Kim Wilson played White’s twice around 2002. Kim is the singer and harp player for the Fabulous Thunderbirds and he came my way through Detroit blues rocker Doug Deming. Doug is a true believer and a genuine guy who walks with integrity. At White’s Wilson stuck to the blues. His set list consisted of several songs from his phenomenal LPs Looking’ For Trouble – F-Fat, Love Attack, JR’s Jump, and Love My Baby and songs from Tiger Man –Boogie All Night, Hunch Rhythm and the Hustle is On. Wilson was truly spectacular. I’ve never heard anyone play the harp like Wilson – perfect tone and nuanced execution. He sustained a note for like 3 minutes. I wondered how on earth he could do that without losing pitch. There was a sub-plot to all this that had to do with Wison’s girlfriend. She had been married to Greg “Fingers” Taylor a great musician who had played piano and harp for Jimmy Buffett. Taylor had performed @ White’s on several occasions with Doug Demming in the past few years. I really liked Fingers, even have his Greatest Hits CD. It is pure magic. Anyway, the lady was simply stunning – beautiful. She was friendly and easy to talk to. But during the show she and a customer struck up a conversation, a loud laugh fest that shifted the crowd’s attention to them. Kim was noticeably flustered; his complexion turned a brighter shade of red. He was pissed but following a sudden break, Wilson’s wayward lover quieted down and the show ended with a crescendo of glorious music. I never saw Kim Wilson again. I miss him. He is truly a great artist!

This is a photo of me with Mose Allison. The show was arranged by bassist extraordinaire Bruce Crawley. I had learned of Mose through my love of the Who. I was a fan of the Who’s early catalog of hits such as I Can’t Explain, I Can See for Miles, Call Me Lightening and the LP’s Tommy and Who’s Next. But it was The Who’s Live at Leeds LP that brought Young Man’s Blues into my consciousness. I loved the song, it seemed to speak directly to me. I saw it as a Mose Allison masterpiece. So, Crawley hooked me up with Mose; got his phone number and I gave him a call. We arranged a date that would not interfere with a gig he was doing in Flint the same month. There was this acknowledged courtesy of only booking a piggy back show with permission from the venue or promoter. The Flint venue agreed to permit the gig at White’s Bar as we were rather intimate (less than 100 seating). I was excited. Only thing is, I thought Mose was a black man. When he arrived I thought he was the manager, I asked about Mose and he said, “I’m Mose.” Oops. The Brush/Lopez Trio and knocked it out smooth and in the pocket – great band. I loved the song Jack - Brush’s tribute to Jack Bruske.  Mose took the stage and started out with an instrumental filled with stops and starts and tempo changes called Excursion and Interlude, so far so good. He had a cool sloppy piano technique - rolling at breakneck speed and taking no prisoners. He played a ton of songs from his vast catalog including Kidding in the Square, Parchman Farm, You Call it Jogging (But I Call it Running Around), Ever Since the World Ended, I Ain’t Got Nothing But the Blues,  Trouble in Mind and Monster ID. His lyrics run deep with irony and irreverence. He’s a stoned philosopher and teller of truths. I loved his style. He was already an elderly man and he would speak up and tell the truth without rancor or hostility. Case in point; I was taking several photos with my cheap drug store throwaway when Mose stopped the music looked me straight in the eye and said, “stop it, I’m not a model.” I shrugged all red faced and embarrassed but Mose made it right by having us do a photo together. Sweet genius. The Kinks leader Ray Davies once said that Mose was the missing link between blues and jazz and Van Morrison did an entire album of Mose Allison’s songs. After the show Mose and the band  sat quietly in the storage room at White’s -  the bassist and drummer never made eye contact. Mose looked tired. He accepted his pay, looked at it for a moment and put it in his pocket. Sometimes intimacy can be too much to ask.

