Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
North Central State College recently held its media kick-off luncheon to announce its entertainment lineup for the Rock-n-Ribs 2015. The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the North Central State College Foundation.
This year’s dates are July 9, 10 and 11. This is the 30th year for Rock-n-Ribs and the 25th year that NC State has hosted the event at its Mansfield Campus.
Thursday’s main headliner will be the Kip Winger Acoustic Show. The opening act that evening will be the Jimmy Warner Band.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kip Wilson will take the stage on Friday. Getting the corwd warmed up that evening will be Those Guys and Back On Earth.
Saturday’s main act will be Dennis DeYoung with the music of Styx. Saturday’s opening act has yet to be determined, but the Red Ball Jets will be on stage prior to DeYoung.
Ribs will be provided by several local vendors as well as out-of-towners from Rittman, Ohio, Arkansas and Texas. Parking is free. Thursday admission is $5 and $10 on both Friday and Saturday.
Winners of the celebrity judging for Best Ribs and Best Sauce will be announced on Friday. People’s Choice judging will go on all three days with the winner announced Saturday evening.
Below are bio’s for Rock-n-Ribs 2015 main acts.
Kip Winger Acoustic Show
C F Kip Winger, the multi-platinum recording artist, may be known best for his success with Winger and
his early days as a bass player with Alice Cooper. However the range and scope of his musical journey
can be more fully experienced in his solo albums, This Conversation seems like a Dream, Songs from
the Ocean Floor ,From the Moon to the Sun and his most recent composition Ghosts, for string orchestra.
piano and harp.
In 1995, after his hugely successful run with Winger, Kip built a studio in the hills of Santa Fe, New Mexico and started writing and producing music without limits. “It was incredibly freeing to connect to music without any preconceived ideas about what it needed to be or what niche it needed to fill.” It is in Kip’s solo work that he has been able to exercise the breadth of his talents as a composer.
London’s Classic Rock Magazine called him “one of the most gifted composers and arrangers in the rock genre” and praised his “compulsion to experiment.”
Over the years Kip has continued to pursue his interest in composition. He patterned his course of study after the intensive one-on-one relationships favored by many composers He sought out such masters as Edgar Grana, who holds a Masters from Juilliard, and currently teaches composition at the School of Visual Arts in New York City; University of New Mexico Professor of Theory and Composition, Richard Hermann; and Professor Michael Kurek from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.
Professor Kurek has praised him for his “great ear and innate musical sensitivity” resulting in “beautifully crafted phrases and nuance.”
Aside from his powerful solo acoustic shows and touring with Winger, Kip was the lead singer for the Alan parsons live project. He has performed or recorded with the likes of Alice Cooper, Mark Farner, Roger Daltrey, and Neal Schon, and Bob Dylan.
The fifth studio album by Winger will be released in 2009 and The Tucson Symphony Orchestra will become the first orchestra to perform a C.F. Kip Winger composition with the world premiere of Ghosts on the MasterWorks Chamber Orchestra Series in the 2009/10 season. The symphony performance is being followed closely by the San Francisco Ballet’s debut of Ghosts in February, 2010.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kip Wilson
For over 30 years, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been the quintessential American band. The group’s distinctive and powerful sound, influenced by a diversity of musical styles, manifested itself into a unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up”. Cofounder Kim Wilson, the sole original member, still spearheads the group as it evolves into its newest incarnation.
“We started as a straight blues band”, vocalist and harmonica player Wilson says. “We now incorporate a mixture of a lot of different styles. We’re an American music band and we’re much higher energy than we were before.”
In addition to Wilson, the current Thunderbirds line-up features Jay Moeller on drums, Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller on guitar, and Randy Bermudes on bass.
“To be in the T-Birds, you need to understand the different styles of music and different ways of playing,” Wilson comments. “You have to be willing to adopt a more contemporary style. The guys we have now are able to do that.”
The band continues to tour extensively, in both the U.S. and Europe. Wilson is currently writing songs on his own, with band members and other writers.
“I’ve primarily been a solo songwriter, but I’m looking forward to experimenting with the guys in the band,” Wilson says.
The thread throughout the T-Birds career has been the respect the group commanded for its peerless musicianship and devotion to the sounds of blues, R & B and rock ‘n roll. In fact,
Muddy Waters called Wilson his favorite harmonica player and vocalist. “Muddy Waters was very good to me,” Wilson says. “He almost adopted me. I’ll never forget him.”
For Kim Wilson, the musical journey started in Goleta, California. At 17 he began playing the harmonica. His influences included Little Walter, George “Harmonica” Smith, Lazy Lester and James Cotton. At the same time, Wilson began singing and was deeply impacted by Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rodgers and Muddy Waters. In search of other musicians who shared his love of the blues, Wilson headed to Minneapolis. He stayed there for a year and a half, playing locally, before moving to the burgeoning music scene of Austin, Texas. It was there that he met Jimmie Vaughan and they founded the T-Birds in 1974. The band developed a reputation as a compelling live act and subsequently signed a record deal with CBS/ Epic Records.
In 1979, The Fabulous Thunderbirds released their first self-titled album. Primarily blues influenced, it became a cult classic. “Things were wide open back then,” Wilson recalls. “There were hundreds of stages where bands could show what they had.” In subsequent releases, the band started to incorporate more Cajun, rock ‘n roll and soul influences. The album “T-Bird Rhythm” marked a creative turning point for the group as it collaborated with noted producer Nick Lowe. In 1986, The Fabulous Thunderbirds reached a commercial peak with the album, “Tuff Enuff”. The single of the same title as well as the singles
“Wrap It Up” and “Look At That”, all went top 40. The song, “Tuff Enuff” was featured in the film “Gung Ho” starring Michael Keaton.
For the remainder of the ’80s, the band continued to record and tour, and released the album, “Powerful Stuff”. Jimmie Vaughn left in 1989 but Wilson kept the group going, incorporating keyboards into the guitar-driven sound. Kim moved back to California in 1996, continuing to cultivate the T-Birds music.
“The thing about the T-Birds is that we can play both blues festival and rock venues,” Wilson comments. “We’re a diversified band now and everybody’s on the same page.”
As a side project Wilson formed Kim Wilson’s Blues Revue, a traditional blues band. He also owns a blues label, Blue Collar Music, that has released three albums – one by Kim, one by “Big Al” Blake and one by Fred Kaplan. Wilson has also recorded and written with noted session guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Steve Jordan and may tour with them at some point. However his current focus remains The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
“This is a great time for this band,” he says. “We’re looking forward to the future.”
Dennis DeYoung: The music of Styx
Dennis DeYoung is a founding member of the rock group Styx. The Chicago-based band originated in 1962 when 14 year old DeYoung and brothers John and Chuck Panozzo joined Dennis in the basement of his childhood home to form one of America’s most successful and enduring bands. Styx has sold over 35 million albums worldwide and DeYoung has written eight of their nine top ten singles. Styx was the only band to ever record four consecutive triple platinum albums.
For over four decades, DeYoung has been a singer, songwriter, keyboardist and record producer. He wrote and sang several classics including: Lady, Come Sail Away, Best of Times, Mr. Roboto, Show Me the Way, Desert Moon, Don’t Let It End, and the 1979 Peoples Choice Award winner, Babe. His singing talents have made his voice one of the most recognizable in the world. DeYoung has recorded 7 solo albums including Desert Moon, whose title track achieved Top Ten status. DeYoung continues to tour with his rock band around the world.
In 2007, DeYoung recorded his seventh solo album for DEP Universal Canada. The title track for this CD, One Hundred Years From Now was released as a single and reached #1 on the Pop, Rock and AC charts in Quebec. In 2008, this CD will be released in the The United States on Rounder Records and will feature two additional tracks. In May of 2008 DeYoung’s musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be staged in Chicago at the Bailiwick Repertory Theater.
