Thursday, May 30, 2013

Ahmad Farzad Interview and tour of The Studio



Ahmad Farzad Interview and tour of The Studio




Alabama Music Office.com goes to Vestavia Hills near Birmingham, Alabama to interview Birmingham native Ahmad Farzad at his recording studio, The Studio. His production company is King of the Jungle Productions (KJP).

A h m a d . A . F a r z a d
KJP Owner/Producer
recording engineer
mixing engineer
mastering engineer
visual artist. musician

I grew up mostly drawing, and later, playing guitar & playing in bands in Birmingham Alabama.

Later, I graduated with a B.M. In Music Business Management from Berklee College of Music;
as well as completing the Entrepreneurial &
Music Products Industry music business
programs.

Over the years I've enjoyed and appreciated the opportunities to collaborate with Warner, Sony, Universal, Interscope, Atlantic Records, Jive,
Def Jam, EMI, Epic & more.

I've also gained from the excellent
experiences during my two years as Corporate Sponsorship Executive & Artist Outreach Director with the Boston Music Conference.

Also, I was mentored to produce music in
Boston and NYC by hit producers such as

Fantom of the Beat (WuTang Clan,
Ghostface Killa, Lil Kim, 50 Cent)
Eric Gast (Zomba Music Group,
A Tribe Called Quest, Billy Ocean,
Kid Rock, Will Smith, Britney Spears)

E.M. (Ghost Producer, Top Industry Artists)
Richy Pena (Latin Grammy Award Winner.
#1 on the Billboard Charts Hot Latin Songs,
U.S. and Puerto Rico).

Then I moved back to my home state of
Alabama to spearhead acoustic engineering,
artistic design and the facility build of
theStudio / KJP in Birmingham.

King of the Jungle Productions, a world class recording and production facility in Birmingham, Alabama. Owner/Producer, Ahmad Farzad, and Head Engineer, Steven James, met several years ago while studying at Berklee College of Music and have worked together ever since.

Between the two of them, they have over 25 years of professional and passion-driven experience in the field of music.

Our Mission,

King of the Jungle Productions is a facility that provides work for top producers and artists in the music industry as well as local acts and solo artists that need to elevate their sound and production to the next level by providing their clients with unique cutting edge experience and technology, world-class technique and first class service.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Dan Penn Memorabilia at Ed McNees store in Vernon Alabama


Dan Penn Memorabilia at Ed McNees store in Vernon Alabama


Alabama Music Office.com goes to downtown Vernon, Alabama for Big Ben Atkins funeral. While there I visited Ed McNees at his Town & Country Clothing on a side street in downtown Vernon. I had interviewed Ed for Planet Weekly back in 2008 and was surprised by the increase in memorabilia that he had collected.
More to read on Dan and Ed:

http://www.theplanetweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1141&catid=-1&orderbycol=title&orderbyupdown=asc&search=*

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110828/NEWS/110829854



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Amy McCarley at Moonlight on the Mountain


Amy McCarley at Moonlight on the Mountain


Alabama Music Office.com goes to Moonlight on the Mountain listening room at Bluff Park near Birmingham, Alabama to attend a performance by Amy McCarley.

Growing up in rural Alabama, Amy's interest in music and emotive storytelling blossomed in grade school when she formed her first rock band with some classmates and spent hours rehearsing in the attic of her grandparent's barn. In fits and starts from that point forward, she has developed a unique voice centering on the types of observations that perhaps only a southern girl given ample time to explore the world and make her own mistakes could. McCarley says "Music is just something that's always been on my mind. Ever since I can remember I've admired the ability to conduct emotion; to convey meaning in that way."

After four short years in Houston, Texas --some time spent studying classical guitar at Rice University and performing as an accompanist in and around the trendy Montrose district-- Amy returned to Alabama with a degree in Economics for a full-time employment with a NASA contractor. Performing locally with the occasional regional outburst for over a decade, she went on hiatus to dedicate herself more fully to writing, recording, mixing and playing all the instruments on the tracks she put down in her home.

