They are a multi-generational trio formed in late 2010 with Bruce Erhard, a guitarist in his late 50s from New Jersey who’d played CBGB’s in New York City; Nikki Shi, a late-30s singer from Oklahoma with no previous band experience; and Jeff Adkins, an early-20s area bass prodigy.
Among the shows the bluesy Joey George will be performing soon is next month's Songs of Phil Ochs show in Lake Worth.
If you saw West Palm Beach-based singer/guitarist Joey George without his guitar or hip stage clothing, you might mistake him for a car salesman.
But close your eyes and just listen, and you’ll do a double-take upon opening them. The Philadelphia-born, New Jersey-raised artist oozes the blues because he’s paid his dues, from a failed 1976 deal on Jim Croce’s LifeSong Records label to his own failed kidneys in 2000.
After moving to South Florida in 2002, George went through five more years of waiting and dialysis before his kidney transplant. And he hasn’t slowed down since. By recording and producing independent solo CDs on his Gorgeous Music label, George cuts costs enough to average two releases per year. The latest is Pine Box Blues, a collection of originals and obscure covers.
"It’s jumping out of the box," says the tongue-in-cheek George. "It’s proof that I can actually make a living doing this full time."
With a role in next month’s The Songs of Phil Ochs concert at the Lake Worth Playhouse, George has become one of South Florida’s busiest solo performers. That’s because the man of both a thousand originals and a thousand cover songs can play all day without repeating himself.
The author’s mantra "write about what you know" certainly isn’t lost on Lake Worth resident Jill Switzer. A voice coach who’s the singer for Palm Beach favorites The Switzer Trio (with backing vocalists in multi-instrumentalist and husband Rich Switzer and drummer Carlos Cocuy), Switzer’s 2006 book debut was The Diva Next Door: How To Be a Singing Star Wherever You Are (Allworth Press), hence her thedivanextdoor.net website.
Her follow-up is the new, self-published fiction e-book The Chick Singer, available through Amazon.com or BN.com. It’s a comic novel that takes a tongue-in-cheek look inside the South Florida music scene through the eyes of advertising agency employee-turned-budding vocalist Riley Sands, complete with stereotypical bosses, co-workers, managers, musicians, audiences, critics, and family reactions to such a career change.
Yet Switzer says it’s not as autobiographical as it seems.
"I did draw from 20 years of experience as a professional singer," she says, "but not just from my own experience. There are parts of stories, from musicians and other people, that were practically subconscious. I’d forgotten where some of it came from, but friends call me after reading the book and remind me of something they told me that triggered a scene."
From its opening track, 'More Bees with Honey' by J.P. Soars is worth a listen.
Here are my picks for the best CDs by area artists from 2011:
Best Blues CD/Album of the Year: J.P. Soars (jpsoars.com), More Bees With Honey (independent). Rarely has a CD by a local artist jumped out of the speakers the way the title track to this one does.
Live shows by the Boca Raton-based guitarist/vocalist have hinted at such intensity for some time, but this disc’s overall sound – and the interaction between Soars, bassist Don Gottlieb and drummer Chris Peet, from the manic Hot Little Woman to the funky Doggin’ to slow blues of Lost It All – is impeccable.
J.P. Soars and the Red Hots pulls a double Friday, playing at 6 p.m. at B.B. King’s, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach (561-420-8600 ) and at 9 p.m. at Chef John’s, 287 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter (561-745-8040 ).
Best Rock CD: The People Upstairs (thepeopleupstairs.com), For the People, By the People (independent). Part rock, part funk and part reggae, this Boynton Beach hybrid band met as members of the drum line at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach.
Vocalist/percussionist Casey Buckley, guitarist Chris Prestia and singing siblings Tony Rangel (bass) and Gabe Rangel (drums) sound like a more percussive version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on standout tracks Help Me Help You, Hollywood, Mr. Murphy and Ha Ha.
See The People Upstairs at 10 p.m. Friday at the Reef Road Rum Bar, 223 Clematis St., West Palm Beach (561-838-9099 ) and at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Banana Boat, 739 E. Ocean Blvd., Boynton Beach (561-732-9400 ).
West Palm Beach keyboardist/vocalist Robert Goodman (robert goodmanband.com) is best-known for his heady patriotic tunes, but he goes for the heart on his band’s new release, Everything Is Beautiful (Forward Motion). Utilizing longtime members Dave Rubinstein (guitar) and Rick Shepherd (bass), plus guests like original drummer Mark Nemcek (since replaced by Tim Moss), Goodman mixes classic American and British pop influences.
