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Feature Artist: Winslow
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Reviewing concerts and bands is a great privilege that gets betterwith the opportunity to get to know a terrific band with a lot of personality like Winslow.
It is easy to admire great performers, but to see a band who wants to give so much to the fans as this band does can make you feel warm inside.
All photos by Lesley Katzenmeyer @lesleyannek
1) How would you classify your music?
We call our music Soul Rock. Winslow's sound is old school soul meeting new school pop sensibility. We have done our best to learn from the great soul, funk, rock, and pop bands that have come before us. At the same time, we try to keep current with what people are listening to now. I think that is part of the reason we have done well so far, there is something for everyone. There are songs that are more jazzy and soulful, and songs that rock hard. We have songs that sound very today, and songs that have a definitely flare of days past.
2) I see your band is playing with a ton of cool bands. Do you get to pick the best off a great menu? Fastball, Ozomatli, Incubus, Sean Benjamin, Keane, how does it work out that you get exposure with such great bands; do you find them, or do they find you?
Haha, I must say, this last year has been incredible. We have shared the stage with OAR, Lupe Fiasco, OK Go, Ozomatli, Incubus, Kean, Fastball, Sean Benjamin, The Zou, and The Speedbumps, all within the last year. It is amazing to be getting to share the stage with such amazing talent. I would say it has come from a lot of hard work more than anything else has. Some would say we have been lucky to get so many opportunities, but I am a firm believer that the harder you work, the luckier you are!
A large part of the reason for these opportunities is our live performances. We pride ourselves on playing very precise, high-energy shows. When you go to see Winslow, we try to put on the best show possible and I think that many people have started taking notice to that. I think the big shows have been a testament to the fact that venues trust that they can put us in front of some of the best touring artists in the country and know that we'll put a professional show that amps the crowd up for the headliner.
The set-up was different for each one. We aggressively went after a couple of the spots by going to the venues trying to make them happen. We have been doing pretty well over the last year, and that new exposure let to some of the venues going to us though. It is an incredible feeling to pick up the phone and hear someone tell you that they want you to go share the stage with someone whose body of work you have a tremendous amount of respect for. We have been able to do that multiple times lately and it is something we do not take for granted.
3) Tell us a bit about your band. We can see from your site that Maurice sings, Matt plays sax, Curtis is on keys, Neal on guitar, Brian on bass, and Justin on drums. Tell us when you got together as a band, when you cut your first album, and who started it.
Honestly, the best way for everyone to find out the story of how we got started is to watch the new documentary out about us. Krittika Chatterjee, student at Kent State University, put it together and it is extremely cool! It is in three parts, and you can seen them at www.youtube.com/winslowsoul
4) Do you all have similar musical interests, or do you each get your musical background from different places? What are your influences?
I would say the band itself has influences, but when we are sitting at home, we all have very different things in our CD players. The main influences of Winslow would be Maroon 5, Dave Matthews, Alicia Keys, Parliament/Funkadelic, Tower of Power, and Michael Jackson to name a few.
When at home, we all have something different in. Some guys are listening to jazz, some are listening to metal, and some dig soul music. We come from a lot of different musical places and I think that is what makes us special. We all bring something different to the table.
5) Your band likes to chat with fans on Twitter. How can fans find you?
Find Maurice here: @winslowsoul http://twitter.com/winslowsoul
6) Tell us how awesome your photographer, Lesley Anne Katzenmeyer, is.
Lesley does both our photographer and our graphics designer. She is nothing short of incredible. We can't even begin to put into words her importance in our transition from local to regional/national act. From photos, to fliers and handbills, to banners and album designs, she gives us such a polish with our look that is incredible. She is young, like us, and we have been working together for a couple years now. We have all grown together, and evolved with our talents. It really is a cool thing to step back and look at the progress and growth she has made in a short period of time. If you're looking for a person who can help take your look to the next level, Lesley is definitely someone who could do it.
7) Who is Maurice's favorite singer? Luther Vandross (but I love Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson as well)
Who inspired Matt's to play sax? "To be honest, I started music in elementary school because it was something to do. The true inspiration happened later in life. I was in high school and had a friend who was younger that just kicked my butt on the saxaphone. The inspired me to want to improve and take my playing to the next level."
What brought Curtis to keyboards? Curtis' first instrument was the keyboard. He grew up playing in church.
How did Neal get in to Guitar? "My dad used to rock the guitar and all of my brothers played too. It was a family thing I guess"
What bassist encouraged Brian? "Honestly, I hated guitar so I played bass. Since then, my biggest inspiration has probably been (Les) Claypool"
Why did Justin start playing drums? "I loved how intense it looked"
8) On your site you charge $2 for a poster and $8 for a t-shirt. Do you charge the same prices at concerts? That's a great bargain for the fans when most shirts cost $20 to $50, and sometimes more.
We want people to be able to afford what we have to sell! There is nothing worse than making a new fan who walks up to your merch table excited and walks away disappointed that they couldn't get something they really wanted. Luckily, we have some great sponsors who have helped us keep costs low. Scrappy Apparel has done some of our recent t-shirts and Rubber City Clothing will be doing a new design as well. They help us out with great prices, so that we can get the products in the hands of the people who really want them. PureButtons.com has helped us tremendously with printing of posters and buttons as well. There is nothing like having the backing of people who believe in you. Those aren’t even all of our sponsors, we really have people who believe in us and take care of us, which puts us in a better position to take care of our loyal fans!
9) Tell me what it was like to work with Bernie Worrell.
Talk about an honor! We actually didn't get the chance to work with him in the same studio, but were able to talk to him on the phone a bit in regards to what we needed. To have a true legend on our first album is just incredible. He is a stellar musician that we all grew up admiring, and to be able to share a song with him, talk about something none of us will ever forget or take lightly!
10) We love the band, the image, and we want to see you perform. When can Los Angeles expect to see Winslow?
Spring of 2010 is our plan, but if we get a ton of requests on eventful, maybe sooner :)
Request Winslow play near you here!
11) Any last words or thoughts?
In a short time, we have had the opportunity to begin to work with some of this countries best and brightest. From opening slots, to guest artists, to some incredible things that we have in the works that everyone will be finding out very soon. This is an incredibly exciting time and we are honored to have been given such opportunities. A lot of things were made possible by our label, FTF Records. We have a team of people (Lesley included) who work tirelessly to get to the next level. Knowing that people will make sacrifices of time and energy to help us to try to make our dreams come true is truly incredible.
Sean Arenas is the Los Angeles Concerts Examiner
Twitter: @concertreviewer http://twitter.com/concertreviewer
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