Chad Cunningham

The Creation of a Benevolent Fortress

Bullfrog Records

Chad Cunningham is a man of purpose and honor. He grew up in an artistic family and music became the food of love, a second language for a young boy who idolized his rock & roll father.  It isn’t any wonder that Chad followed in his father’s footsteps. They were inseparable – father and son. Chad learned plenty from his father, not just about beautiful sounds or syncopated rhythms but creating a life worth living and walking a straight line with integrity. The pursuit of excellence is as natural for Cunningham as taking a deep belly breath fresh air and exhaling with a smile. Impossible expectations became a love without an ending. Bullfrog Records was born…

Chad, what led to your interest in music?

My interest in music…hmm - my dad played drums behind Sonny and Cher back in the day. He was always in a band, and I grew up with music. He played in Battle of the Bands, he was in the Delrays and the Fall-Outs way back in the day. He played against Ted Nugent, played with Bob Seger and all those guys, and I always kind of grew up with music in the house. My dad playing in the bands, so I guess that’s where it comes up from.

I heard about your father, and I think you take after him. What did you learn from your dad?

What did I learn from my dad? I’ve just always been around it. I guess I don’t know how to answer. He’s just always influenced us, you know, with music. My dad’s my best friend and we hang out together, so yeah I guess everything we do is kind of together.

When did you form Bullfrog Records?

Bullfrog Records would have formed in 1997. There was a band called Lucid Young. Really how it kind of all started was I recorded a record from a band, Question Mark and the Mysterians. There was a record label that hired me to record it called Collectible Records, and we did Question Mark and the Mysterians album which is still in stores today. It has 96 tears on it, of course, and other popular songs because their song recording rights were up and so they needed it re-recorded, so we re-recorded it. When I got done with that, Bobby Balderama wanted to do a solo blues project, and so that’s kind of how the label started. Then another band called Lucid Jones and a band called the Haskells which Andy Reed was a part of. Then the label really faded, I want to say in 2000 when everybody was downloading music illegally.

We couldn’t find a good way to sell records and do stuff, I kind of walked away from it just a little bit and got back into just promoting shows and doing the live shows in the Tri-City area. Then probably two years ago, Bobby Balderama came to me and said, “You’ve got to sign this band.” I said, “I’m done signing bands.” He said, “Well, I just want you to listen to it.” Out of respect to him, I listened to it and again, it was the band “Finding Clyde.”  Later that week one of their songs “Thoughts of You” came up on my IPod. I said, “Wow, that’s a great song,” and I couldn’t figure out what artist it was from, and so we looked, and sure enough, it was Finding Clyde. I called Bobby and said, “I want to talk with those guys.” He got us together, and I’ve been working with them now for two years, so that’s kind of the long and short of Bullfrog, I guess.

Finding Clyde is really hittin’ it big. They’re really living the life. How was the process of breaking them out into a more national scene?

Yeah, that was a royal pain in the butt. It’s a very hard process. It’s endless miles, calls, and travel and going to see everybody, and make them aware, and you know, just a lotta, lotta, lotta work. But it’s been good; I mean the Active Rock has embraced them. They went to 39 on the single called, “Let Me Be.”  Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue picked them as the pick of the week and said their song was better than Gus Mac, and there’s a little rivalry, which is fun. Now they’re getting ready to release their next song. Their album went out to college radio three weeks ago, and they’ve got 57 stations already spinning it after two and a half weeks. Their next song, “Get Higher,” which is the next single, gets released the end of this month. I’m really excited for those guys.  You don’t just call the radio station and they start playing your record.

Does your knowledge of music help you pick the right artists for you, for Bullfrog Records?

Well, again, is there a process to picking that? I don’t know. You know this guy’s a producer, that guy’s a musician. You know the next person could be a school teacher. I think that everybody has ears and you know what you like and you know what you don’t like. I guess kind of how I pick things is my own personal taste and what I think. It’s just something I think other people would like and we should work on getting it out to more people. That’s kind of really what I go by, not the fact that maybe’s it’s the best musicianship or the best guitar player or the best drummer. I don’t think that’s always what wins. I think it’s probably the chemistry of the band and how they gel together - what do the songs sound like? What are their writing skills? That kind of stuff, and “is the song catchy, is it something that people are going to want to sing, the meaning of the song, and all that type of stuff. I think that’s more important than, “Wow, that guy really knows scales on a guitar.”

That’s what I do too. You’ve been in the game a while now. What’s different for you now?

