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PUBLISHER Sean McCloskey [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Todd McFliker [email protected] DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Melissa A. Smith [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Tom Craig Paul Evans Larry Marano Sean McCloskey Todd McFliker Angel Melendez Andrew Richterkessing Jay Skolnick Melissa A. Smith Jason Valhuerdi Alanna Vilane Joseph Vilane www.SFLMusic.com twitter.com/SFLMusic facebook.com/SFLMusic ADVERTISING INFO [email protected] COVER PHOTO Sean McCloskey SFL Music Magazine is a community newspaper that is published monthly in Sunrise, Florida. All contents are copyright The Sweet Music Group, Inc. 2016 and may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.

C ONT E NT S December 2016 | Issue #54 Maxwell - 06

Pet Shop Boys - 08 Dolly Parton - 12 ZZ Top - 12 Yellowcard - 14 Elle King - 14 Evanescence - 14 Local H - 15 Stevie Nicks - 15 Lavay Smith - 16 The Doobie Brothers - 18 Ghost - 22 Kelsey Theater - 24 Olivia Holt - 26 Forlorn Strangers - 28 Fuel - 30 The Fritz - 34 Steve Vai - 36 Musicians Emporium - 38

Maxwell American Airlines Arena Photo: Sean McCloskey 6 | www.SFLMusic.com

8 | www.SFLMusic.com

Pet Shop Boys The Fillmore Miami Beach Photo: Sean McCloskey


Dolly Parton BB&T Center

Photo: Sean McCloskey

Old Wounds ZZ Top Revolution Live- Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live Photo: Photo: Sean Sean McCloskey McCloskey 12 | www.SFLMusic.com

Yellowcard Revolution Live Photo: Sean McCloskey

Evanescence The Fillmore Miami Beach Photo: Sean McCloskey 14| www.SFLMusic.com

Elle King Revolution Live Photo: Sean McCloskey

Local H Revolution Live Photo: Sean McCloskey

Stevie Nicks & Chrissie Hynde BB&T Center Photo: Sean McCloskey

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts November 9, 2016 The Gold Coast Jazz Society opened their 25th Season with the first ever South Florida appearance of Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. Lavay and her 7-piece band formed in San Francisco in 1989. Today, they are an extremely tight unit performing in the authentic style of 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s jazz, blues, bebop and New Orleans R&B. The Fort Lauderdale show was a two set twenty one song mix of classics, such as Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” Ray Charles’ “Jumpin’ in the Morning” and Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” Lavay & the Skillet Lickers surprised the audience with an interesting jazz twist on Hank Williams’ country classic “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” as well as on Bill Monroe’s bluegrass hit ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Lavay went on to perform songs from all of her three albums, like “Big Fine Daddy,” “Everybody’s Talkin’ Bout Miss Thing” and “Busy Woman’s Blues.” They closed out the show with a little New Orleans flavor and tribute to Louis Armstrong with “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Lavay’s lush and saucy vocals are reminiscent of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington or Sarah Vaughn, and proved capable of traversing a multitude of styles. Hopefully, Lavay enjoyed her first South Florida appearance and will find her way back from the Bay Area sooner than later. Tom Craig 16 | www.SFLMusic.com

Me a Little While).” White, yellow, green, blue and purple lights continuously danced over the crowd, as well as the talent. Many folks swayed in their seats, while a few other couples actually stood up to dance. Simmons declared how nice it was to be in South Florida that particular evening and picked the chords to a less familiar jam from 1973, “Clear as the Driven Snow.” McFee played a mean fiddle in the country-bluegrass ramble “Spirit.” When a showgoer yelled out the word “Doobie,” Simmons asked if it was legal in Florida yet. Johnston announced that they’re going to do some blues right now and led into “Dark Eyed Cajun Woman.” Two spotlights lit up Payne and Toth for the impressive solos of “Sweet Maxine.” A few older ladies were having a blast dancing up front as the Doobie Brothers executed a memorable “Takin’ It to the Streets.” “Do you want to rock a little bit, asked Johnston. “Come on!”

