That’s the best-case scenario in every aspect of my life right now.
SFL Music: So, the music you put out is on your own label correct?
SFL Music: She goes up to Cincinnati where you are to record?
Fans can also find information they want from: kellyrichey.com
Richey: Yes, yes. Always have, and you know the trend has been lately to do singles. So, we released each of these three
Richey: Yeah, yeah. That’s where we do it. We typically ride together, or I either meet her there and pick her up or she meets me
Guitar Instruction Link: guitarlessonsbykellyrichey.com
SFL Music: What can fans look forward to at your shows? Richey: In your face rock n roll. It’s not for the faint of heart. I promise, you won’t be sorry. This is a project that 100 percent of the time, delivers with every single note and I wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t because I’ve been there and I’ve done it, and I had no intentions of putting this project together. It fell out of the sky, and I love to pick up a guitar and get onstage with Sherri, and it’s always different I mean, we have the chemistry to jam and the places we go are hair raising for me. I go somewhere else and the crowd comes with us. So, it’ll be a journey and I want to invite people to come on the journey. We’ve got a Facebook Page, a fan page The Spear Shakers Official Fan page. The Spear Shakers home page: thespearshakers.com
KISS | BB&T Center Photo: Jay Skolnick
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KISS | BB&T Center Photo: Jay Skolnick
Rebelution August 17 | Sunset Cove Amphitheater A normally rainy and thunder-shocked venue, Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton, churned out the sunshine after a quick afternoon storm. The weather allowed the Rebelution Good Vibes Summer Tour 2019 on August 17th to begin without delay or future evacuation. Sometimes the chances a summer reggae concert at this venue being rained out is about fifty-fifty, but every year the top-ranked band returns South Florida and gives love to the local reggae community without fail. Being one of the most prominent groups the scene today allowed Rebelution to feature a diverse line-up with fellow collaborators, Proteje and Collie Buddz, along with disc jockey DJ Mackle spinning dancehall and reggae tunes between each set. The party initiated with a short and sweet Collie Buddz set of his trendiest dancehall/hip-hop tunes that helped raise the American-born Bermudanraised reggae rapper to notoriety. The crowd heard tunes like “She Gimme Love,” “Tomorrow’s Another Day” and “Come Around.” Buddz always produces the finest performance with his live band bumpin’ smooth dancehall beats and his extraordinary SOCA vocals. He loves his fans so much he even brought one up to sing a bit of 40 | www.SFLMusic.com
“Blind to You” at the end his brief and bittersweet set. Buddz also performed a couple brand new songs off his latest album, Hybrid, like “Love & Reggae” and “Legal Now,” plus “Good Life” from his previous LP of the same name. Reggae revivalist Proteje brought the Jamaican fire with a live band playing hip-hop, dancehall, and reggae melodies. Proteje’s live “militant” band, Indiggnation, performed several prominent jams from Proteje’s latest Grammy-nominated release Matter of Time, including “Like This,” “Truth & Rights,” “Flames” and “No Guarantee.” The last two songs were written with his legendary contemporary Chronixx. The most popular track, “Who Knows,” stirred the audience into a jammin’ dance groove. Fellow reggae revivalist and Jamaican reggae rapper Jesse Royal joined the stage with Indiggnation and sang several tunes, including “Sudden Flight” and “Lion Order.” The artists exited the stage to the electronic dancehall track, “Kingston Be Wise” bumpin’ out the amphitheater’s speakers. DJ Mackle followed up with his chronic dancehall tunes, accompanied by the beginning of an amazing laser light show. A band like Rebelution is currently known as the apex of the reggae genre for several reasons. Their socially and politically conscious lyrics, catchy rock melodies combined with reggae rhythms, hooks and choruses, along with a mind-blowingly perfected live full band performance. Rebelution has a knack for unsteadying the pace of their concerts by continuously
changing the vibe of their sets from fast-paced horn-heavy blasts to calm and easy vibrations. They seduce the entire crowd into singing along and reflecting on the lyrics pertaining to their everyday lives. The Grammy-nominated reggae giants from Santa Barbara still have four of their original five members, Eric Rachmany on lead vocals and guitar, Marley D. Williams on bass, Rory Carey on keyboards, and Wesley Finley on drums, along with touring members Kyle Ahern on guitar, Zach Meyerowitz on trumpet, and Eric Hirschhom on saxophone. The headlining set exploded with horns blasting the intro to “Sky’s the Limit,” followed by Eric’s mesmerizing voice and the booming sound of the entire band in perfect harmony. The rest of the set was a diverse culmination of top hits, numerous oldies, and calm ballads and vibes. The vast span of their catalogue include all six Billboard-charting full albums, one EP, and several acoustic, live, and dub albums. There were too many to describe every song. Along with several surprise oldies like “Heart of a Lion” and “Green To Black,” Rebelution featured both opening tour-mates on their respective tracks. Collie Buddz hopped onstage to back them up and sing his verse from “Hate to Be the One” and sang one of their verses as well. Proteje came on after the soft acoustic oldie, “Feeling Alright,” to perform the weedconscious, “Inhale Exhale.” All the while, the moon and a laser light show shined above, blazing the intense fog of smoke in the air and illuminating the trees behind the crowd. Next was “Good Vibes,” the inspiration for the name of the tour followed by “Outta Control,” the final song they would play before their encore, featuring a brass-blown solo frenzying the crowd into partying outta control. The encore included a couple more oldies, “Safe and Sound” and “Attention Span,” before ending on the uplifting jam, “De-Stress,” to unwind the reggae community before departing home, safe and sound. -David Max Shaw • Photos Brad Stevens