You know, that’s a great question because what’s different for me now is the fact that I can get distribution. The hard thing about having a record label like 10 to 15 years ago was that you needed the record to be in Harmony House and FIE, Meijer’s, Target, and you don’t any more. You need to have it on-line, on Amazon and ITunes, Spotify, you know on all the digital things, and that’s easy for me to do.  With the record label that we have, I’m able to get all the distribution, and that’s the only part we were missing because we can do the promotions ourself, we can do the touring ourself. It was just a matter of we couldn’t do distribution. It really makes for our label to be on an equal playing field to the majors. You know, there’s nothing that a major has over us except for a lot more people that they have to answer to and a lot more red tape to go through, which we don’t have. If we decide we want to do something, we do it. We don’t have to run it through 20 vice-presidents and a president.

 A lot has been made of, and you’ve heard this before, and I’ve heard it for years. I’ve heard it since the ‘70s really, the death of rock and roll. Much has been made of the death of rock and roll, at least the most popular genre. Do you see rock music becoming secondary, a secondary genre like blues is now and jazz?

I see it becoming secondary with the media, I see it becoming secondary with Billboard, and I see it becoming secondary with articles from the media, but are you telling me when you look at a band like the Foo Fighters who were the only real band to play at the Grammys. The rest is all pre-produced garbage. You got Katy Perry out there with a bunch of dancers lip-syncing, and if anybody thinks that’s real, they’re just getting faked out. So what are you buying into? I don’t understand why the public continues to let it go on and buys their records and stuff when it’s all just fake garbage. There is still a huge, to me, audience for real live rock and roll. I mean when you go to these shows, they’re packed. You can’t take a band like the Foo Fighters and deny it. They’re selling out huge arenas all around the country. There’s a thirst for this, but for some reason, Top 40 radio is hesitant to play local artists.

What’s your take on the new digital sounds created in the studio

So, I mean it’s a matter of, you go in the studio, and they’re not playin’ with live musicians all the time and they’re just producing a record, and coming out with electronic drums or vocal correcting software. It’s not real. Back in the day you had to play, and it had to be real and authentic. I think there’s still an audience out there who really respects that. I think most people do. Again, it just gets me upset to see all of this what I call fake stuff. Everybody lip syncs and they put on a show. You know, if you want to go to a show, go to a show, but if you want to see a band play, you should see a band play. The whole thing about that is they can do what the record does live without all this help and play into a CD. I just don’t understand it.

I was thinking about Greg Shaw. He had Bomp! Records, and I got to know him a little bit, years ago because he passed away, but Greg  produced the Flamin’ Groovies and Nick Lowe.  I talked to him in the ‘90s, he felt that rock and roll was not the most popular genre anymore but there’ll always be fans that love rock and roll and it will continue to flourish in small pockets across the country. Do you see that from your perch?

We see that. When we went out to Spokane, Washington and played…it so ld out and most people are there to rock. I mean they love it, Flint, Michigan loves it, and Madison, Wisconsin loves it. There’s definitely still those places. I mean, Kevin at the Machine Shop down in Flint. What an awesome place and what an awesome venue and what an awesome concept. If we could get that thing franchised throughout the rest of the country, I think it would work. I mean, he’s just got a great, great thing going down there. You can’t tell me that Flint, Michigan’s not ready to see a live band rock and offering, you know, some produced dancers to the stage.

What was it like working with Chuck Alkazian? It sounds like he’s a friend of yours, and he’s a pretty big-name producer, isn’t he?

Yeah, I mean Chuck’s done a bunch of stuff. Saving Abel, Ted Nugent, shoot I’m drawing a blank, but I know a bunch more. He’s done Trust Company. He’s done a bunch of stuff down there. I’ve known Chuck for, I don’t know, 10 or 15 years. He’s been a great guy. He’s come a long way. He’s really got his sound figured out and his studio figured out, and he’s easy to work with, he’s creative. I think he helps the process instead of hurting it. I think he gets the most out of every band that he can.

 Tension Head recently signed with your record label, is hard rock metal genre new  to you?