The Doobie Brothers Broward Center November 13, 2016 Founding drummers John Hartman and the late drummer Michael Hossack got together in Northern California back in the Seventies. The beefed up rhythm section led to the Doobie Brothers. Four decades later, the Doobies are still on the road, conquering theaters, such as the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday November 13th. Led by guitarists and power vocalists Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, and only one drummer these days, the Doobie Brothers performed an exciting night of greatest hits, despite a potential tragedy in the crowd. At precisely 7pm, the Doobie Brothers took their stage at the Broward Center. There was no opening act, presumably because the band spent 90 minutes onstage with 18 songs. The audience was made up of seniors with plenty of grey hair, not unlike the talent. A gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge and the Doobie Brothers logo made up the backdrop behind the musicians. Ed Toth was the sole drummer onstage right, while Bill Payne and his keyboards were stationed on stage left. Four other Doobies lined up along the front. John Cowan, the bassist wore a turquoise shirt, black vest and jeans. To his left stood Simmons in a cowboy hat. Johnston sported a tie-dye t-shirt and big black Magnum, P.I. mustache. Impressive slide guitarist John McFee was in a double-breasted black sports coat. Each held some type of guitar behind a microphone, and continuously changed instruments throughout the night. Opening with the Art Reynolds Singers cover, “Jesus Is Just Alright,” every spectator was still cheering when the boys drove into “Rockin’ Down the Highway.” Johnston stated “It’s good to see you all back again,” and asked “Is everybody alright?” all cheered. Draped in blue jeans and a short sleeve black button-down, saxophone guru Marc Russo stepped up front and center for a massive solo in “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock 18 | www.SFLMusic.com

There was an older gentlemen, Frank, perhaps in his seventies, who was up and dancing in the front row by himself throughout the entire show. Coincidentally, it was during the song “The Doctor” that Frank collapsed, maybe even from a heart attack. The show stopped and the house lights went on. Concerned for the guy’s life, Johnston asked for “a little help over here.” What was presumably a middle-aged doctor from 20 rows back ran up and administered CPR. For roughly 10 minutes, everybody on the stage and in the crowd was on their feet watching as a concertgoer most likely saved Frank’s life.

After being carried out by paramedics, Johnston said “That was Frank. He has been a Doobie Brothers fan for 42 years.” He explained that Frank “has been hanging with the band since he saw a concert in Northern California a couple of years ago. Anyway, he was rocking.” Johnston thanked everybody for their patience and claimed “This is a first for us.” Making light of the situation, Simmons said “We want to knock the audience out, but not that way.”

Avoiding a disaster in the front row, the Doobies got right back to business and dedicated their first Number One hit, 1974’s “Black Water” to Frank. Every person in the room was on his or her feet, singing the well-known chorus, “Old black water, keep on rollin’. Mississippi moon, won’t you keep on shinin’ on me.” Sticking with the joyous vibe, “Black Water” led straight into the groovy “China Grove,” an obvious highlight for the night. There was a short encore and the Doobie Brothers wound down the evening with “Without You” and the good time favorite “Listen to the Music.” It became apparent to South Floridians that the Dobbie Brothers age like fine wine. - Todd McFliker • Photos: Tom Craig

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Ghost The Fillmore Miami Beach Photo: Sean McCloskey 22 | www.SFLMusic.com

Giving back to the local community, the Kelsey Theater is Lake Park’s newest and best venue for live music, independent cinema, comedy and various other performing arts. Located in an unassuming building that is at the center of an art and culture revival in the art district and downtown corridor, the intimate venue now showcases the best of the best, including local artists and national talent. December is going to be enormous for the Kelsey Theater with everything from amazing concerts in the only 500 person venue between Orlando and Ft Lauderdale to timeless films and live professional wrestling. The month is kicking things off with a double feature film night with A Christmas Story and Elf as a fundraiser on December 2. The next night, spectators get to watch live wrestling matches, as opposed to seeing the fights on a giant screen. Its real blood and sweat that’s not being broadcast on payper-view. There is also the surfing flick Dream Steeple on December 9. The Kelsey Theater teamed up with their new neighbors, the not-for-profit Palm Beach County Surfing History Museum, to do a fundraiser. Putting on the movie, followed by a concert by local artists, the William Kimball Band. December at the Kelsey Theater is packed. On December 10, the blues and jazz-based In Between join the Rotorheads onstage. 24 | www.SFLMusic.com

