The Kansas City All-Star Tribute to Amy Winehouse starts at 10 p.m. Saturday at the RecordBar, 1020 Westport Road. Admission to the 18-and-older show is $12.
The 13-piece all-star ensemble includes vocalists Lauren Krum of the Grisly Hand, Julia Haile of the Good Foot, Lo Demanche of the Sex Police and Danielle Metz. The rest of the band comprises three members of the Elders — Kian Byrne (also of New Riddim) on drums, Norm Dahlor on bass and Joe Miquelon on keyboards — Tim Braun of the Good Foot on guitar; and Adam Wagner, Nick Howell, Nick Rowland — all members of the Good Foot — and Mike Walker and Marshall Tinnermeier on horns.
Krum has been a Winehouse devotee since she first heard her sing.
“I remember where I was standing and what I was doing the first time I heard Amy Winehouse’s voice,” she said. “Sometimes you hear a singer or musician and you think, ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’
“She was such an honest and strong female voice. No one has ever or will ever sound the way she does, and that makes covering her material both attractive and intimidating. There’s an element of intuition present for all the singers who are performing because we’ve all sung her songs to ourselves — in our rooms and in our cars. There’s a bond with her and with her music, and through shared experiences, that I think will be apparent on Saturday.
“I’m so incredibly excited to sing with this group of women again. Lady harmonies are so much fun.”
Demanche, who has performed with the ska/reggae band the Sex Police, another all-star Kansas City band, will perform five songs, including four from “Back to Black: The B-Sides”: “You’re Wondering Now,” “Hey Little Rich Girl,” “Cupid” and the Specials’ “Monkey Man.”
“I didn’t start out being a huge fan of her, in general,” she said. “She was such a hot mess. After spending time learning my selections — her ska covers, of course — and realizing that she had such a profound influence on the other girls in the show, I gained a lot of respect for her body of work.
“She ripped her heart open to write a lot of those songs, and I’m afraid she couldn’t ever repair the damage.”
Cowboy Indian Bear
Music benefits health clinic
The eighth-annual JayRock Benefit Concert is this weekend at the Uptown Theater. Quiet Corral and Cowboy Indian Bear will perform at the show, which benefits the JayDoc Free Clinic, a service run by students at the University of Kansas Medical Center. It treats more than 2,000 patients annually. The clinic estimates that it delivers nearly $1.7 million in health care each year.
Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday. General admission tickets are $20; VIP seating is available for $40. The VIP ticket provides admission to the VIP area and food, beverages and other amenities. VIP events start at 6 p.m.
Free CD-release party
Brent Kinder has a long history in the local music scene, going back to the mid-1990s and the band the Black Water. Angie Fights Crime is his current and longtime band. In the past seven years, he has recorded 22 albums — yes, 22 — under its name.
“I write music,” he said. “I can’t really help myself most of the time. If I’m running, I’ll hear a song in my head. If I’m watching baseball or basketball, I’ll have an acoustic guitar strumming out stuff.
“The RPM Challenge really made me realize that if you call yourself a songwriter, then that’s what you should be doing. After the first year of RPM, I realized I was gearing up toward that every year earlier and earlier. Then, I just couldn’t wait that long, I had to do something sooner, and before I knew it I was doing two to three albums a year.”
The national RPM songwriting challenge is this: Record an album of original, unreleased songs in the month of February — 10 songs or 35 minutes of material. No prizes are awarded. Music is posted at the RPM website. Kinder has participated in the challenge for several years, including this year.
Aside from writing for that, he has finished yet another album, “The Vulnerary Songs.” Saturday night at Prospero’s Books, 1800 W. 39th St., he and a three-piece band will perform songs from that album. Showtime is 10 p.m. Admission is free. CD versions of the album will be available at Prospero’s “for a few bucks,” Kinder said. It is also available free online at Soundcloud.com.
At the risk of sounding like a cold hearted bastard... I hope the proceeds from the Winehouse tribute are going to a substance abuse facility or something like that.
Considering her addiction at times overshadowed her talent, her untimely death probably did no come as a shock to too many people.
Hats of to the local musicians participating in this show. Hopefully it will help someone else get some much needed help.
Posted by: Sin City Disciple | February 15, 2013 at 04:36 PM
well ... you could say that about so many bands and performers: Led Zeppelin, the Who, the Stones, Hendrix. How is she any different?
Posted by: Tim Finn | February 15, 2013 at 04:49 PM
Wikipedia says that Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27. Wasn't that the age of a lot of music stars that died in the 70s?
Posted by: Kurt | February 16, 2013 at 09:56 AM
Several died at 27.
While her music and production were very good, it was her voice that made her what she was. Please review it and let me know how the pipes were on the vocalists.
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