You, with his orchestrated keyboards and Stephanie Shepherd’s flute and piccolo, hints at The Beatles. The Todd Rundgren-like Story features Goodman’s strong falsetto and Rubinstein’s best solo, and Make You Smile highlights a strong second half by recalling Tears for Fears through Goodman’s arrangements and vocal phrasing.
See Goodman and Rubinstein duet at 8 p.m. Saturday at Asian Fin, 4650 Donald Ross Rd., Jupiter (561-694-1900), and the full band at 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 at South Shores, 502 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth (561-547-7656).
Lake Worth singer/songwriter John Ralston (john-ralston.com) released the neo-symphonic gems Needle Bed (2006) and Sorry Vampire (2007) on Vagrant Records but goes smaller-scale on his new independent release Shadows of the Summertime. The results unearth different influences from his familiar blend of Wilco and the George Martin-era Beatles.
Lump Ralston into pop, roots music or alt-country at your own risk. The infectious opener, Bedroom Walls, is reminiscent of the Traveling Wilburys. The subtle rave-up Love Will Come Around blends pop, gospel and Motown elements, and the muscular title track is another layered duet between singing multi-instrumentalists Ralston and David Vandervelde.
Vandervelde’s drums work to great effect on Oh Lord, adding nuances of Led Zeppelin and Neil Young. Though Ralston spends more time in the studio with eight-piece band Invisible Music lately than on stage, that’ll change when the demiorchestra debuts.
‘Round town
Florida-raised singing siblings Derrick and Keith Lee, along with guitarist Alvin Lee, join nephews Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel), Alvin Cordy Jr. (bass) and Earl Walker (drums) in the Lee Boys (leeboys.com), a most soulful and cerebral family sextet. See their “sacred steel” mix of bluegrass, gospel and other roots styles at 9 p.m. on Friday at the Bamboo Room, 25 S. J St., Lake Worth ($12, 561-585-2583). … Jupiter-based blues band Big Vince and the Phat Cats (bigvinceandthephatcats.com) has a busy week — 8 p.m. Friday at Tiki 52, 18487 S.E. Federal Highway, Jupiter (561-746-3312), 8 p.m. Saturday at the Square Grouper, 1111 Love St., Jupiter (561-575-0252), plus open mikes on Monday (7:30 p.m. at B.B. King’s, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-420-8600) and Thursday (7:30 p.m. at the Sugar Cane Island Bistro, 353 N. U.S. 1, Jupiter, 561-743-4177).
~ bill_meredith@pbpost.com
The logo for West Palm Beach jazz/world fusion quartet Treebo (treeboband.com ) is, logically, a tree. But like all trees, there’s more underneath the surface. The name means “tribe” in Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines, and reflects the heritage and mind-set of bandleader Noel Lorica.
The 45-year-old guitarist relocated from the Philippines to the northeastern United States in 1984 after earning a degree in veterinary medicine, then moved to South Florida in 1990. His performing and recording career includes solo CDs (First Glance, Second Glance), Christmas CDs (Christmas Jazz, Christmas Guitars), and SunFest appearances in 2007 and 2010.
If it takes a village, then it takes a tribe to start and grow one. The finger-picking acoustic and electric guitarist was inspired by the work of Colombian drummer Arturo Afanador, so the two formed Treebo in 2008. Bassist Steve Constantino made it a trio in 2009 after arriving from Boston, and vocalist Z Washington arrived from New York in 2010. The quartet’s new self-titled debut CD sounds like a cross between the jazz, R&B, rock and fusion of Earl Klugh, Bonnie Raitt, Santana and Return To Forever.
“We’re an eclectic fusion band,” Lorica says. “I’ve always loved Brazilian jazz, and when you add what the other members bring to the mix, it makes us unique. We think it sounds cool to blend different genres together.”
See Treebo at 8 p.m. today on the waterfront stage for Jazz on the Palm, 100 N. Clematis St., West Palm Beach (wpb.org , click on “calendar” ).
Now hear this
John Wurm, the Kravis Center soundman who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke (brain bleed) in 2007, continues to get help in his quest for $15,000 by Dec. 1 to start uninsured adult stem cell treatments. His friends The Dillengers have organized an all-day benefit show with special guests Marc Ward, Sean Hanley, Illumination and others from noon-midnight on Saturday at South Shores, 502 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth (561-547-7656). There will be raffles, and donation stations will be set up throughout. If you can’t attend and want to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/AdultStemCellsforJohn. … Masterful 75-year-old Lantana drummer Christian Buckholz has a new jazz release called Cool Again. It’s a series of standards that also features Miami-Dade County bass wiz Jamie Ousley and dazzling Romanian pianist Marian Petrescu, and is available at Melody Acres Music, 6169 Jog Rd., Lake Worth (561-969-0037). … Port Salerno roots act the Nouveaux Honkies makes a rare Palm Beach County appearance at 9 p.m. Nov. 26 at a great little restaurant called the Food Shack, 103 S. U.S. 1, Jupiter (561-741-3626).