Like they do every few months, the Kelsey Theater will host Beer and Carols on December 16. Its drinking beers combined with a contemporary Holy Spirit Lutheran Church service. “The first time I ever went, I was watching the pastor preach while I was sitting there with a draft beer and wearing a Guinness t-shirt. But I was able to take the pastor seriously,” expressed Wayne Felber, Marketing Manager of the Kelsey Theater. “I am Christian, but I like beer too.” 2017 will consist of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on January 7. The Kelsey Theater is actually the only place licensed right now in all of Palm Beach County to show the classic film. Punk lovers are looking forward to Dead Kennedys on the 29th of January. Not a cover band, but Dead Kennedys themselves. Then there’ll be the Paul tribute, the Ultimate McCartney Experience, as well as a Rolling Stones cover act and the Nirvana tribute band Smells Like Grunge. “We will also have art films and the independent movies showing three or four times a week in our bistro style seating,” said Felber. “Our goal is to have something going on every weekend.” The Kelsey Theater opened its doors for the first time in January, but the official grand opening party didn’t take

place until May. It was fantastic. The grand opening actually fell on the same day as the Brewhouse Gallery’s 2nd Anniversary, which is next door and is owned by the same person. Between the two venues, there was close to twenty different bands playing throughout the day. There was also vendors, artwork and specialty beers. “Since the grand opening, the Kelsey Theater has probably put on more than 35 events,” explained Felber. “There is literally something going on every weekend, from national touring concerts to live stand-up and even a reptile show featuring a 10-foot anaconda onstage. We work with the local schools and give to a number of charities. We also have private events if you and your friends ever want to play Xbox on our 16-foot screen. By January, we’ll have the Independent Film Series going again. The Kelsey Theater is not just a concert venue or a movie theater. We are more of an Anything-Goestheater.” “We do a lot with not-for-profits and charities. For example, the Kelsey Theater recently hosted Bark Back. Rather than only bringing good music and festive events to South Florida, we want to give back to the community,” claimed Felber. “The whole concept of the Kelsey Theater, the Brewhouse Gallery and their owner AJ Brockman was to start the Lake Park Art District. AJ is the visionary and the brains behind everything that we are doing. He has done so much for the local community.” Just last month, local reggae heroes Spred the Dub headlined Bark Back with a handful of local acts, including the Copper Tones. Kelsey Theater and Brewhouse Gallery featured two stages of local music for music lovers and those searching for a fury family member. “Bark Back is an amazing event,” said Mick Swigert, Spred the Dub vocalist. “We have ten bands playing for free and donating their time on a Saturday night. And that’s prime time money for all of these local bands.” Besides uniting dogs with loving families, Bark Back assists two charities in South Florida, Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League and Dogs 4 Disabled Veterans. “Tonight is awesome,” said Dan Gootner, guitarist of the Copper Tones. “It’s so cool to see the local scene coming together at the Kelsey Theater. It gives us all a community. I hope it goes on forever because it’s a beautiful thing with amazing bands coming together to support a great cause.” Markis Hernandez, the flute and sax player with both Spred the Dub and Public Sounds Collective agreed. “Getting all of these musicians under one roof is fabulous,” he said. “Everyone is digging it and the vibe is great.” The Kelsey Theater is located at 700 Park Ave. in Lake Park. Keep an eye on the Kelsey Theater website, www.thekelseytheater.com, to see the big names that will be announced in 2017, or give them a ring at 561.328.7481. - Todd McFliker

The crowd roared as the stage crew opened the Forever in Your Mind banner. Immediately, I knew I was in for something special. As the lights dropped, three young men ran onto the stage causing an almost deafening shriek. Emery Kelly, Ricky Garcia and Liam Attridge, together known as Forever in Your Mind, put on an incredible show. Their energy level and catchy pop songs made even the adults dance along. They had a great mix of upbeat tunes and a slower set of acoustic ones. Liam even pulled out his guitar, showing the talent that each one of these guys possesses.