Yeah, I’ve never worked with anything quite as hard as Tension Head is. You know, I like it. The energy that they bring is unbelievable. The only heck of it is, it’s a little harder to find a way to get it out. I’m working on that right now. How do we get this out to the public because it’s not as easily played on the airwaves, although I think the rock stations are going to love the song. It’s got a great hook which is not really common in metal type of music.

I was told that you helped write it. What did you contribute?

You know just trying to get a little more of the structure to it. Really Tension Head had most of it done when I got it. I just put a little structure in it. We put a bridge in there, just kind of the way it flows a little bit. Yeah, maybe put a little bit of salt and pepper in it, but they made the dinner.

Do you see yourself branching out further now, like to different forms of music, whether it’s jazz or…

You know, ultimately I’m open to hear anything, but really my focus will be on these two bands. I’m not looking to expand our roster as of yet. You know it’s not a huge staff. It’s me and a couple of interns, and it just doesn’t pay to get too spread out where we can’t service the people we need to. At this point I’m happy with Finding Clyde and Tension Head and not really looking to expand the roster.

By all accounts you are a very busy and dedicated to your artists. What kind of energy that takes and how do you recharge?

Well, like music to me is like what I would do for a hobby, so somebody that would work a regular job has a hobby of going fishing or something. Music is my hobby, so what I have downtown, that’s what I want to do. You know, that’s all I think about

Well thanks, Chad is there anything that I didn’t ask, anything that you want to say that I didn’t prompt?

Well, I think that’s it. Really, Bo, the bottom line is that I’m pretty humble. I don’t like to focus on me. I like the fact that you’re asking me questions. I’m not looking to slap myself on the back by any means. All I really want, a dream of mine would be for a band to have a number one record. You know, I’m going to do everything I can to help somebody do it. I couldn’t do it with my own band. I think I I’m better as a promoter, a label, and a guy behind the scenes kind of help. If I can help make somebody’s dream come true, that would make my dream come true.

You know, Chad, you’re way too humble because you’re known to be the major player in the scene.

I’ve just been very blessed and had a lot of stuff happen right. I mean, the shows that we’ve done in the tri-cities, the live shows have just worked real well, you know, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Poison, Ted Nugent, and all the stuff we’ve brought in, and those have all worked well. We’ve had some good luck with the band. Like with the playing cards, we’ve cut a lot of lucky breaks. The guys have toured the whole country and just keep getting bigger and bigger, and you know I’d just love to get to the next level…I was looking into the guy from Cold Play who was getting interviewed. They asked him if he ever thought about quitting. He said, “Every day.” They said, “Why would you think that?” He said, “Because I question my music and question this.” The guy said, “But you’re selling millions of records. Why would you question it?” I think you’re never happy with the level you’re at. I think you always want to try to get to the next rung, and if you’re not, maybe you’re dead. So for us, everything’s been really good, but in my opinion when I look at what I’ve done, it’s not enough, and I want to do more…

chad@bullfrogrecords.com.

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This is photo from 2006; L-R Andy Reed, Bo White, Jason Reed and David Mead. This was his second performance at White’s – a Reed Brothers production. I just contributed a few bucks. David is one of many middle class musicians who passed through White’s through the years. It was only a chance encounter that brought patrons through the hallowed and terribly stained arches of this little juke joint… Mead, Larry McCray, Rusty Zinn, The Sights, Junior Watson, Dr. Slide, Jim McCarty, Johnny Bassett, JoCaine, and Alberta Adams, just to name a few.  By and large they all busted their humps, played great and picked up a few bucks. It was never enough money. They deserved more. With a few notable exceptions I never really got to know these musical gypsy vagabonds. But I loved them just the same. They inspired me and led me down the eight fold path - to make a living in a righteous way, to seek truth. Mead was more accessible than many. I remember sitting with him at the corner of the bar by the front window. He talked about his recent marriage to artist Natalie Cox, recording in New York and his preference for touring as a solo artist. He gave me a copy of his new CD Tangerine. I could tell he was digging the new pop emphasis in his songwriting. Mead played many of the songs from Tangerine including Chatterbox, Hunting Season, Hallelujah I Was Wrong, and Hard To Remember. Meade has a smooth tenor reminiscent of a young Bruce Johnston (Beach Boys). One of my personal highlights was Meade singing God Only Knows. It is superb. Most of all I liked David Meade’s integrity. He and the Reed Brothers were a perfect match.

