When I worked at Appletree Records, in the
Chatham Square Center off Wabash Avenue, in the late ’80s,
the Kinsey Report was a hot new band with a debut release on
Alligator Records that was the talk of the town. They were
stretching the limits of blues music with a rock attitude and a
funky feeling. I remember playing the record in-store,
pushing copies of it (I even sold some vinyl LPs), and just
thinking how fresh and cutting-edge this was for contemporary
blues. The group was all the rage, playing blues festivals and
opening for major acts in the States and in Europe. I haven’t
heard much of them since until, lookee here, they’re playing
on Friday in Springfield. The group comprises the three Kinsey
brothers, on bass, guitar, and drums, with an added second
guitarist, usually a family friend. The oldest sibling, Donald, was
touring with blues great Albert King at age 17, then did
guitar-playing stints with reggae masters Peter Tosh and Bob Marley
during the ’70s. He was an official Wailer on Marley’s
acclaimed Babylon by Bus and persuaded Tosh to record his hit version
of the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B. Goode.” In 1984, after years of touring and recording
with Tosh, Marley, and a group of his own called the Chosen Ones,
Donald returned to his home town of Gary, Ind. He joined brothers
Ralph and Kenneth to form the Kinsey Report (no relation to Alfred
Kinsey or his famous report), and they began playing with their
father, Delta-blues guitarist Big Daddy Kinsey. The boys backed Dad
on an album combining their rock-funk blues with his more
traditional fare. Not long after that, Bruce Iglauer, founder of
Alligator Records, heard the Big Daddy recording and pitched a
record deal to this for-real blues-brothers band. Edge of the City, the
album that caused such a stir in Appletree Records, was released in
1988 and received the same reaction around the country as it got in
our little store. It won blues awards, garnered high critical
praise, and sold well, too. Since then the brothers Kinsey have
toured regularly, recorded four more albums, and made themselves at
home in the blues world.
The Kinsey Report plays at American Legion
Post 809 (1800 E. Capitol Ave., 217-522-3110), 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 18. Feeling
simultaneously evil and thankful? Then you must attend the
Thanksgiving Metal Feast at Viele’s Planet (126 E. Jefferson
St., 217-525-9029) on Saturday, Nov. 19. FeastFest as I lovingly
call it, is described thusly by Chris Hupp, our resident metal man
on the street: “I am sure the pilgrims would have loved to
have heard death metal music back in the day. This festival is in
their honor. I can picture them now with their horns up in the air,
headbanging to their little hearts’ content and burning off
some of those calories from their righteous Thanksgiving
feast.” That sort of says it all, doesn’t it?
Marley’s Pub (9
W. Old State Capitol Plaza, 217-522-2280) continues its run of
cool, hip bands with singer/songwriter and rising star Josh Holmes,
9 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Holmes, who recently got a sweet
break when ABC used his song “Greener on the Other
Side” in a network series show called Beautiful People, describes
his music as “soulful rock.”
He has most definitely
stationed himself to be radio-friendly and is anxious to make it
the music world, but works hard on, and takes seriously, the
artistic side of things as well. “I have to separate myself
from being a musician to do the business part,” he says.
“I take so much damn time from doing what I want to do, which
is playing music.”
Holmes recently signed on
with a new management team and already has label backing for his
newest CD project, so, with any luck, the professionals will be
handling the business dealings in the near future. He plays about
200 dates a year, about two-thirds of them as a solo acoustic
performer. On Friday he’ll be rocking with a full band,
mixing mostly originals with covers by the Dave Matthews Band,
Counting Crows, and various Motown artists.
The past couple of
years we’ve done our best to inform you, our curious and
thoughtful reading public, of the great happenings on the night
before Thanksgiving. It should be common knowledge by now that
it’s the greatest American party night of the year. So check
out the extra Pub Crawl listings for Wednesday, Nov. 23, and go
gobble up the fun on Thanksgiving Eve.
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2005.