While building a fan base across the southeast with this crisp engaging offering, Amy's 2011 alternative folk country debut continues to receive airplay in several European markets --and prompted a US west coast tour in late 2012. Working towards the completion of her second record, Amy has teamed with Grammy award-winning guitarist-producer Kenny Vaughan and some of Nashville's most revered talent. A mid-2013 release date is anticipated.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Alabama Music Office goes to Record Stores in New York City


Alabama Music Office goes to Record Stores in New York City

Alabama Music Office.com goes to New York City record shops. Many love shopping record stores. They mentally take on an American Graffiti frame of mind whenever they are there. Some call it nostalgic, the memories of great music in simpler times.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Alabama Music Office goes to Guitar Shops in New York City



Alabama Music Office goes to Guitar Shops in New York City




Alabama Music Office.com had time to visit four guitar shops while in New York City.

Matt Umanov Guitars is a class A establishment. They have a friendly staff that are noted musicians themselves. Damn good attitudes. A place to shop for a Guild and vintage.

Carmine Street Guitars, the longstanding custom instrument shop run by luthier Rick Kelly, has seen a few stars in its 20+ years of business. Lou Reed owns a few of Kelly's guitars, as does Bob Dylan. Patti Smith, whom Kelly counts as a personal friend, has been playing his axes for years.
The true gems of the West Village shop, however, are the instruments themselves. Built using wood salvaged from such iconic sites of New York music and poetry as the Chelsea Hotel and Chumley's speakeasy—favorite haunt of Hemingway, Dylan, Kerouac, and Salinger—Kelly's guitars resonate with memories from a nearly lost era.
"Building them is about the most rewarding thing I could ever have decided, as a kid, to do," says Kelly, who studied his craft at Baltimore's Maryland Institute College of Art. "When I was down in Maryland, sleeping in the wood chips, learning to make guitars...I used to listen to Lou Reed and Patti Smith records because they reminded me of New York and home. Never in a million years did I think I'd actually meet them and become friends and make them instruments."

The Music Inn has been a West Village Institution for over 50 Years. This is a world music store with instruments very different from the regular music store. They seemed to always be busy.

Rudy's Music in SoHo is impressive, Chicago Music Exchange kind of impressive. Very nice folks with a dream inventory. One of the classiest guitar shops anywhere!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Alabama Music Office goes to Carnegie Hall in New York City



Alabama Music Office goes to Carnegie Hall in New York City 




Alabama Music Office.com goes to Carnegie Hall in New York City. The inestimable Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage has seen innumerable historical concerts and events: The very first opening night in 1891, Horowitz's sold-out 1965 recital, and Groucho Marx's 1972 appearance at the twilight of his career are but a few. With five curvilinear levels that seat 2,804, Stern / Perelman has acoustics that have dazzled audiences and performers for over a century.
Before Andrew Carnegie commissioned him to build one, New York City architect William Burnet Tuthill had never designed a concert hall. Clearly, his lack of experience was no detriment: not only did Tuthill conceive an elegant building, but his work also—and most notably—gave Carnegie Hall its legendary sound.
The Italian Renaissance design, combined with architectural notes derived from various European models, of Tuthill's exterior reflects the eclectic architectural tastes of the period. To tackle the interior of the main hall, known today as Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage, the architect, who was an amateur cellist and treasurer of the Oratorio Society, travelled to Europe to find out what makes a concert hall sound great.
The result was a beautifully resonant performance space with simple, elegant styling that helps put the focus on the excellent acoustic environment. Since the hall was built before the advent of structural steel construction—in which a steel frame bears the load of the building—Tuthill and his crew created heavy brick walls, providing further insulation against external noise.
A few years after Carnegie Hall opened, the studio towers, on the south and northeast sides of the hall were added, putting in place the basic form of the current building. In addition to this main hall, Tuthill included two other performance spaces: a small recital hall, known today as Weill Recital Hall, and a mid-size venue. Over the years, the latter space has suffered something of an identity crisis—it has been a dramatic theatre and a movie house—but in 2003 Carnegie Hall re-opened it as Zankel Hall, an newly renovated hall dedicated to jazz and world music.
Carnegie Hall's next major initiative will be the renovation of the studio towers, which will yield an expanded educational wing and expanded backstage areas.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Alabama Music Office goes to 55 Bar in New York City