Monday - Friday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
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By: Lori Smerilson Carson
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Stone Temple Pilots will be performing at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, KY on September 27, 28 & 29th. Tickets are available at www.LouderThanLifeFestival.com
In 1992, debut album Core hit the airwaves and Stone Temple Pilots solidified themselves as one of the 1990’s most talented bands. Their extraordinary abilities were heard on fan favorite singles like “Wicked Garden,” “Sex Type Thing” and “Plush” which won them a Grammy Award. They continued to stay strong with singles like “Interstate Love Song” from their Purple LP, “Big Bang Baby” from Tiny Music…Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop and on through today with “Meadow” their first single from their most recent released album Stone Temple Pilots (2018).
a great idea. Just seems like a perfect match because they have that throwback sound that no one really does anymore, and it’s just great to see them every night.
Lead Singer Jeff Gutt revealed how he and band founders Guitarist Dean DeLeo, Bassist Robert DeLeo and Drummer Eric Kretz approached and made this seventh studio album, which displays their musical roots on “Never Enough” and “Thought She’d Be Mine,” as well as what fans can look forward to on this new tour with Rival Sons. They will also be taking the stage at the Louder Than Life Festival that takes place in Louisville, KY on September 27, 28 & 29th.
SFL Music: What do you feel connects the two bands?
SFL Music: Tell me about the Tour with Rival Sons. How did that come about with them?
SFL Music: What got you into music? What made you choose music as a career?
Jeff Gutt: Um, let’s see. There was a meeting in the studio one day, and we came in with some ideas for tours and can’t remember who yelled it out, but someone yelled out Rival Sons. We were all like yeah, that’s
Gutt: I was probably six years old when I started playing guitar. My dad showed me three chords and when I came back to his house the next time, two weeks later, I had a song just out of those three chords
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SFL Music: What can fans look forward to seeing with your show? Gutt: There will be classic Stone Temple Pilot songs that everyone grew up on including myself, and then some of the new stuff. Then you can see Rival Sons as well every night, which I’m really excited about.
Gutt: I think it’s their approach. It’s old school. You know, a lot of people don’t make music that sounds like that anymore, and in a very similar way, Stone Temple Pilots, they just have that sound that existed in the 70’s that I love. Its rock music and it really comes through in a lot of their stuff. So yeah, I dig it.
because it was all I knew. So, that’s kind of what started it all. For me, music is like a world language where you can really take someone somewhere on a journey, or you can escape yourself and you know, all those things, that’s really what music is about for me. It’s really about just going on a journey, and you can become anything, you can do anything in music. So, to me, music chose me, I didn’t really choose it. SFL Music: Did you have formal lessons? Gutt: Yeah, I had a couple of guitar lessons when I was sixteen or so, maybe, fifteen. I took lessons for maybe a year. I had like two vocal lessons, but those didn’t really stick. So, I just kind of learned on my own by listening to singers that I loved and just trying to emulate certain aspects of their voice that I loved, and putting it all together. Singing in cover bands for many years, same kind of thing where you’re emulating songs while still being yourself, gravitating towards the aspects of that song that turned you on in the first place. For me, that’s been golden for what I’m doing now. SFL Music: Who are your influences musically? Gutt: My influences, um, Jim Morrison from The Doors, Freddie Mercury. I love Sebastian Bach, the singer from Skid Row because he had so much power in his voice, still does, and the higher he sang the more powerful it got. I definitely looked up to him when I was younger. Then, I’d have to say Scott Weiland because, you know. I sing in his band now so. I love the Vines and Norah Jones. I don’t know, there are so many things that influence me. It’s hard to put in words. Pink Floyd, definitely some Pink Floyd in there. Tool, Maynard. SFL Music: So, you have a wide variety. You’ve mentioned previously that Stone Temple Pilots were actually another influence on you as well? Gutt: Yeah, well the year that first record came out, is the year I put down a guitar and started just concentrating on vocals. I literally didn’t pick up a guitar for an entire year. So, all I did was concentrate on vocals and singing, and there was so much good stuff coming out at that time. I mean, there was Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, so it was hard not to be influenced by all that. It was impossible not to be. So, yeah that definitely had a big impact on me when I was younger. SFL Music: What do you think has kept Stone Temple Pilots strong over the years? There was a period where they took a break, but what has kept them strong and makes them so unique? Gutt: Well you know, the brothers. Being brothers in the band for me, that would be a detriment. I would be fighting every day with my brother if we were in a band, but they do it with such grace and honor because they really respect music, and they have such a musical vocabulary. It’s like going to the library every time I’m around them, and Eric, he’s been with them for so long that they’ve all kind of become brothers. I think that brotherhood is what’s really the strongest vibe with those guys. That’s why it took so long doing my audition to get the gig because you know, they were letting me into a brotherhood, and that’s basically like entering into a marriage in a way. The intimacy of writing music and loving or hating each other’s ideas and how you go about that, it’s a very personal thing. So, I think there’s a closeness and bond because of that.
