The Intoxicating Allison King Band By Jaimie C. Parker
Ritchey’s came alive on Fri., Feb. 22 when the Allison King Band opened their first set. The Allison King Band performs a captivating musical blend. The restaurant area was extremely packed and the bar in the back had a few stragglers in it as the band up for their performance. By the third song in their set, there was no seats available in the once bare back bar. .
Allison and the bands wide variety of musical talent and taste appealed to all generations. The band played beach music, rock and roll classics as well as hits from the sixties and seventies. Allison amazed the crowd with her soul-stirring voice. Her voice has a melodic gospel tone giving her the freedom to sing very similar to Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, and Carole King. The band’s enthusiasm was zealous. The audience sang along with a great deal of the music performed by the band. The bands “soul variety” sound poured out of the speakers quenching the audience’s thirst.
In between songs Allison made jokes and got the audiences attention with quick-witted comments. The audience was so enthralled by the Allison King Band’s performance that the band continued to play into the allotted break on their set list. It was around midnight when the band actually took a break. All of the band members mingled with the audience.
There is a unique chemistry between the members of the Allison King Band. Surprisingly, the members have only been playing together since January 2002. Allison King is the lead vocalist. She is backed up by a talented group of musicians. Unfortunately, bassist Steve Clark was sick for this show but had a replacement for the evening therefore the band performed mostly cover songs.
The band spoke very highly of each other both personally and musically. Drummer Lauren Myers explained to me that, “It is really great to be able to back-up a voice like that (Allison’s).” Lauren plays in several other bands including, Ladies Auxiliary, Dirty Dog, the Fur Lined Volcano’s and her own band Lauren Myers. Saxophone player, Todd Wade had a playful demeanor with the audience. Todd was impressively up beat and animated throughout the evening. Todd explained that he was “having a fun night” and that he enjoyed “…the warm responsive crowd.” Todd described to me that, “it is very awesome that we are able to feed off of each other.” Throughout the show Todd seemed to banter with Allison like brother and sisters often do. The band had a very family-like feel to it. The band’s keyboardist and vocalist David Petty was quiet and laid-back. David took time off because he had not found the creative connection both musically and professionally that he was searching for prior to joining the Allison King Band. “I love playing,” David stated matter-of-factly and then he continued by expressing that “the band has good players; everyone is very professional and there is good chemistry (between all the band members).” Guitarist and vocalist Bill Jordan had little to say about the show that evening except, “Every night is a new night.” While I was talking to Bill another man who I perceive to be a close friend offered to give me some good “dirt” on Bill. I smiled and winked before I politely refused and said maybe for the next article. They both chuckled. Allison made her way through the audience and when I caught up with her she was busy going over some details about her web site, www.allisonkingband.com with her web designer and friend Kathy Hartsell. The band’s schedule is posted on their web page. Currently the band has not released a CD but they are working on it. More details can be found on the bands web page.
As I left the show, the back bar area continued to stay packed. I was buzzing from the intoxicating resonance of the Allison King Band. If you are looking to find an exciting evening of live music, go listen to the Allison King Band perform a flavorful show.