Olivia Holt & Forever In Your Mind Culture Room November 13, 2016

During their favorite Disney songs, audience members were singing louder than the talent. I must admit, I was singing right along every word with the rest of the venue. As Forever in Your Mind were finishing up their last song, “Hurricane,” they announced they were headed to the merchandise table to meet the fans. I joined the masses in hopes of getting an autograph myself. The line stretched from one end of the room to the other. The band signed a handful of autographs and even posed for a few pictures before they were escorted back to the dressing room. A huge line of men, women and children were left disappointed. Unfortunately, I was denied an autograph as well. Otherwise, Forever in Your Mind were awesome at getting the people hyped up before Olivia Holt. The guys also earned some new devotees while doing it. From the moment Olivia Holt walked onstage, she had young girls crying tears of joy. Working as a petite teen with the stage presence of an adult, Olivia and her crew experienced a bit of technical difficulties during the set. The drums were louder than any other instrument, even over Holt’s voice. It was hard to make out most of the words, but her show didn›t seem affected. She kept interacting with fortunate viewers up front and dancing her heart out. She made one girl’s night, letting her sit on the stage. Olivia even opened a gift from a supporter before posing for a picture with the lucky girl. After Olivia’s set, she took more photos and signed autographs. She then went and mingled with the fans for a while. The pop star made each individual feel special and thanked them for being out so late on a school night. The fact that Olivia spent so much time with her admirers shows how much love she has for each and every one of them. - Megerella


Forlorn Strangers SFL Music: Forlorn Strangers is a folk band that comes to the Kelsey Theater in Palm Beach from the music town of Nashville. Did all of you guys grew up in Tennessee? Fiddle, percussion and vocalist Abigail Dempsey: No, none of us grew up there actually. Guitar and banjo player Benjamin Lusk: Like many people up there, we are transplants. SFL Music: So is it just a coincidence that you all ended up in Nashville and that’s where you got together? Guitar and mandolin player Chris Banke: Hannah Leigh Lusk (mandolin, upright bass and vocalist) and I actually went to college together at Palm Beach Atlantic University. It’s a tiny Christian college in West Palm Beach. SFL Music: Is everybody in the band from Florida? Chris: Some of us are from Central Florida and North Florida, like Ben is from Jacksonville. Hannah: I grew up in Maryland. Abigail: We are sisters, so I am from Maryland too. Jesse Thompson, the upright bass player is from Pennsylvania. Hannah: I went to college in Nashville. Then Abigail joined me. And that’s where we met Jesse. Ben: Hannah, Chris and I started a writers group with poetry, prose and songs. Eventually it allowed us to decompress. We 28 | www.SFLMusic.com

By Todd McFliker

were sitting around a campfire and passing around a whiskey bottle while we wrote. That’s where we all decided to move to Nashville and make an official band. SFL Music: Your third album, Forlorn Strangers, came out in August and is available on iTunes. What else can you tell me about it? Abigail: We recorded it in January at John Prine’s Studio in Nashville, The Butcher Shoppe. It was produced by Phil Madeira. We’ve been working with a PR company that’s been awesome and we’ve been touring all over. We recently went out to the West Coast. SFL Music: Playing all over the United States, what has been your favorite place to perform in? Chris: I really loved Seattle. It was great. It was very pretty and felt really good. Ben: Chris is a Midwesterner by birth. But essentially all of us come from east of the Mississippi. So it was a lot of fun going from Seattle to Los Angeles. Chris: We took the scenic route. Ben: It was definitely a change of pace that meant a lot to the band spiritually. SFL Music: Tell me a funny story from your adventurous road trip. Ben: We were in Wilmington, Delaware and we played a cool club called Mojo 13. We walked in and absolutely everything

was black. It appeared to be a punk metal club, but somehow we ended up played there. It felt a little hostile at first. But by the end of our first set, everyone was singing, dancing and hugging each other. Chris: The venue’s logo was a clown tattoo. There were bands playing Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and other hardcore punk rock. And then there was us folky kids going onstage after that. Ben: At the end, everyone was drinking beers and shaking hands. One of the guys comes us and says ‘It’s great that you guys didn’t play here on a Thursday.’ When we asked him why, he explained Mojo 13 is a BDSM club on Thursday nights. SFL Music: BDSM meaning Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism? Chris: Yes. It’s a sex club. Hannah: I don’t even remember that story. I must have suppressed it. (Laughs). SFL Music: Do you play any cool covers? Jesse: Yes. We do the Beatles’ “Paperback Writer.” Most recently, we added Nirvana’s “All Apologies” to the set. But we don’t play covers very often. Normally, we just play a lot of our newest record and some of our old material. SFL Music: What’s in the future after this year and a half venture on the road? Abigail: Our next step is to settle back in to some kind of routine with places to live. Hannah: But we’ll still tour. We’ll just be smarter about it and not be on the road fulltime for so long. It’ll be more of a weekend thing. SFL Music: What were the first albums you two obsessed over as a kid? Abigail: The Temptations’ Greatest Hits.