Alabama Music Office goes to 55 Bar in New York City 




Alabama Music Office.com goes to the early jazz perfromance at 55 Bar a jazz club in New York City located at 55 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. (Since 1919) The band was called Jazz Country and featured Amy Cervini. This video captures Amy singing a song about John Lennon.
A funky dive bar from prohibition days, the 55's heart is jazz and its soul is the blues. Incredible musicians rock the house nightly with some of the most innovative playing in NY (if not the world)! Watch musical legends checking out the newcomers and veteran barflies chatting up first timers. A cool staff with no attitude (well, almost), a low cover and a wicked juke box make this a true village hangout.
Don't fence her in: Amy Cervini is a jazz-honed singer who has the big ears and free spirit to reach far and wide for great material, whether it's from Cole Porter or Leonard Cohen, Nellie McKay or Willie Nelson. In January 2012, the Toronto-bred, New York-based vocalist releases her third solo album and first for Anzic Records: Digging Me, Digging You, an homage to the vintage jazz pixie Blossom Dearie. This follows the albums Love Fool (2009) and Famous Blue (2007), which established Cervini as one of the more individual talents on the North American scene for her intrepid sense of song and pure-toned, ever-swinging vocalism. The New York Times has enthused over her as "a thoughtful and broad-minded jazz singer," while the All Music Guide recommends her recordings for the "honest, self-assured and honey-dripping presence clearly heard."
Cervini has performed in clubs and concert halls from Toronto to Tel Aviv and in New York City venues ranging from the Cornelia Street Cafe, Joe's Pub, 55 Bar and the Knitting Factory to the Jazz Standard, Birdland, the Blue Note and Carnegie Hall. She works regularly with her "North Americana" group Jazz Country, as well as the vocal ensemble Monday Off. Her performances have been praised far and wide. The Boston Phoenix said "her singing drew distinctions between rhythm and phrasing -- that is, she can swing, but she also knows where a lyric should fall in the melody and how to turn a syllable." And the Ottawa Citizen declared that "the ex-pat Canadian sings terrific, gimmick-free jazz [with a] poise, intelligence and an unforced honesty that makes every song ring like it was her own." For her part, Cervini says, "I just want to make listeners feel something when I sing. I know that's why I go to a show, because I want to feel, to be moved."

Alabama Music Office goes to MoMA in New York City


Alabama Music Office goes to MoMA in New York City


Alabama Music Office.com goes to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. This was a very enjoyable afternoon. I am now more than ever convinced of art being in the eye of the beholder. Video is very limited there.
Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world.
Through the leadership of its Trustees and staff, The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library, archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications of preeminent intellectual merit.
Central to The Museum of Modern Art's mission is the encouragement of an ever-deeper understanding and enjoyment of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves.
To achieve its goals The Museum of Modern Art recognizes:
That modern and contemporary art originated in the exploration of the ideals and interests generated in the new artistic traditions that began in the late nineteenth century and continue today.
That modern and contemporary art transcend national boundaries and involve all forms of visual expression, including painting and sculpture, drawings, prints and illustrated books, photography, architecture and design, and film and video, as well as new forms yet to be developed or understood, that reflect and explore the artistic issues of the era.
That these forms of visual expression are an open-ended series of arguments and counter arguments that can be explored through exhibitions and installations and are reflected in the Museum's varied collection.
That it is essential to affirm the importance of contemporary art and artists if the Museum is to honor the ideals with which it was founded and to remain vital and engaged with the present.
That this commitment to contemporary art enlivens and informs our evolving understanding of the traditions of modern art.
That to remain at the forefront of its field, the Museum must have an outstanding professional staff and must periodically reevaluate itself, responding to new ideas and initiatives with insight, imagination, and intelligence. The process of reevaluation is mandated by the Museum's tradition, which encourages openness and a willingness to evolve and change.
In sum, The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary art, while being accessible to a public that ranges from scholars to young children.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Alabama Music Office goes to New York City



Alabama Music Office goes to New York City 



Alabama Music Office.com goes to New York City on May 1 thru 5, 2013. We did some business and took the time this trip to do several things that we never had time to do on previous visits.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 music clips



Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 music clips 



Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. Dick Cooper has the perfect party location overlooking beautiful Shoal Creek.  There is always an abundance of talent at any Dick Cooper Party. This video shows Alabama music artists doing what the love, playing music. Muscle Shoals is again developing new sound for the return of Music Mecca status.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Will McFarlane



Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Will McFarlane 




Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. Bad weather in the morning with a beautiful afternoon.