ally quickly except for a couple. I would get burnt out before like the last two songs of the record are done. I have to trick myself into motivation for the last two songs of a record, whatever those end up being. So yeah, that one came together really simply actually. The whole song was written in about 20 minutes. We were in the studio and Dean was in the other room playing on this little toy guitar. It was one of Eric’s kids guitars, and I heard what he was doing in the other room, and I heard something in my head, so I walked in and just kind of ran with it, and I think they had the part, was different, was set up differently. So, I kind of took them on that one and they followed me and it worked out. They were like, alright, he knows what he’s doing. So, that was the first song we wrote together from scratch. They had some where they had music already recorded and I just had to come In and sing on them, and I think I did like six of those in the first day. Every song is kind of different. SFL Music: What was different about writing the songs? Gutt: What was different about that one is that it started from scratch. I heard something and I walked in, I was like, no, no, no, we got to do this, we got to do that, we got to change this part, and do this, and once it all came together and I had an idea, I kind of had the vision for it, and when it got to the end, it turned out even better than I had anticipated. That one was really different in that aspect. It was the first one where we started from scratch. SFL Music: The other songs (14 songs total recorded), you came in and put your ideas with their ideas? Is that how the flow went? Gutt: Well, yeah kind of. I just made up melodies and came in, recorded those melodies without any lyrics. It was kind of just mumbo jumbo and almost all of those we ended up keeping. I tried to go in and write the lyrics and yeah, every song was pretty much done differently except maybe those first six where they had music already recorded. Those were all kind of done the same way. SFL Music: How did you come up with the title of the album, Stone Temple Pilots 2018? To commemorate?
SFL Music: How did the songwriting go for this album? There was one song that was the first song you wrote together “The Art of Letting Go”?
Gutt: It has such a beautiful cover with the butterfly and everything. We just didn’t really want to label it as its own entity. It felt like the songs themselves really speak to what the records about, and so they were like, yeah let’s do that. Let’s just keep it self-titled. So, we just ran with that.
Gutt: Yeah. Really quickly actually. Almost all of them were done re-
SFL Music: Do the DeLeo brothers have their own studio?
