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Chuck Brown is a jazz guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-go". While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.Chucks musical career began in the 1960s playing guitar with Jerry Butler and The Earls of Rhythm, joining Los Latinos in 1965. He still performs music today and is commonly known in the Washington, DC area. Brown's early hits include "I Need Some Money" and "Bustin' Loose". Brown also recorded go-go covers of early jazz and blues songs, such as "Go-Go Swing" Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing If Ain't Got That Swing", "Moody's Mood for Love", Johnny Mercer's "Midnight Sun", Louis Jordan's "Run Joe", and T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday". He has influenced other go-go bands such as Big G and The Backyard Band, Rare Essence, Experience Unlimited (EU), Little Benny and the Masters, and Trouble Funk. In the mid-1990s, he performed the theme music of Fox's sitcom The Sinbad Show which later aired on The Family Channel and Disney Channel.Chuck is considered a local legend in Washington, D.C., and has appeared in television advertisements for the Washington Post and other area companies. The D.C. Lottery's "Rolling Cash 5" ad campaign features Chuck Brown singing his 2007 song "The Party Roll" in front of various D.C. city landmarks such as Ben's Chili Bowl.Chuck Brown resides in Waldorf, Maryland. His son, Nekos, is a defensive end/linebacker for the Virginia Tech football team, and Brown never misses a home game. Chuck Browns influence can be heard in hit songs through the years ranging from 1990s Shake Your Thang by the rap group Salt-N-Pepa to 2007's Tambourine by singer and actress Eve.
Derek St. Holmes Known primarily as the rhythm guitarist and vocalist on Ted Nugent's early (and best) solo albums. