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The Girls Band looking to take next step forward. |
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Written by John Benson
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 17:00 |
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As
one of the founding members of The Girls Band, guitarist Dan Rose
remembers when it became overwhelmingly evident the act was on to
something special.
"Over five years ago, someone who is no
longer in the band and myself started working with a single female
vocalist," said Rose, a North Carolina native who now calls Madison
home. "From there it kind of grew, with another girl coming along. And
then we added another girl.
"So we used to go to open-mic nights
a lot, and this one time all three girls were with us. When they
started to sing, the whole place got real quiet. The cooks and
everybody came out of the kitchen and were watching us. That's when I
looked over at my comrade and said, 'Hey, something is going on here.'
It kind of mushroomed from that."
Today, The Girls Band, which
features Rose, Tom Foster (guitar), Dan Watkins (keyboards), Bill
Kovatch (bass) and Eric Winfield (drums), along with vocalists Kelly
Marie Pease, Brittany Klarich and Cassie Kahr, plays anywhere from four
to 10 gigs a month.
Over the years the act has changed. While
early on it achieved some notoriety opening for rebel singer David
Allan Coe, the octet's sound is now more refined and focused.
"We
evolved from a soft, pretty kind of Dixie Chicks feel to a more rock
'n' roll," Rose said. "We do five decades of music going back to
'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' all the way to current stuff like Kelly
Clarkson and Christina Aguilera, Heart, Pat Benetar and even The
Righteous Brothers."
So what is it about The Girls Band that Rose feels make the act more than just an average cover act?
"We
think it's the three-part harmonies," Rose said. "The girls are
tremendous vocalists, they look good and they sound real crisp. And the
musicians themselves, we have over 200 years of performance experience
collectively. We've all been doing this since we were young men and our
goal really is to play in front of as many people as possible.
"So
that's what we're out to do, just to play for folks. We're not really
doing it for the money, although it's nice to get paid. We're really
doing it for the pleasure of being able to create a mood and ambiance
that folks enjoy and maybe forget their troubles a bit and sit down and
enjoy the sweet harmonies these girls pull together."
Rose is so
confident that The Girls Band has something magical going on that he's
not ruling out making a leap as a group into writing its own original
material and even heading out of state.
"We're now a cover band,
but every one of the musicians in the group are attempting to write,"
Rose said. "We really want to find someone to write a song for us. And
right now we're toying with the idea of going to Nashville to find a
few clubs who will be willing to let us get up for a half-hour and get
some feedback if what we think is going on is going on."
In the meantime, Rose is content on spreading The Girls Band sound to inviting audiences.
"It's
a family-friendly show for all ages," Rose said. "We're kind of
wholesome, but I don't want to use that word because it turns people
off along with the word rock 'n' roll. But literally, we are. So it's
all about the music and trying to create the ambiance and a good time."
Sounds of Summer
Artist name: The Girls Band.
Members:
guitarist Dan Rose (Madison), guitarist Tom Foster (Streetsboro),
keyboardist Dan Watkins (Mentor), bassist Bill Kovatch (Painesville),
drummer Eric Winfield (Willoughby), singer Kelly Marie Pease
(Willoughby), singer Brittany Klarich (Newbury) and singer Cassie Kahr
(Madison).
Influences: Dixie Chicks, Heart, Pat Benetar and classic rock.
Web site: www.thegirlsband.com.
Upcoming
gigs: 7 p.m. July 11 at Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland; 7 p.m. July 31
at the Chardon gazebo in Chardon; and 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Willoughby
gazebo in Willoughby. Source: http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/07/03/life/nh1105430.txt Email:
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Last Updated on Monday, 13 July 2009 03:52 |
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- 10/10/08 5th Annual Wine Opener to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - The Galleria - Cleveland, Ohio - Friday, October 10th '08
- 10/4/08 1st Annual Chardon Fall Festival - Chardon Gazebo - Chardon, Ohio - Saturday, October 4th '08
- 9/14/08 Legacy Village - Lyndhurst, Ohio - Sunday, September 14th '08
- 8/30/08 Spectators - Willoughby, Ohio - Saturday, August 30th '08 & many other times...
- 8/10/08 Cuyahoga County Fair - Berea, Ohio - Sunday, August 10th, '08
- 8/1/08 Chardon Gazebo - Chardon, Ohio - Friday, August 1st '08
- 7/21/08 Lock 3 - Akron, Ohio - Monday July 21st '08 - The All American Soap Box Derby Opening Ceremony
- 7/18/08 Lorain Port Fest - Lorain, Ohio - Friday, July 18th '08
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- 7/6/08 Legacy Village - Lyndhurst, Ohio - Sunday, July 6th '08
- 5/26/08 Bratenahl Village Party - Bratenahl Village, Ohio - Monday, May 26th '08
- 5/24/08 St. Anselm Festival - Chesterland, Ohio - Saturday, May 24th '08
- 5/23/08 Blossom Time Festival - Chagrin Falls, Ohio - Friday, May 23rd '08
- 4/16/08 Sammy's at Manakiki - Willoughby Hills, Ohio - Wednesday, April 16th '08 - Lifeline of Lake County
- 10/14/07 Apple Butter Festival - Burton, Ohio - Sunday, October 14th '07
- 10/6/07 Century Village Bike Run - Burton, Ohio - October 6th '07
- 9/22/07 Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup - Moreland Hills, Ohio - Saturday, September 22nd '07
- 9/9/07 Willoughby Frontier Days - Willoughby, Ohio - Sunday, September 9th '07
- 9/2/07 Taste of Cleveland - Cleveland Flats - Sunday, September 2nd, '07
- 8/31/07 Club Ultimate - Eastlake, OH - Friday, August 31st '07
- 7/21/07 Ingenuity Festival '07 - Cleveland, Ohio - Playhouse District - Saturday, July 21st '07
- 7/5/07 Bratenahl Gazebo - Bratenahl, OH - Thursday, July 5th ,07
- 6/21/07 Concord Gazebo - Concord, Ohio - Thursday, June 21st '07
- 3/4/07 Willoughby Brewing Co. - Willoughby, Ohio - Sunday, March 4th '07
- 12/26/06 The Beachland Ballroom - December 26th, '06
- 10/18/06 Funky Frog - Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio - Wednesday October 18th, '06 - Opening for Logan Wells - 9 pm - Sponsored by WKKY 104.7 FM
- 9/22/06 Cabana's - Mentor, Ohio - Friday September 22nd, '06
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- 8/11/06 Blossom Music Center - Side Stage for Toby Keith - Friday August 11th, '06 - The Scene Magazine & The House of Blues
- 5/19/06 The Cove - Geneva-on-the-Lake - May 19th, '06
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- 9/21/05 Ferrante Winery – Harpersfield, Ohio – Wednesday – September 21st '05 Benefit for The Ronald McDonald House charity
- 8/19/05 Pemberville Fair – Pemberville, Ohio – Friday – August 19th '05
- 6/30/05 Peabody’s Downunder – Cleveland, Ohio – Thursday – June 30th '05
- 6/4/05 Chalet Debonet' - Balloon Day's - Saturday - June 4th '05
- 5/21/05 Peabody's Downunder - The Cleveland Country Music Festival - Cleveland, Ohio - Saturday - May 21st '05
- 4/9/05 Peabody's Downunder - With David Allen Coe - Saturday - April 9th '05 - Cleveland, Ohio
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