Kevin Kaufman and Chris Peet of Kaufman Daenzer Productions in Lake Worth.
When Kevin Kaufman moved to South Florida from Delaware in 1978, it didn’t take him long to establish two connections that continue to fuel his livelihood in musical instruments and audio equipment.
The 54-year-old Lantana resident became the production supervisor from 1978 to 1989 at Music Mart, the former retail instrument store in Lake Park. He also became the technician for Jaco Pastorius – the fretless bassist who revolutionized the instrument with Weather Report and as a solo artist – from 1978 until Pastorius’ death in 1987.
Kaufman subsequently founded Kaufman Daenzer Productions (kdiproductions.com) in West Palm Beach in 1989, bought out partner Tim Daenzer in 1995, and moved his rental, repair and production shop to Lake Worth in 2002. His expertise often extends overseas as the soundman for jazz/fusion stars like the Yellowjackets, bassist Richard Bona, and guitarist Mike Stern.
"I met Mike through Jaco in the ’80s," Kaufman says, "and I still go to Europe or Japan with him every year. Here, I’m usually installing sound systems, running sound and lighting for events, and renting and repairing equipment."
Guanabanas' redesign turned the Jupiter restaurant into one of the area's top music clubs as well. (Richard Graulich / Palm Beach Post)
Matt Cahur (Photo by Bill Meredith)
If Matt Cahur looks familiar, it probably means you’re a fan of local music. Or of Guanabanas, the tropical, open-air waterfront restaurant where he works in Jupiter. Or both.
The 43-year-old Jupiter resident is a guitarist and surfer who was at the beach in 1994 when he met future bandmates in Boxelder, the touring reggae/rock act that helped define the Palm Beach County music scene for a decade.
Cahur then started a surf rental business in Nicaragua before returning to help resurrect Guanabanas, which had opened as a sandwich shop in 2004 before that year’s hurricanes blew it away.
He designed the covered patio stage and sound system for its 2008 reopening, then became entertainment coordinator, using previous band experience to make Guanabanas a favorite destination for original reggae, rock and roots music bands.
The Speakeasy Lounge in Lake Worth lives up to its covert name -- it doesn't even have a sign on the outside. (Photo by Bill Meredith)
For nearly four months now, the Speakeasy Lounge (speakeasy-lakeworth.com) has lived up to its covert, Prohibition-era name. The club features no signs outside of its location at Federal Highway and Second Avenue North in Lake Worth, only an intersection of blacked-out windows and doors.
“We’re working on a sign,” says 33-year-old owner Jimmy Dassler, who lives not far from a Lantana club he formerly owned, Scallywag’s. “But people seem to like the fact that there isn’t one because of the theme behind the name.”
People also seem to like the venue’s seven-nights-per-week scope of entertainment, which includes Reckless Mondays (with the Reckless Dames burlesque troupe) and Turn Down Tuesdays acoustic open mike nights.
This Friday features a Southern rock band from Miami with a local all-female group; Saturday is a variety of punk and metal acts, and the Speakeasy has also presented pop, R&B, reggae and hip-hop.
Dassler is quick to credit two of his cohorts in aiding such variety. His business partner and booking agent, Jon Jordan, is familiar with the scene as the drummer/vocalist for Delray Beach rock band Remain Calm, and sound engineer Justin Thompson was hired for his work and reputation at the downtown Lake Worth club Propaganda.
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Interior of the Snooze Theatre in Lake Park where younger indie rock entrepreneurs can play.
If you’ve driven by the Orange Door nightclub in Lake Park during one of its off nights in the past couple months, and decided to stop in because you noticed a crowd, you may have experienced culture shock.
That’s because the seven-year-old club, known for its blues shows in general and 48 “3 Guitars” showcases in particular, is occasionally leasing out to younger indie rock entrepreneurs under the name the Snooze Theatre. Those principals are 28-year-olds Jordan Pettingill and C.J. Jankow, members of local duo Love Handles and the full band Cop City Chill Pillars who’ve played together for 16 years.
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