Gutt: Yeah, well Eric the drummer, he has his own studio in his house and then Robert has a studio in his house. So, there’s such a mix of where we go on what day. It depends on what we’re doing. SFL Music: So, with the producer, you just handled everything yourselves? Gutt: Yeah, we self-produced it. So, it’s just us. Us and our engineer, (Ryan Williams). SFL Music: Oh, very cool. What would you recommend to a new artist? An up and coming artist? Gutt: Whew, that’s a long answer,” he chuckled. “I guess the short version would be just to be true to yourself and stick to your guns because, a lot of people will try to push you in different ways, in different avenues where they think you should be, and the only thing you’re going to feel good about at the end of the day, is if you stand on your own two feet and do it your own way. If you do it yourself in your own way and it doesn’t work then you can live with that. It’s hard to live with it if you do what someone else tells you to do and it doesn’t work out, and then the blame game starts happening. That situation, you don’t want to be a part of, so my advice would be to know who you are first of all, and then stick to your guns, and you’ve got to be able to do things your own way or you won’t be able to live with it afterwards. SFL Music: That’s good advice. So, where do you see STP going in the future? Any plans for anything new besides the tour and the new album? Gutt: Well, we have that new album. We have another one that’s going to be coming out the beginning of next year at some point, which is completely different than anything that Stone Temple Pilots has done. So, I’m excited for that. Then yeah, we’re going to get back in the studio soon here and start recording yet another one. There’s just so much going on and it’s such a motivated time, and we have a lot of ideas. Yeah, they did take a long break, so they’re anxious to get back to writing, as am I. So, it’s all about making new songs and music, and we’re just going to barrel down that road and see what happens. SFL Music: Do you write continuously? What inspires you to write a song? Gutt: It could be anything. Literally anything could inspire, like watching the morning sun come up, sometimes is very inspiring for me so, I’ll wake up extra early or I’ll just stay up all night just to have that moment of silence when the sun first comes up. There are so many things. It could be hearing a song in a car going by that sounds like something else. I mean, there’s like a jillion things that will inspire you to write a song and then you know, there’s personal experience and feelings and emotions and 44 | www.SFLMusic.com
all those things that can go onto it as well. I mean, possibilities are endless. SFL Music: What do you want fans to look forward to with the show, tour or anything that’s going on with Stone Temple Pilots now? Gutt: Well, its a real exciting time and we want the fans of STP to come out and celebrate their entire careers and that’s what we’re really going to be doing. It’s going be a celebration of the music they’ve made and the music we’ve been making recently, and the music that we’re going to make, and with Rival Sons, you really can’t lose because its two great bands, and I’m really excited to be watching them from backstage every night. So, yeah, come out and say hello. It’ll be a blast. Keep watch for upcoming Stone Temple Pilots shows this fall but if you can’t wait make sure to check them out at the Louder Than Life festival September 27, 28 & 29th in Louisville, KY.
didn’t. So, we were all waiting there and it came to the day of the show and I said to the promoter, can’t do the show. He said, “why not? We haven’t got any equipment. He said, well if you don’t do something, he said, they will probably kill you. I went, OK, well I better do something then. He said, we’ve got a piano in the theater. So basically, the audience arrived and through a translator said look, the equipment hasn’t arrived, but I’m here and I’ll do the show on the piano. If you’re not happy, then just go and ask for your money back at half-time and that’ll be fine. If you want to stay, stay. To my amazement, it was quite a big place at about 4000 and only 4 people left. Two of those were ill and I don’t know what happened to the other two, but it was just great fun and my band who were there, one stated, you should do this. You really should do this, and they said try the comedy that you do a lot over in England, because I had comedy shows of my own in England. So, I came back and did a few shows, throwing in a few stories. I must admit to my surprise, it was hugely successful, and I’ve been doing them almost every year, certainly every two years, for the last 30 plus years. My agent in America, he was in England and he came to see one of the shows and he said, you have to bring this to America. He said, you really do. I said, well you are my agent! That’s how it happened.
By: Lori Smerilson Carson
RICK WAKEMAN One could easily say Rick Wakeman is a true all-around entertainer. What one might not know is how he has taken his talents all around the world. Florida fans will be able to experience this extraordinarily gifted keyboardist on his The Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour (the first US tour in 13 years), in Clearwater on October 26th at the Capitol Theatre and in Orlando on October 27th at The Plaza Live. Prior to crossing the big pond, Wakeman took time from his busy schedule in England to divulge his career path, inspirations and influences. Even before he joined YES in 1971, through 2017 when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (where he gave a most hilarious acceptance speech), he has had many incredible experiences that have led him to where he is today, and he gladly shares those stories with his audiences. SFL Music: Tell me about this tour. It looks like it will be a lot of fun, a lot of music and comedy. Rick Wakeman: Yeah, it’s something that I’ve been doing in the UK for over 30 years now with different shows, and they started a bit by accident in a strange way. I was doing a concert with my band in Costa Rico, we’re going back 30 plus years, and I arrived in Costa Rico, my band arrived in Costa Rico and the equipment 46 | www.SFLMusic.com