Hannah: The first album I became obsessed with was the Beatles One with all of their Number One hits. It was my first CD ever. SFL Music: Ben, what music inspired you to become an artist? Ben: My dad played an acoustic and he listened to a lot of Johnny Cash and old Irish ballads. Growing up, we always had the oldies station on in our car, so I would listen to music from the Fifties and Sixties. I heard the Beatles, the Byrds and the other animal name, like the Animals. That was the soundtrack to my childhood. SFL Music: Jesse, what was the first song that you ever learned to play? Jesse: That would be Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker.” SFL Music: Abigail, was there one concert that changed your life? Abigail: I went to see Dr. Dog at the Electric Factory in Philly. The Head and the Heart opened. It was winter of my senior year and that was the first time I ever felt like ‘Holy Shit. That was awesome!’ SFL Music: Jesse, what concert would you go back and see if you had a time machine? Jesse: Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1988 or ’89. Chris: I would see Guns N’ Roses right before they released Appetite for Destruction. Ben: The Beatles in Candlestick Park, San Francisco. I know its cliché, but I’d do it. SFL Music: Ben, what music do you play with your parents? Ben: Whenever I go, I have fun because my dad has a great 30th Anniversary Taylor guitar. We will poke around with some Johnny Cash, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Neil Young. Then there’s Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary. It’s great three-finger style stuff that two guys can just sit around and jam with each other all day. Jesse: My mom always sits down at the piano to play old hymns and old ragtimetype stuff. And her grandmother played ragtime too. SFL Music: What else do you want to tell South Florida music fans? Ben: We cut our teeth here. Chris, Hannah and I spent a great amount of of time down here. A lot of what we do now is based off of jamming with each other. We also have very fond memories of living down here. That’s why it is always special for us to come back. There’s a lot of memories and cool experiences that we can look back on for creative material. Thanks South Florida.

Fuel

By Angel Melendez

Outside of a handful of concerts, just over a dozen or so, postgrunge outfit, Fuel, has had a quiet year. “We took the year off for the most part,” frontman and lead singer Brett Scallions says over the phone from his home in LA. “I’ve been home, I’ve been working on new stuff, making beer, being a dad, just doing a lot of other things besides being away from home.” Best known for a string of hit singles throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, including “Shimmer,” “Hemorrhage (In My Hands),” and “Bad Day,” Fuel is in a state of flux and preparing to embark on a new course while celebrating the band’s past. And yes, you read correctly, that includes craft beer. “I have a couple of partners and we’re putting together a business plan for a brewing company. I’ve been making a bunch of batches of beer and having a great time with it. I love drinking beer, but I’ve been learning how much passion there is in actually making beer. It’s quite a process.” Scallions is spearheading this shift into new business ventures because he can; he’s the sole remaining original member of Fuel. In a strange reverse of fortunes, Scallions returned to the band in 2010 following his initial departure in 2006. In those intervening four years, founding members Carl Bell, Jeff Abercrombie, and Jody Abbott released one record as Fuel, Angels & Devils, with a new vocalist, Toryn Green. However, when Scallions took the reins once more of Fuel, he did so with a parade of replacement musicians. This new iteration brought about 2014’s Puppet Strings and as recently as a few months ago, there were rumors of a new 30 | www.SFLMusic.com

Fuel record on the horizon. Scallions disputes that, instead focusing on a new holiday brew, family, and closing out the year at Club Vixen “The next beer I have that is gonna be ready next is a holiday beer. It’s really dark. It has hints of chocolate in it, cinnamon, and bitter orange peel. It’s about a 5.4 ABV. It’s dark, but not a hard-hitting beer. It comes off the palette as a little bit of a coffee flavor. I’m calling it Ho Ho Hops or Hoppy Hanukkah.” Whether he’s performing solo or with Fuel, Scallions envisions having his beers in tow for fans to drink as shows. In the meantime, he still has plenty to do with his longtime music project. For example, Scallions and Fuel return to the oft-visited Florida, “a rock and roll state,” he calls it and his wife’s hometown, on December 30th. It’ll be the band’s second go-round down south this year hitting the Culture Room in September. It will, however, mark his first full-blown concert at strip club. As far as having had an experience like this previously, he says, not really. Not like this,” he continues. “Years ago I opened up Club Sapphire. They were the world’s largest strip club, but it was different. It was me and Flash, and Dave Navarro, and Matt Sorum, a bunch of us like that playing a bunch of tunes…I don’t know anything about Club Vixens.” When Scallions hears about the dedicated concert setup at Club Vixens coupled with girls simultaneously dancing on poles, his response is a jovial, “what’s more American than that?”

