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805 Sound, Entertainment, Mad Royal

Burning It Up: James Scoolis

GOG burning jamesThe Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal

Sometimes we look at someone and say he or she is a “natural” at something: painting, working with animals, musical ability. While it is true that talent cannot be learned, it is also true that most of the people who seem natural at something put in long hours of practice and study. Many people think musicians have the easy life, as in Dire Straits’ song, “Money for Nothing”. The fact is that most musicians work very hard at their craft for little monetary gain. Case in point is “Burning” James Scoolis, who practices one to two hours a day honing his craft, and takes voice lessons, to boot. Continue reading Burning It Up: James Scoolis →

805 Sound, Mad Royal

Get Ready For The 2015 Slo Jazz Festival

John Santos-2The Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal

Brainchild of local saxophonist Scott Andrews, the 2015 Mercedes Benz SLO Jazz Festival is about to hit town, not with a bang, but with a sweet lingering note. It had long been Scott’s dream to have a world-class jazz festival in San Luis Obispo, and last year, it finally happened. It was very successful, attended by 1800 people from as far away as San Diego, San Jose, and the San Joachin Valley. This year is hoped to be even bigger, and a Youth Stage has been added. Continue reading Get Ready For The 2015 Slo Jazz Festival →

805 Sound, Entertainment, Mad Royal

Crooning for a Cause: Irene Cathaway

GOG irene cathaway bandThe Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal

Sultry-voiced and soft-spoken, with big, brown eyes, Irene Cathaway’s appearance hides her inner diva songstress. Her singing voice is both sweet, and a little rough, just like life. Muscian Dorian Michael calls her “the best female vocalist I have ever worked with.” That’s why, when I asked if he had a band for a new club three years ago, I hired the band he put together for the event sight unseen and music unheard. When you work with people whose opinion you trust, that’s what you do. If Dorian says it’s good, it’s good. He went down to L.A. with Ken Hustad to rehearse with Irene and her drummer, Bill Severance (something they were going to do for fun, anyway), and the band Just for the Night was born. The evening in question ended up being the best night that venue ever had, and a lot of people and their dancing feet left happy. Continue reading Crooning for a Cause: Irene Cathaway →

805 Sound, Mad Royal

Keeping It Real: John Wessel

me blue snipThe Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal

No one has a voice quite like John Wessel. It’s high, and raspy, and pure rock’n’roll. He can perform songs like “You Shook Me All Night Long” like nobody’s business. His flute playing is fantastic and much like Jethro Toll (more on that later), but he also rips on the guitar, saxophone, clarinet, keyboards, and bass. Oh, yeah, and he’s self-taught, too.
John was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but the family moved to Reseda in the L.A.’s San Fernando Valley when he was in fourth grade. They were in Sylmar for a while, and lived there at the time of the big earthquake in 1971. He spent a year in Arizona, and then moved back to Reseda. Continue reading Keeping It Real: John Wessel →

Entertainment, Mad Royal

Nathan Clay: Breaking the Mold

me blue snipThe Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal

Born in the middle of the last century, Nathan Clay grew up in a small shack in a pecan grove near Cullman, Alabama, which is about forty miles from both Mussel Shoals, Alabama, and Tupelo, Mississippi. He grew up with his parents and his sister, singing in church.
“I started singing when I was two. I thought everybody sang,” he says now. He picked cotton, corn, and potatoes to earn money for school clothes, and hunted deer and rabbit from the age of nine, to help feed his family on the farm his great-grandfather homesteaded after GOG nathan clay 1the Civil War. When Nathan was 11, in the early fifties, the family started moving back and forth between Alabama and Detroit, a move that was not finalized until Nathan was in his early teens.
When Nathan turned 13, he took guitar lessons, a series of ten lessons that didn’t move fast enough for the young boy, so he started teaching himself. He started playing in clubs in Detroit when he was just 15. He joined his first band, called Continue reading Nathan Clay: Breaking the Mold →