Will McFarlane spent six years playing guitar with Bonnie Raitt, from 1974 to 1980. Born on a Navy base in California, McFarlane started voice lessons at age 6, adding piano a year later. Seeing the Beatles play the Ed Sullivan Show when he was 12 inspired McFarlane to take up guitar. He developed a taste for R&B in high school, focusing on Motown material while developing as a rhythm guitarist.
McFarlane attended college in Denver, but soon dropped out and had been playing gigs in bars and clubs across the country when Raitt found him in a club in Cambridge, Mass.

McFarlane learned how to listen as well as play while in Raitt's band. His musical education was a versatile one, encompassing straight blues, country blues, folk, country, rock 'n' roll, as well as singer-songwriter material. Raitt was sharing stages with living blues legends, and McFarlane soaked up as much as he could from them before and after the gigs.

McFarlane left Raitt to move to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, playing on records for Bobby Blue Bland, Little Milton, Etta James and Johnnie Taylor as part of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

He parted company amicably from Raitt in 1980, because he and his wife, Janet, wanted a change of lifestyle and didn't want to raise two kids in L.A.
Soon after relocating to Muscle Shoals, he had a spiritual awakening. His younger brother was murdered while McFarlane was still with Raitt, and he says he reeled for three years afterwards.
He became a Christian, but continued to make his living playing secular music at Muscle Shoals Sound, as well as traveling in ministry. During this time his floundering marriage was restored, and he and Janet, now married 35 years, also travel together.

McFarlane has continued to work in secular and gospel music, both traditional and contemporary styles. He has moved back to Muscle Shoals, and plays there, as well as in Nashville, and other places around the country and world, doing sessions and live performances. He was just recently inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame in Nashville as a friend of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (The Swampers).

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 David Walton


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 David Walton


Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013.
David Walton is a folk artist that has played all over the world. He is also an accomplished flutist. David is a true Master of the Bamboo Flute! He has an incredible CD of Native American music. Very Soothing.

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Tosha Hill


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Tosha Hill


Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013.
Tosha Hill, a Country and Americana singer/songwriter/musician, was born to parents Billy and Tina Hill in Florence, AL. Raised in a family-owned furniture manufacturing business, with three older brothers, there never was a dull moment. Music was a heritage to be kept in the Hill household, passed down from her grandparents, who were sharecroppers and front porch singers. At age nineteen, she has had quite an amazing musical journey to say the least. From singing her first song in a church of fifteen members at the age of twelve to performing for Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama House of Reps., along with Reps. Phil Williams and Mike Ball from Huntsville, AL, at the age of seventeen. Tosha has also had the honor to perform at the Randy Owen Celebrity Classic for three consecutive years, alongside Nashville greats: Megan Mullins, John Bohlinger, Wade Hayes, Chuck Tilley, Steve Peffer, and John Howard. Tosha has also opened and performed with Travis Wammack, Randy Owen, John Oates, Donnie Fritts and The Decoys, Billy Ryan, Aaron Wilburn, The Martins, The Blackwood Brothers Quartet , and Ed Hill (Member of the Stamps Quartet). Currently, Tosha plays at local and out of town venues with her brothers Josh and Caleb, and enjoys writing with her dad. "It's always exciting to write with dad. We have a certain chemistry and the majority of the time can fill in each other's sentences." Her influences are widely diverse, ranging from Janis Joplin to Emmylou Harris. She is also a member of the praise team at her home church, Christ Chapel, in Petersville, AL.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 The Valley Roots


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 The Valley Roots


Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013.

Born out of both modern rock and southern soul, The Valley Roots are leading the way in the new revitalization of the Muscle Shoals Sound. Hailing from the tri-cities area, The Valley Roots combine the best of the old and new schools in a unique sound that's made from southern rock, funkadelic rhythms, and sweet soul music joining together. When The Valley Roots play, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 the party continues.......


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 the party continues.......

Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. This video shows the sights and sounds that is  Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013. Look close, more than likely you will see someone you know. Folks come and go all day long and some stay in the house and never come out for the bands playing in the backyard preferring the more intimate singer/songwriter type of music played during the day on the inside.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 "Voodoo Woman"



Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 "Voodoo Woman"



Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. A super hot version of "Voodoo Woman" was performed by Kendra Sutton, Holley Malone and Scott Boyer III backed by the Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 AllStar Band.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Scott Boyer III


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Scott Boyer III

Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Jim Cavender on Tele


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Jim Cavender on Tele



Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. Jim Cavender was a member of the Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 AllStar Band on this day.