It’s been great fun to do and actually much harder work than doing a band show because, when you’re doing the band show, you’ve got quite a bit of time when you’re certainly not the focal point in any way so you can really relax a little bit and if you need to scratch your leg, you can scratch your leg and nobody cares. If you’re the only one at the piano and then standing up and talking, you don’t have that moment where you can scratch your leg or do something. So, it’s a lot of concentration, but I love doing it. Love telling the stories. I’ve always loved the comedy side of things which is big for me, certainly over here in the UK. I’m probably as well known in the UK for the comedies as I am for the music in a strange way. So, it’ll be lovely to bring it to America. I am so looking forward to it. SFL Music: Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing the show. How did you get into comedy? Wakeman: The comedy thing started probably back in the early 80’s. It was sort of a little bit by accident. I mean, I’ve always loved my comedy and various things, and a lot of well-known comedians in the UK are great friends of mine. Then I was in USSR doing some, ironically doing some piano shows and TV way before the Berlin Wall came down and the cold war was still sort of going on but, because I did a lot of classical stuff, I used to get invited over to play. You couldn’t get paid, but it was just great fun to go. I was always in trouble and basically in this particular case I got arrested. I mean, I got arrested a few times for walking around the streets when you’re not allowed to, but this one was recklessly serious because I stole a KGB’s uniform and apparently that was quite a serious offense. I was on my way to Siberia I reckon and I got out by tremendous diplomacy, which it was called bribery and corruption. I got back to England and I was doing a TV show, a chat show. I was doing a lot of those, and the biggest chat show at that time was called Danny Baker After All who was like the English Letterman, David Letterman. A huge program, and I went on and I told the story about how I got arrested with the KGB uniform and people were in hysterics. I came back, It’s not funny. I was on my way to prison, which made people laugh even more. Danny summed it up after, he said look the thing is Rick, he said if someone else was telling that story people wouldn’t laugh because,
as far as they’re concerned, you’re probably in some Russian jail somewhere; but the mere fact that you’re here telling the story, we know that you’re safe. That you got out. So, it becomes hilarious, and he said, you should do these. So, I started telling that story and other ones onstage, which there’s no shortage of silly anecdotes and stories, and it became a major part of what I do. Then I started doing comedy programs on television. There was a big one called Grumpy Old Men which was massive in the UK, which I was on all of those. Then I was asked to write a book, a Grumpy book, so I wrote Grumpy Old Rock Star and then Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star, which were to my amazement, best sellers. I became the grumpy old rock star in the UK, which was quite bewildering really, but what it did enable me to do was to go out and do these kinds of shows playing music that I’ve been involved with over the years. I play stuff from David Bowie, stuff from Cat Stevens, stuff from Yes of course, plus tell ludicrous stories in between and it’s just great fun. I feel lucky. It’s a bit like inviting everybody around my house and saying, come and stand around the piano. Let’s have some fun. SFL Music: Is that how you chose the tour name, The Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour?
who I did a lot with, who’s a major influence. It was fantastic. It was the best apprenticeship course anybody could ever have. SFL Music: How did this come about? Just knowing people in the industry? Wakeman: Well, I did a couple of sessions for a couple of bands, friends of mine. One band in particular, a folk band called Magna Carta. The producer Tony Visconti and the other great producer who is sadly no longer with us Gus Dudgeon. I went along to one session and the musical director handed the parts out and I think it was Gus said, you read music? I said yeah. Got a degree at the Royal College of Music. I can read music. He went, you’ll work non-stop, because the moment they knew you could read music, that was it. I got booked on so many sessions where they just throw the music in front of you and you play it. That’s what I did. That’s how I really got into that. So, most of the sessions I did weren’t so much for the band. They were for producers and for record companies where you went a long, they’d throw the music in front of you, you’d record up to three songs in a three hour session and you would do it but, you were expected to read it straight away because you couldn’t say, oh can I have a half an hour to learn it? You didn’t have the time for that. It was just full of reading musicians, which was what sessions very much were in those times. So, it was great and that was the way that I learned. I worked with some of the top producers and in the best recording studios, with a lot of great artists, and I learned so much from all of those. SFL Music: What would you say attributed to your musicianship? What did you learn from them?