Keef Courage is a breath of fresh in a music scene that is reeling from changing tastes and aging cool. There is nothing new under the sun yet these hip hop rockers bring a fresh spirit and perspective informed by a love for sounds and rhythms. They seem to channel the energy of Eminem while embracing the pastoral scenes created by Atmosphere

Jay Freer was able to sit down to talk about the Review Awards:

“We were very excited when we found out we won the Best Performance award. Jess Williams and I do the vocals and DJ Goob on the turntables. Our sound is an original mixture of hip-hop and electronic music. There is no one style we stick with, as we are constantly trying to expand our sound.”

Keef Courage was formed in Midland, MI in 2003 and from the start they carved out their individual musical contributions

“Jesse and Jay write all the lyrics. We select the instrumental or song we have and then decide on a direction that we want to go in. We then write it all down and record it.

Jess plays the guitar and some keys. He also produces and sequences most of the instrumentals used in our projects.”

Review:  “In Between Suns” was a sonic masterpiece, who produced the disc?

All three members of KC have a hand in the recording and mixing process. Jay and DJ Goob are certified Recording Engineers and have operated a Recording Studio in Midland in the past.

How did you get that crisp sound?

A lot of practice and using Pro Tools have helped our sound develop into high quality projects.

What’s next for Keef Courage?

Keef Courage is always in the studio working on new music. We are really going to be getting into doing more videos and expanding our digital media and our Internet presence.

The songs have passion that reminds me of Eminem (Last Tango, Music Box, In Between Suns) as well as sepia toned scenes of Atmosphere rapping about family love and back yard barbecues (When it’s Like). This disc has a deep lyricism – it’s an incredible musical statement. Do you view this disc as a culmination of your collective vision - a masterpiece?

It took us a lot of time to narrow the songs down to what we believed was the experience of “In Between Suns”. We try to write our songs so that each one has content and that it makes sense. This was our fourth full length album and we look forward to creating more music and expanding our sound.

Cream Always Rises to the Top

The Banana Convention Ascends

The BC5 have just gotten better over the years and you've honed your craft to critical acclaim. A case

in point is the LEAP LP – as well as your hard rockin' live show. Are you where you want to be musically and artistically?

SEAN: Musically and artistically we are still maturing and that's the key to making it all happen. We have been together for almost a decade now and if we still sounded like the 60's bubble gum act I think we would have imploded. We are never where we want to be because we set a high standard for ourselves. We are always working hard and making new things happen. That is where we want to be.

MONTE: I’d say anybody who is a musician, or does any sort of artistic expression, should never say they are where they want to be. If you’re where you want to be, what is there to reach for and try to achieve anymore?

Shar you got a well-deserved award for Best female vocalist. You are a stunning lead singer, you can belt

it out or sing is soft and sweet. You are the best singer on the scene. You've come into your own. How

does it feel?

Thanks. I am humbled by the award because there are a lot of other hard working and talented people that deserve recognition.

What's Banana Convention got up their sleeve for the future?

We have two big projects. One is the documentary of us on the road is coming together and then a special show in June. It is going to be a big stage production in Bay City at the Masonic Temple. Those are the only details I can give right now on that. Also we have some interesting show ideas to still flush out so we always have something in motion.

New recordings?

SEAN: We have a couple songs that need to be tracked and the idea of a new album by winter should be in the cards. We all have songs right now. We all have a lot of ideas; more than we normally have. So not to record is foolish. LEAP was the tip of the iceberg I feel. Since we finished it we are all in the creative juice music making mode.

MONTE: We certainly do have enough new original songs for another full length album right now, but we didn’t just want to get to 14 new songs and then just put them on an album. We want to have, say, 30 new songs and then choose from those which deserve to go on the new album to make sure it’s the best product we can put out there.

More extensive touring?