Jim Cavender
Born: May 10, 1962
While continuing to sing, play bass, guitar and drums in various groups, Jim Cavender has recently produced one jazz CD, To A Planet by Rolling Jazz Revue, and one blues/rock live CD, Bookaroo, both in 2010. To A Planet features all original tunes by RJR's new lineup, including Nick Walker on upright bass and Thad Brown on drums in addition to veteran members Cavender, Newt Johnson and Ben Cohen. Bookaroo is a live collaboration between Cavender and Ivy Joe Milan and the Snowballs, Criss Ashwell and other mainstays of the Huntsville, Alabama, music scene. Both the live concert and the CD were fundraising projects for Huntsville Public Library, where the CD is currently available.
In 2008, Jim produced three jazz CDs, Elephants In The Crosswalk and Halloween On Union Avenue by Rolling Jazz Revue and O Christmas Tree-O by the Keith Taylor Trio. The two RJR CDs feature mostly original tunes written by the group's members, Jim Cavender, Newt Johnson, Ben Cohen and Brian Palmieri, but they couldn't resist covering Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'" on their debut CD, Halloween On Union Avenue. Ken Watters co-wrote "Flying Carpet" with Cavender on the same CD.

Jim has toured throughout much of the country with the bands The Jungle, Then Again and The Snake Doctors. He has performed with Percy Sledge, Bo Diddley and Chocolate Armenteros. He has also performed in Cuba (with pianist Roberto Carcasses and trumpeter Julio Padron, among others), Colombia and Sweden (with bassist Anders Eriksson and trumpeter Toti from Circus Maximus). Jim studied music at East Texas State University, and in his home state of Alabama he was lucky enough to get lessons with the late r&b session guitarists Tippy Armstrong and Eddie "Spanky" Alford.

Cavender has produced or co-produced albums in various genres since 1986 including The Jungle by The Jungle (jazz), It Creeps Up On You by Swine Cadillac (blues), Move To The City by Then Again (rock), Brothers by Ken and Harry Watters (jazz), The Snake Doctors by The Snake Doctors (rhythm and blues), Black Boots And A Suitcase by Joshua Black Wilkins (rockabilly) and Along The Anchorline by Skip Heller Trio (jazz). Currently Jim is working on a collaborative Americana CD project with Skip Heller, due out later in 2010. He also has a CD in the works with his jazz/funk/rock organ combo Trio El Camino.

In addition to playing instruments and/or singing backup vocals on the above-listed albums, Jim Cavender played upright bass and guitar on Don Bowyer's Itchin' In The Kitchen (big band jazz) and co-wrote "Fall Festival" with Ken Watters on Brothers III by Ken and Harry Watters (jazz). Jim also contributed original songs for some of the albums he has produced over the years.

Jim continues to play solo and in various bands in the Huntsville, Alabama, area including Rolling Jazz Revue (jazz), Keith Taylor Trio (jazz), Trio El Camino (jazz-rock organ combo), The Lost Troubadours From The Ford Galaxie (honky-tonk country), Mambo Gris Gris (Latin/Carribean) and The Snake Doctors (rhythm and blues). He also teaches in the music department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Source: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=17713

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Holley Malone and Friends


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Holley Malone and Friends

Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. Holley Johnson Malone joins Dick Cooper Party Spring 3012 AllStar Band.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Kendra Sutton and Friends



Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Kendra Sutton and Friends




Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoal Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. It was a beautiful day by the time the party started. Dick is super lucky as far as weather at his parties is concerned.