Wakeman: The name, well that came from my agent because I said look, hey, call it what you like. ‘An evening with a fat whatever’ and he said I want to call it Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour. I said well why, because people in America won’t understand it? He said, Oh they will. He said they will because I think quite simply, you’ll tell ‘em. I went OK.” He laughed. “He was totally sold on calling it Grumpy Old Rock Star, so that’s fine by me. He can call it whatever he likes. SFL Music: How was the session work with Elton John, David Bowie and Lou Reed? How was it working with those artists? Wakeman: It was great! I mean, from 1966 through to, whew, end of 1970 beginning of 71, I was doing sessions all the time. I was doing two or three a day playing for lots of great people who ended up as great friends of mine, you know, like Elton John. I did the Album Madman Across the Water (released 1971). I played on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (by Black Sabbath released 1973). Did that. I did Lou Reed stuff, Al Stewart, Cat Stevens, obviously David Bowie, 48 | www.SFLMusic.com
Wakeman: Well, it’s a mixture. I always think that a musician is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. You get bits from everywhere in your life and they get slotted together to make what you are. I mean, my father was a massive influence on me. I talk about my dad quite a lot. He was a great influence on me musically to listen to as many different kinds of music and play many different kinds of music. Playing with lots of different musicians, playing all different kinds of music. My classical stuff down to the Royal College of Music. Getting my degree. That helped an awful lot. Then working with real top producers, top people. All these little bits was another piece of the jigsaw that makes you to what you are, and I think that I was extremely fortunate to work with people who came with those great pieces. SFL Music: Your dad influenced you to go into music? Wakeman: My dad was absolutely fantastic. He was a good piano player himself. Sadly, he died forty years ago which was a great loss, but the two real big influences of my life musically were my dad and believe it or not, David Bowie. The two together. They did meet once, which was lovely.” SFL Music: Oh, that’s nice. What influences your music when you write? What inspires you? Wakeman: You know, just life in general. Things around me. I can go for a walk and see something and so the music will start
springing into my head. I love architecture and visiting places, and you can go to a century’s old town somewhere in Italy, and you start to get ideas. Countries, I get ideas from countries when I go. Hearing music of those countries, the traditional music. There’s no hard nor fast rule. I don’t believe in, oh, today I’m going to write music so I’m going to sit down and spend the week writing music. It comes when it wants to. Yes, I could sit down like probably every musician and write something. Yeah, but it’s not inspirational. Inspirational, you don’t know when it’s coming. You’ve just got to be ready and notice it when it comes.” He chuckled. “Also hope that it comes as well. So, I never try, sort of deliberately say, you know, I’m going to be influenced by, I don’t know, of the sea or of all the stars or whatever. It just happens.
Russell, Bullet to Beijing and Midnight in Saint Petersburg starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, and White Rock, G’Ole!, Hero, Creepshow 2 and The Burning.
SFL Music: What would you recommend to a new artist? An up and coming artist?
SFL Music: You mentioned being friends with some comedians in England. Any Monty Python connections?
Wakeman: It’s like anything. If you look for it, the chances are you’re not going to find it. You have to let it come to you. You know, I’d say that to people when they say oh, we’re looking for a relationship. I always go, look at my experience. I’ve been married four times. Don’t go looking. Let it come to you. If it wants to come to you, it will and I think the same with music. You know, the inspiration, that will come to you. What you do have to do is, to make it work, you’ve got to have, people sort of mention the word luck. I don’t believe in the word luck. I think luck is when preparation meets opportunity. So, if you’re waiting for that inspiration to come, make sure you’re prepared for it by learning your craft. Learning your instrument as best as you possibly can so that you can be ready for when that inspirational moment comes.
Wakeman: Well, I’ve met Eric Idle and John Cleese. There’s a lot of great comedians in England. There’s a lot of terrible ones too. People like John Cleese still have a massive influence on a lot of the young comedians today. The greatest thing about comedy is you can’t be miserable if you’re laughing and I’ve always liked that. We’ve got some really clever people around and so does America. There’s nothing I don’t think as rewarding for a comedian than to hear people laughing. It’s got to be fantastic you know in the same way for a musician. There’s nothing better than hearing people applauding because they like something you’ve done. I think those are the rewards, but comedy is one, I just love comedy. I just love laughing.
SFL Music: You’ve written music for some movies (film scores for Lisztomania and Crimes of Passion Director Ken
Wakeman: Yeah, I mean, I couldn’t write the music that I have done for the movies and for other large orchestral works and If I’d had that sort of training at college, so that was important to me. That doesn’t mean to say that people who write film music have to have that training, because what a lot of people who write film music do; they actually get the musical ideas together, and then get other people to do the orchestrations. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m just one of those people who likes doing it all myself really.
SFL Music: That’s good. We need that nowadays.
