The
Fabulous Thunderbirds
(US)
Fortsatt utan konkurranse om tittelen
"verdens ledende R&B/rootsrock band" er Fab T-Birds
"back in town". Kim Wilson er meir sjef enn nokon gong og saman
med den knalltøffe sologitaristen Kid Ramos, den "evigunge"
keyboardspelaren Gene Taylor og resten av bandet kjem dette til å bli
et kjært gjensyn for gruppa sine mange fans.
Frå den
offisielle websida til bandet:
THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS – BIOGRAPHY
For the past 25 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". Co-founder 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 Kid
Ramos on guitar, Willy Campbell on bass (both formerly of the James Harmon
Band), Richard Innes on drums (from the Hollywood Fats Band) and Gene
Taylor on keyboards (from The Blasters).
"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. Kid Ramos is a blues player who plays rock
‘n’ roll. He’s got a lot of energy."
The band will tour extensively. The plan is to record a new studio
album followed by a live CD. 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 1½ years, 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."
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