Kendra Sutton-Mother, Pianist, Singer, Songwriter, Composer and Arranger
I needed a quiet place to interview Kendra. We went to the Hoover Library which we found was not as quiet as one might think. I first met Kendra, several years ago, when Moonlight Music Cafe was in Vestavia Hills.
(Just before our interview, we talked with Wayne Perkins by telephone. He consented to be interviewed by me in the near future. I want that to be on public record with Kendra as my witness. I have always wanted to interview Wayne. Another on my interviewers bucket list is Billy Sherrill.) Kendra met Wayne through Steve Lowery. On their first conversation, which was via telephone, she and Wayne wrote "Vinyl" a song about vinyl records. She tells me, "He (Wayne) has been like a big brother, a mentor to me. He has taught me a lot about music. He has taught me a lot about people. He's taught me about cord structure, progression and tempo changing. Probably the biggest things with him, is tempo changes." She continues, "The best thing about Wayne is he taught me that it's as important to know when not to play as it is to know when to play. I am very blessed to have great friends who are knowledgeable and just good people."
Kendra Sutton is from Birmingham, Alabama. She went to Shades Valley High School. She started playing piano when she was about four years old. At elementary school age she was enrolled in Birmingham Southern Conservatory of Music where she took higher-level classes. She started songwriting at about the age of eleven. That is when she started writing classical compositions.
She started gigging as a solo act. She recorded a solo piano/vocal album "Soft Landing" during that period. Then came Kendra Sutton and the Bad Luck Boys. The Bad Luck Boys was Jubal Dalzell (cello, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Brandon Cates (bass guitar, vocals) and Mark Beasley (drums, percussion). They recorded a CD at Sun Studio in Memphis, amply named "The Sun Sessions." They were an area favorite that gigged in virtually every venue in and around Birmingham. Plus opening for acts such as Rascal Flatts and Kelly Pickler.
There were other bands along the way, but her focus these days is on The Hollows. The Hollows is Kendra, Eric Ominus (bass), Sue Nuchols (fiddle) and Sarah Green (guitar). This band requires that she sing harmony, which she has never done because she has always sung lead vocals. She and Sarah share the lead vocals in The Hollows. She says the band is "unique" in that they play originals and rare covers.
In 2009 Kendra dropped out of the music scene when her eight-year-old daughter, Victoria, was diagnosed with AML - acute myelogenous leukemia. That type of cancer is very rare and very aggressive. Normally AML does not attack children. It is more common with people in their eighties. Kendra said, "It was a fight for her life. It's been very challenging and still till today, we have to handle things differently than we did prior to that, because of her immune system. She is currently off therapy and doing great. She is doing Great!"
Kendra is just now getting back to where she feels comfortable throwing herself back into music again. She put her music career on hold to take care of her daughter. She says Victoria is still her number one priority.
She recently got to be on stage with one of her idols, Randall Bramblett. She was one of the acts playing for Mark Mizells birthday party at Marty's. Bramblett was on the same bill and she had to perform following him. She says, "I though I was going to have a heart attack having to follow him. He was so awesome. He's amazing."
I asked, what do most people not know about Kendra Sutton? She answered, "The best song that I have ever written is going to be my next one. Just trying to write some good stuff. Trying to write some new stuff. Challenging myself and trying to evolve everyday to be a better person, better musician and better songwriter." (Kendra is also an accomplished photographer.)
When asked, where does she see herself in the future? She replied, "I really, really want to get more of my stuff published. I would really love for other people to sing my songs. That is really where my heart is at, in the writing. I see myself doing more gigs with my new band, The Hollows. A show we recently did at Moonlight On The Mountain, which is a very wonderful listening room with incredible sound, I didn't have one but three people come up to me and say that my songs made them cry. All of them had tears in their eyes. That made me feel good, so I guess I want to see more people cry (laughter). In a good way, not in a bad way. I think that is the meaning of soul, it's not the way you sound but the way you feel. You feel soul, you don't hear it."

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Wayne Chaney and Friends



Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 Wayne Chaney and Friends 




Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoals Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Party on April 28, 2013. Wayne Chaney joins friends to entertain on a beautiful Spring afternoon.
For almost thirty years, Wayne has been the production manager, band leader, trumpet player, and vocalist for the Architect of Rock n' Roll, Little Richard! Wayne also fronts his own band "The Chaney Gang", which has entertained the Shoals area for years. He was also a member of the hit recording act "FCC", that had a number of hits back in the 70's.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 early happenings


Dick Cooper Party Spring 2013 early happenings

Alabama Music Office.com goes to Shoals Creek near Florence, Alabama to attend the Dick Cooper Spring Party on April 28th, 2013. This video shows the gathering in it's early stages. Sights and sounds of folks having fun on this beautiful Spring day at this beautiful place overlooking the lake. The musicians had just begun to play. Wayne Chaney was in control of the microphone so we get to hear his opinions on his medical condition and other information he felt we needed to know. Wayne being Wayne! We are all glad he is still with us and in reasonably good condition considering!