Oooooo, I made a flyer...neat-o. Details (like those teeny, fuzzy names up there) are on the calendar page but know that this is gonna be a serious R&B throw-down!! Here's a piece of the press release we wrote:
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Don’t call it a showcase: R&B/Soul Singer Kira Small announces all-star “superbad” lineup for CD release Show Off party
Nashville, TN - Offrow Records recording artist Kira Small will bring a full serving of her sultry, authentic soul and R&B – as well as an all-star-for-all-time lineup of musicians and vocalists – for a Superbad CD Release Show Off party to celebrate her new CD Love In A Dangerous World. This free event will take place at Rocketown in downtown Nashville on Tuesday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m. Produced by Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap), Love In A Dangerous World features a lineup of Motown and Muscle Shoals veteran musicians that can only be called “superbad.”
Ms. Small will be rendering the record in its entirety with those very musicians: keyboardist Clayton Ivey (Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, BB King, Temptations, Supremes); keyboardist/vocalist Andy McMahon (Neil Young, Tracy Nelson, Ray Stevens); drummer Jonathan Dees (Jimmy Hall, Ronnie Milsap); multi-instrumentalist Nick DeStefano (Kathy Mattea, Dave Loggins); percussionist Tom Roady (Etta James, Michael McDonald, Dixie Chicks, James Taylor); bassist/vocalist Steve Brantley, guitarist/vocalist Jamie Brantley, and producer/guitarist/vocalist Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap, Dave Loggins, Gary Morris); and singers Cindy Walker (Commodores, Clarence Carter, Faith Hill, Emmylou Harris), Vickie Carrico (ZZ Top, Sam Moore, Brenda Lee) and Lisa Silver (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton).
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I had to force myself to limit the band's individual credits cuz each one's list of credits deserves it's own press release. Craziness. I am so honored. Please come join us. Oh, and there'll be free food.
Joe Travers, me, Bryan Beller, Wes Wehmiller - Los Angeles 1994
Wes Wehmiller was a friend I went to Berklee College of Music with. He was a brilliant bassist and beautiful human, among many other things. He played a bunch of shows with me at Berklee, including my Judd's tribute show. After that he played with some band called Duran Duran. Wes died of thyroid cancer in January of 2005. A scholarship at Berklee was created in his name and I, along with many friends old and new, participated in a concert called WesFest last February to raise money for that scholarship. We rocked the house and raised over $12,000. Well, it's time to do it again.
WesFest 2 will happen on Tuesday March 6 at The Gig in Hollywood. Doors open at 7. Click here for all the details: http://weswehmiller.net/wesfest2.html
Please join us if you can. Advanced tickets are available through 2/28 at discounted prices. Even if you can't be there in person, I invite you to consider making a donation to the scholarship fund. Will Snyder, who was the recipient of last year's scholarship, will be playing at this year's event. (I'll be singing some fiercely grooving R&B songs with young Will and his teacher, Berklee professor Danny Morris. I'll sneak a song in from my CD as well, fear not.) I haven't met Will yet, but from all accounts he has the same kind of talent and spirit that Wes had. This scholarship came into existence to honor that talent and spirit and nurture it in others for years to come. The photo above is me, Wes, Joe Travers and Bryan Beller taken in LA not long after we all finished college. Joe, Bryan and I - along with many other friends from our Berklee days (click the link above for a list of all the participants - it's a righteous group!) will be there on March 6 tearing the roof off the joint. Please be with us however you can.
Here's that link again: http://weswehmiller.net/wesfest2.html
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and working with two pretty legendary musicians this past weekend: Bob Babbitt (bass) and Ed Greene (drums). Bob is most noted for being one of the 2 bassists who played on all those Motown hits we know and love - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "Midnight Train To Georgia" - stuff like that. No biggie. Ed has a list of credits a mile long too - Barry White, Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, Hall & Oates, Smokey Robinson...it's CRAZY how many records these guys played on. They were absolute sweetie-pies and we had a great time.
Here's me and Babbitt...
And here's me and Ed..
I love my life.