Fuel will be performing live at Club Vixens on December 30th

Beyond the upcoming gig, Scallions reveals Fuel will make at least one more trip to the Sunshine State very soon. It’s for a very good reason and it’ll be a stark contrast to the band’s schedule over the last few months. In 2017, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut record, Sunburn, Scallions plans to play the entirety of the album on tour. “We’re gonna perform the entire Sunburn album, from top to bottom, in the exact same order and everything…It’s gonna be us and Candlebox I believe. It’ll be a summer package.” He adds that there will “some other bands,” but doesn’t reveal any names. At this point, it doesn’t matter. It’s an announcement alternative rock fans young and old should be delighted with. Although he doesn’t have the venues nailed down yet, he guarantees that Florida will absolutely be on the list. “Oh we’ll definitely hit Florida. We’re touring everywhere next year.” It’s a great reason to cheers to Fuel and Scallions, and hopefully one day soon, we can toast and raise our glasses to them filled with his delicious chocolate beer. 32 | www.SFLMusic.com

Helmet Revolution Live Photo: Sean McCloskey

Fitz and the Trantrums Revolution Live Photo: Sean McCloskey

The Fritz

By Todd McFliker • Photos: Jay Skolnick

SFL Music: So Jamie, am I right that The Fritz has been on the road all year? Guitarist Jamie Hendrickson: Yes. We are constantly on the road. Maybe we’ll get a week off every now and then, but then we go back out again. We are always busy. SFL Music: Does The Fritz tour the whole nation? Jamie: We basically do the East Coast. We start in South Florida and go Burlington, Vermont and Syracuse, New York. This year, we’ve made it as far west as Arkansas and Texas. For the most part, we are an East Coast band. SFL Music: Has The Fritz played at The Funky Biscuit

before? Jamie: Sure, we’ve played there a couple of times, and we’ve always had a blast. About a year ago, we were there with a great band, Turkuaz. Over the years, we’ve played festivals in Florida, like Hulaween in Live Oak and Wanee. We’ve made a lot of friends down there, so we always look forward to heading back. SFL Music: I know The Fritz has been writing new music while on the road. What can you tell me about it? Jamie: We will be recording a new album in January up in New York. We are all pretty excited about it. When we were talking about it over the summer, we decided that we would write all new music for it. At that point, we only had two new songs. We really liked them, so we’ve been busy writing new stuff since then. But we are still working on that material. We’ll probably be writing it until we actually go into the studio. SFL Music: If The Fritz is from Asheville, what brought you down to Dade City, Florida to record your second album, Bootstrap? Jamie: When we all met in college at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, we recorded a demo at our house. But we had a friend who owned a studio in Dade City. He let us use the


studio to us with some fantastic engineers. The opportunity was too good to pass up. They not only believed in the band, but they helped us out tremendously. SFL Music: Your sound has been defined as an original blend of rock, funk and soul. But how would you define your DIY approach to funk music? Jamie: Everyone has his own influences. When we first started as a band, we were all music nerds who wanted to play all sorts of stuff. Jazz was a huge influence. But we would also go to festivals and hear deejays playing electronic music that we liked. And we wanted to add some bluegrass to it. And then Latin. As music students in our early twenties, we wanted to play crazy fusion music. We would play some things in front of an audience and they clearly didn’t work. So it was back to the drawing board. That’s why it took a little while of playing everything to find our own identity as a group, as well as individual musicians. It was a long process that happened organically. I always feel like we are six months away from sounding exactly like we should. That’s a good thing to challenge yourself as an artist. SFL Music: The Fritz plays plenty of festivals. Do you have a personal favorite? Jamie: I would say collectively our favorite has been Suwannee Music Park in North Florida is all of our favorite place. And they really outdid themselves at Hulaween. The festival set a very high bar for what is possible at a music and camping festival. It was amazing. SFL Music: Do you have any memorable stories from the road in the last year worth sharing with SFL Music readers? Jamie: Sure. We have plenty of funny stories. But the best part about them is the inside jokes that would make no