Wakeman: That’s very true. The world needs to laugh. You know for heaven’s sake; we all need to. it’s important. SFL Music: When I heard some of your music. The piano is beautiful. The classical training is apparent. Do you have a favorite genre of music? Wakeman: I suppose when it comes to the piano, it’s not done deliberately, but whenever I get hold of pieces and start making variations on them playing around, they always come around in a sort of a classical style which you could say was you know, 19th century into the early 20th century. It’s not deliberate, it’s just how I naturally want to play. I don’t try and play in a manner that I don’t feel comfortable with because otherwise it would sound false. I would say it’s the style that I’ve sort of come up with but it’s not deliberate, it just sort of happened and it’s how I feel the most comfortable playing. SFL Music: Prince Charles presented you with a Fellowship of the RCM. What was that experience like? Wakeman: Well that was lovely. I mean, I got my fellowship which only he can grant. That was a really lovely day. It was a strange week because, I got my Fellowship from the Royal College from him, The Royal College of Music that week and that same week I got a professorship at the London College of Music. I’ll be honest. I’m very proud to have them both but, I don’t use them. I mean, I don’t sign letters Professor Rick Wakeman FRCM. I don’t do that, but It’s lovely to have them. It’s nice. SFL Music: Did you teach at all? Wakeman: Yeah. Officially they are titles that I could use professional and FRCM for the Royal College of Music. I say I don’t use them, if I’m doing anything to do with any of the colleges or
anything to do with any of the liberty charities that I’m involved in London, than they do like you to use your title; but for an example, if I’m booking a restaurant around the corner, I don’t say oh it’s Professor Rick Wakeman FRCM. Can I have a table for two please? It’s just, ah got somewhere for Rick to sit please? SFL Music: You were with Strawbs (joined 1970). How did that come about? Wakeman: Well Strawbs are great. They just had their Fiftieth Anniversary which they did in New Jersey which, unfortunately for family reasons, I couldn’t get over to it. I would have loved to have been there. Strawbs, certainly in the early days, in the late 60’s, early 70’s wrote some beautiful songs. Dave Cousins in particular who wrote songs such as “The Man Who Called Himself Jesus,” “The Shepherd’s Song” which is lovely, “Where Is This Dream of Your Youth,” “Glimpse of Heaven.” I mean, just wonderful songs. Great, almost poetry, and as Strawbs have continued, they turned onto more of a folk-rock band then more into sort of a rock band, but they also go out and do trio work. Dave’s still around. I still speak to him quit a lot and I had a wonderful time with Strawbs. They’re a very underrated music. In fact, Dave and I did an album about, oh 15 years ago called Hummingbird which was meant to sort of be an album that relives those early days of Strawbs. It was a lovely album Hummingbird but unfortunately, the record company that had iessnt, sort of lost it. You can’t even get a copy if it now which is a great shame, because it really was a lovely album. SFL Music: Was there anything else you wanted SFL Music readers to know about your show? Wakeman: It’s the first time I’ll do this actual show in America, so I am very much looking forward to it and I just hope that people go away having had as many different emotions as humanly possible.
Blue October are coming to Revolution Live on September 27th! Be sure to catch one of the most exciting live bands around! Photo: Michelle Wilson
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Karl Denson | Funky Biscuit Photo: Jay Skolnick
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Metal & Comedy Fest featuring Made of Metal Tribute to Black Sabbath | Culture Room On Saturday, August 24th, Made of Metal returned to Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale for the first time in 4 years for “A Complete Tribute to Black Sabbath.” Formed in 2010, South Florida’s Made of Metal makes it a point to cover all eras of heavy metal forefathers, including gigs that revolve around Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and more. That also means Made of Metal played more than just familiar Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iomm Black Sabbath numbers. Guitarist Mike Rivera sounded marvelous onstage, and the older crowd of middle-aged metal heads had an exhilarating time. Besides popular hits, Made of Metal went back to an important era of Sabbath, performing “The Wizard” from their 1970 self-titled release, ‘71’s “Into the Void” and “Trashed” from 1983. “Tonight we are playing Black Sabbath,” said vocalist Paolo Velazquez. “But we are not doing the same old shit that you’ve probably heard other bands doing.” Bringing together the best in underground dark comedy in the area, the Degenerate Comedy shows test the waters of free speech. Each of the four comedians that took the stage at Culture Room had no shame. Earning the most laughs, funnyman 54 | www.SFLMusic.com
Chris Roe was on a roll in a wheelchair. For instance, he compared his own looks to Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, “not just because of the name.” Roe’s raunchy one-liners covered controversial subjects, including abortion, cocaine, oxycodone and late physicist Stephen Hawking. Phatchopz took the mic to discuss being an overweight pothead. The joker talked about everything from millennials to online bullying. He compared rap music to rock ‘n roll and imagined raising a gay son. Things quickly got weird when Damien Figler got onstage. Members of the audience heard crude jokes about online porn, ridiculous sex toys and passing gas in Publix. Host Brian Coronado was just as vulgar, mentioning everything from Hitler to LSD and pornography. Warming up the stage for the comics, Doomskull unleashed its own legion of doom metal for heavy music lovers. From the head banging to the off-color laughs, it was a memorable evening for the South Florida entertainment scene. By Todd McFliker • Photos by Michael Polissky
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Our FALL will be the best FALL with this trio of festivals in Louisville, KY! Brought to you by Danny Wimmer Presents! include Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Trey Anastasio Band, Leon Bridges, The Flaming Lips, Alison Krauss, Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes, +LIVE+, Grace Potter, Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, among many others. In total, more than 45 artists will play on three stages, including the side-by-side Oak and Barrel main stages and a bluegrass stage that will be curated by the genre’s leading authority, The Bluegrass Situation.