In 2006, DeYoung performed live on CANADIAN IDOL. DeYoung also performed live on three episodes of the Fox Network’s CELEBRITY DUETS with celebrity duet partner Hal Sparks and was selected as one of three artists along with legends Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight for the finale. DeYoung was also selected to perform live on VH1’s BIG IN 06 Awards show along with THE KILLERS, THE FRAY, FERGIE, and WEIRD AL.
In 2003, DeYoung performed and recorded an expanded version of his Rock Symphony show at the historic Chicago Theater. This CD, Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx Live with Symphony Orchestra, has been certified platinum in Canada.
In 2002, WTTW PBS Chicago taped DeYoung performing with his rock band and 50 piece symphony orchestra with The Chicago’s Children’s Choir for the pilot of the PBS’ Soundstage series. The Soundstage pledge program is currently airing nationwide on PBS stations around the country and have raised in excess of two million dollars. The Soundstage DVD, DENNIS DEYOUNG AND THE MUSIC OF STYX LIVE WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA has been certified triple platinum in Canada. Both the CD and DVD are available at www.dennisdeyoung.com.
In recent years DeYoung’s songs have continued to enjoy remarkable popularity. His compositions have been featured in over 30 television shows including: The Simpson’s, Freeks & Geeks, Dharma and Gregg, E.R., King of Queens, Sex in the City, Will and Grace, Las Vegas, Cold Case, That 70’s Show, Saturday Night Live and numerous others. The piece de resistance however was when Cartman sang Come Sail Away on the groundbreaking series South Park.
DeYoung’s songs have been featured in 15 major motion pictures including; Virgin Suicides, Big Daddy, Detroit Rock City, Disney’s Atlantis, and The Wild, The Karate Kid II, the Shrek II DVD, Mr. Woodcock, , Underdog and Fun With Dick and Jane etc. Four songs of DeYoung’s were used in The Perfect Man in which he also made a cameo appearance.
Volkswagen turned Mr. Roboto into a hit national commercial, featuring two Wayne’s World like guys jamming to the words “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto.” In 1999, Hippo Records released The Ultimate Collection, a compilation of select songs from DeYoung’s solo albums Desert Moon, Back to the Word and Boomchild. In 2005, Universal Music Group re-released Desert Moon on CD and a DVD of DeYoung’s videos entitled, The Best Of Dennis DeYoung, The 20th Century Masters.
DeYoung made his Broadway debut in 1993, starring as Pontius Pilate in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar’s 25th Anniversary Reunion Tour. His performance earned a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for best supporting actor in a musical. While performing in Superstar, DeYoung was approached by Atlantic Records to sing and produce 10 On Broadway, a compilation of his favorite Broadway songs.
DeYoung’s passion for American musical theater and composers like George Gershwin and Lerner and Lowe inspired him to write a musical based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Nashville Tennessee Repertory Theater mounted a full production of Hunchback in the fall of 1997 to glowing reviews. In 2006 DeYoung received the Just Plain Folks Music Awards for Best Theater Album, The Hunchback of Notre Dame…A Musical, and for Best Contemporary Song, Who Will Love This Child.
In 2007 the Baliwick theater in Chicago staged the Hunchback to the delight and enthusiasm of both audiences and critics resulting in an extension of the run. This production won the prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award for best musical.
The German Night of the Proms tour came calling in 2008 and Dennis joined an array of artists including Tears for Fears, 10CC, Kim Wilde and Bee Gee’s Robin Gibb and the 60 piece Novocento Orchestra. The tour sold out 20 shows in arena’s throughout Germany.
2010 brought the formation of a new band dedicated to the legacy of Styx which features August Zadra, Jimmy Leahy, Tom Sharpe, Craig Carter, John Blasucci and Suzanne De Young. To date this group has performed over 150 concerts worldwide focusing on the greatest hits of Styx. This year DeYoung was named by DigitalDreamDoor.com as the #22 greatest rock keyboardist and #38 greatest rock vocalist of all time.
DeYoung is a native of Chicago. In January of 2014 DeYoung will celebrate 44 years of marriage to his high school sweetheart Suzanne. He and Suzanne have raised two children and continue to live in the Chicago area.