sense to anyone on the outside of our little group. When you’re traveling in a van with the same people for 150 hours in one month, everyone gets a little loopy. I have laughed more in that van than anywhere else in my life. The lifestyle isn’t for everybody, but I absolutely love it. Playing music is great. So it rehearsing and recording it. But so much is just traveling with the same goofy people. If you don’t have a sense of humor, you’ll go insane. And I have to mention the opening band. Funk You is from Atlanta and they are very cool. SFL Music: Does The Fritz change its set-list every night? Jamie: We do, but that’s just for us. There are all sorts of ways to trick ourselves into putting a new perspective on songs that we’ve played every night for the last two weeks. Maybe we’ll try giving one section of a song a new feel. You’d be surprised how much a simple chord change can suddenly open up a song. It feels really fresh. So that’s what we are always trying to do. We improvise, but it’s usually only one time a night. For the most part, the band is a giant machine that needs to be fed with content. So we are constantly listening to stuff and overanalyzing it to figure out how to find a magical spark. That’s what makes people want to play music in the first place. SFL Music: Where will The Fritz be in one year? Jamie: Well everything has been growing expeditiously. That’s the name of the game in the music world. We are super excited to kick off 2017 with a new album. Then we’ll try to release a live album too. We’ve been listening to tracks and trying to pick out the best ones, so they can be different than the songs on the new album. Then we will just be touring as much as possible. Next year looks very promising for The Fritz.

From the moment the lights went dark and a video screen behind the drum set rolled excerpts of the 1986 cult classic film Crossroads, I knew this would be a special show. On November 26th, three time Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Vai walked onstage through a cloud of smoke, pounding the opening chords of “Bad Horsie” in Fort Lauderdale’s Parker Playhouse. He wore a green neon hoodie, red laser pointing glasses and lighted fret board. The elaborate get-up only lasted one song as Steve then cranked into “The Crying Machine” unfettered by costume. It’s been 25 years since the release of Steve’s iconic album Passion and Warfare. While the virtuoso guitarist was rocking arenas as a member of Whitesnake, he was unable to tour in support of his Grammy-nominated solo release. He said he thought the album would be a swan song instrumental release, as signs pointed to the demise of the instrumental guitar virtuoso style. As styles come and go, it was good to see a packed house.

Audience is Listening.” Another guitar hero video screen guest appearance was made by Dream Theater’s axemaster John Petrucci. More technically brilliant playing ensued as the two traded riffs throughout the rest of the song. The video guest jams were not done yet, as midway through Steve’s ballad “Sisters,” guitar great Tommy Emmanuel joined in and threw some dazzling acoustic riffs into the mix. As the Passion and Warfare songs ended, the show continued a little longer. No Vai retrospective would be complete without a song from where it all started, with

Steve’s band for this show consisted of bassist Philip Bynoe, along with keyboard, rhythm and harmony guitarist Dave Weiner and drummer Jeremy Colson. Each of the guys had impressive

Steve Vai November 25, 2016 Parker Playhouse chops of his own to make this an event of gargantuan talent. Steve played the entire Passion and Warfare album from start to finish. For the opening track “Liberty,” a video of Vai performing the song live with Brian May Queen was shown. Midway through “Answers,” an elaborate virtual video jam between Vai and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani was shown. After Joe congratulated Steve on the 25-year Anniversary of his epic release, the two threw out some humor. Steve asked his buddy to do a “live” jam, but Joe’s priceless response claimed his video feed had been recorded months ago. The chuckles continued as the two traded some monstrous riffs. Joe’s image on the screen kept changing, from wearing fun bug-eyed glasses to full alien masks and helmets. Yet, the guitar playing was completely mesmerizing. Steve closed the first set while playing along to the music video “For the Love of God,” which is also the last song on side one of the album. After a brief intermission, the guitar gymnastics continued with Steve playing along to the music video of “The 36 | www.SFLMusic.com

Frank Zappa’s band. The video for “Stevie’s Spanking” played on the screen while the band jammed along. He finished off the show with “Racing the World,” followed by “Fire Garden Suite IV” for the encore. Steve even walked through the front row of the audience, much to the delight of those with high quality seats. While pundits all around the pop music world argue about Kanye West’s or Justin Bieber’s overuse of “Autotune,” a truly great musician’s performance can still fill a venue and amaze those in attendance. - Ray Anton • Photos: Tom Craig

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