Right now we are getting new material going and have been thinking about freshening up our live show. If we get in the studio this summer I say we hit the road late fall so we don't have to do the whole "Michigan" Winter thing. haha

Monte I heard that your brother is filming a documentary of BC. Is this true?

Sort of, but not quite. The documentary is not just about us, but more about the current state of the independent music scene and how hard it is to Do It Yourself in today’s climate. We are one of the bands the documentary follows to showcase the struggle and they followed us during our West Coast Tour last summer. The doc will include some high up music industry corporate suit types talking about their end of the spectrum while we’re on the road living it from our end. It should be a really interesting story when it’s all said and done. It likely will be out sometime next year.

Why is Sean Drsydale considered the sexiest bass player of the Great Lakes Bay Region...(you know

how bass players are)

I don't really think of my self as a sexy or sexiest bass player. I make white paper look tan, have the red hair and am 5'8" on a good day. I appreciate the ego rub but just being a good bass player is fine by me.

Any last words

MONTE: Just thanks to everybody who’s been continuing to come out and show their love and support to us the last 8 years. We’ve grown and evolved so much, as musicians, as writers, as performers, and as people. We have more in us, that’s for sure, and just hope everybody stays interested and keeps coming out to watch us.

SHAR: We’ve been working at this for a long time and I’m excited about where it’s heading from here. We have a lot of room to grow and expand and I hope everybody will come on that ride with us.

SEAN: There are a lot of new and exciting changes for the TBC. Recording is a must and moving forward is the always. I just want people to hear the EP and come see us live. The only people who don't know what we sound like, it seems, are people in the local area. We are not a bubble gum band anymore. I get asked that all the time. Or the “I haven't heard you in years”. If that is the case check us out. You are only as strong as your foundation of where you come from. We are a rock band that will melt your angst and put you in a good mood. TBC - Its okay to like it!

Out the shadows and into the light.

 Andy Reed is busier than a bee making honey. He’s soaring higher than eagles fly, creating heavenly sounds with a single minded purpose to create something new from the ruins of our musical past. He is a regular member of The Verve Pipe and produced dozens of artists including Mandi Layne, Nick Piazza, Kenny Stahl, Arthur Autumn and Brett Mitchell. If that wasn’t enough Reed found the time to record and release Always on the Run, the most exciting album of 2011 with his new band An American Underdog.

The Review awards seem to be a culmination of an incredibly fertile year for you. What was your first reaction when won the awards?

My first reaction when I won was a great sense of pride. I didn’t really promote that I was nominated and I know a majority of the people who do vote are musicians so its feels great to be respected by my peers.

American Underdog was released on CD and Vinyl. What prompted the vinyl release?

 I really wanted to release the An American Underdog; Always On The Run album on vinyl because it’s still the most natural sounding format to listen to music to this day. Being an audiophile, I was really excited with the way the album turned out and I really wanted to just hear what it sounded like on vinyl. I did a limited run and Ive had some good feedback from those who did hear the vinyl version

You are known to produce warm and lovely analogue sounds that harken back to the innovators of the fifties and sixties from Phil Spector to George Martin. Who has inspired you as a producer/engineer/ artist?  

My biggest inspirations as a engineer/producer/artist have really become the recordings themselves (not the artist or producer). The records I really love are the ones I study the most. I’ll try to achieve the same warmth and clarity. You can still create great modern recordings that have the warmth of older recordings and don’t sound "old".

What are your plans for the upcoming year for The Verve Pipe

The Verve Pipe is currently working on the follow up to "A Family Album" and we are playing a bunch of shows this summer. Plus I’m writing the next An American Underdog record and hope to release it later this year.

 What is your overarching goal as an artist and producer?

My goals as an artist and producer is to keep moving on the path I’m on. I am continuing to buy gear and expand the studio. I’m pushing myself to write better songs and make better recordings. I really am never satisfied with anything and I know I can always improve in every area. That is the best thing about music and recording. You really can never stop learning.

Reed Recording Studio

Reed Recording Company is still plugging away 6-7 days a week and I’ve been super lucky getting some great bands and artists coming in. It really has taken off. Recording has become my favorite thing to do in music. I love getting sounds.