BackStage Pass
Thursday, August 27, at 10 p.m.
on WKAR-HD and WKAR-23
Root Doctor Performs on "BackStage Pass"
Take five top musicians, add the driving melody of bass and guitar, the throbbing sound of the Hammond B3 organ, the rhythm of drums and the smooth, powerful tones of a first-rate vocalist and you have Root Doctor, whose Studio A concert is featured in a BackStage Pass
encore.
Root Doctor, which recently received the “Jammie” award for its new release “Live from the Cadillac Club,” plays a diverse mix of original and classic soul and R&B compositions in the concert. Included is rehearsal footage and interviews with the musicians to take viewers “backstage” and deeper inside the creative craft of the performance.
The band, which is comprised of Freddie Cunningham (lead vocals), James Williams (bass guitar & vocals), Jim Alfredson (Hammond B3 organ & vocals), Greg Nagy (guitar & vocals) and Bobby Gardner (drums), has been nominated for both the W.C. Handy and Blues Music awards.
Among the songs featured in the program are many original compositions, along with some classics, from their three recordings, including: “Me and My Wife,” “Keep Our Business Off the Streets,” “My Foolish Pride,” “Give Me Love,” “Green Onions,” “Love Bones,” “Hold On,” “Rainy Night in Georgia” and “Walking Out on You.”
Behind the Scenes
The band was formed in the summer of 1989 as the Downtown Blues Band. “At the time there was another band in town called the Up Town Band, and people got them mixed up,” Cunningham explains. So, the group changed its name to Root Doctor, inspired by a song written by Roy Hightower and performed by Buddy Ace.
It was interesting being on this side of the camera as opposed to the other side of a camera for a change,” says Cunningham, who worked for more than 30 years at WKAR as a studio supervisor. (Staff recall his singing in the studio while hanging lights for WKAR productions!) “Everything was very well done.”
“And we hope that everybody who watches it will enjoy it,” adds Alfredson, as Nagy wraps it up with, “…and give generously to WKAR!”
BackStage Pass will begin its second season in October with a special Hispanic Heritage Month performance by Orquesta Ritmo in October and a December holiday special. Weekly broadcasts of season two will begin in January with performances by Big Willy, organissimo, Steppin’ In It & Shout Sister Shout, Jen Sygit and Spare Change, Orquesta Ritmo, Huckleberry Groove, and The String Doctors.
Season three will begin recording this spring. Concerts are free and audience members will be needed for all programs. For information about how you can be apart of the studio audience, visit WKAR.org's BackStage Pass pages, be a fan of WKAR BackStage Pass on Facebook or call (517) 432-9527 after January 1, 2010.
published: August 26, 2009
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