Hometown Rising September 14 & 15 @ Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center Louisville, KY https://hometownrising.com/ Premier independent festival producer Danny Wimmer Presents continues to show its love for Louisville with a third addition to a massive fall festival series in the one-of-a-kind city. Hometown Rising, the first-ever Country Music & Bourbon Festival, will combine two of Louisville’s cultural cornerstones—great music and incredible bourbon. The festival’s incredible music lineup will be led by country heavyweights including Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, andLittle Big Town with additional appearances from Dwight Yoakam, Brett Young, Jake Owen, Bret Michaels, Frankie Ballard, and many more. In total, more than 30 artists will play on three stages, including two side-by-side main stages, over the course of the weekend.
Bourbon & Beyond September 20, 21 & 22 @ Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center Louisville, KY https://bourbonandbeyond.com/ The World’s Largest Bourbon Festival, Bourbon & Beyond, will make its anticipated return to Louisville, expanding to three days full of incredible music, unique culinary events, and unmatched experiences from the region’s best distilleries at the new Highland Festival Grounds At KY Expo Center. In addition to an unforgettable lineup of bourbon and chefs, music performers include a unique mix of rock, roots, bluegrass and folk acts headlined by Foo Fighters, Robert Plant And The Sensational Space Shifters (returning after originally being scheduled to appear in 2018), the Zac Brown Band, John Fogerty, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and ZZ Top (celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019). Additional acts
Held during Bourbon Heritage Month, Bourbon & Beyond also celebrates the craftsmanship behind award-winning spirits, master distillers and world-class chefs. Bourbon author, Amazon Prime host (Bourbon Up)and expert Fred Minnick has curated one-of-a-kind tastings and seminars celebrating Louisville’s world-renowned distilleries, while culinary curators Edward Lee (The Mind of A Chef) and Anthony Lamas (Seviche) will team up to arrange special food experiences that will be announced soon.
Louder Than Life September 27, 28 & 29 @ Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center Louisville, KY https://louderthanlifefestival.com/ The World’s Largest Rock ‘N’ Roll Whiskey Festival, returns to Louisville, KY even bigger and better in its fifth year, with festival producers delivering the most spectacular music lineup since the festival began in 2014. Louder Than Life will feature the Danny Wimmer Presents debut of quintessential rock band Guns N’ Roses (in their first appearance since performing in Hawaii in December 2018), the return of charttopping, festival favorites Slipknot and Disturbed, a reunited Staind (in their first public performance in 5 years), Godsmack, Rob Zombie, A Day To Remember, Ice Cube, Marilyn Manson, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle,Halestorm, and many more. Louder Than Life will feature more than 50 music acts, with performances on three stages, along with award-winning bourbons, whiskey, spirits, craft beer, and the best food Louisville has to offer. Festival attendees will also enjoy a variety of onsite food and beverage experiences, as well as sponsor activations that celebrate the bourbon culture and culinary heritage of this unique American city. The festival’s centerpiece, Kroger’s Big Bourbon Bar presented by Louisville Courier Journal, will feature more than two dozen hand-selected bourbons from top distilleries, and a unique opportunity to enjoy bourbons and exclusive one-time specialty cocktails. Fred Minnick’s Mini Bar--hosted by the Louder Than Life bourbon curator, bourbon author/expert, and Amazon Prime host (Bourbon Up)--will showcase craft selections from Louisville’s worldrenowned distilleries. Acclaimed Louisville whiskey bar The Silver Dollar will operate The Hunter’s Club, where attendees can find vintage bourbons dating as far back as the 1930s, as well as contemporary collectibles.
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CLASSIFIEDS CD Releases
Albert Castiglia – Masterpiece
available at: http://albertcastiglia.net
JP Soars – Let Go of the Reins
Announcements
-Songwriter and Acoustic ��en �ic every
Tuesday �:�0�m�11�m All genres & instrumentation. �osted by Sista �arybeth - �elly Brothers �rish Pub
-�oger �aters US + THEM in cinemas worldwide
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The Cravens –The Dark Side of Love
-Autumn Equinox 9/23/2019
available for purchase on CD Baby & Bandcamp
Music Lessons �arkee �usic - Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums, Vocals, Songwriting & Technology Lessons. (954) �94�00��
Equipment for Sale -64 Fender Super Reverb $1800 jayskolnick@gmail.com -76 Silverface Twin Reverb - JBL’s $1500 jayskolnick@gmail.com
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Equipment Repair The Amp Shop *expert amp repair* Call for info Pedal Building Workshop. (561) 471-9441
Milestones Jesse Finkelstein's Blues Radio International films milestone episode. 400th worldwide live Blues show featuring Albert Castiglia - August 29, 2019 visit www.bluesradiointernational.net
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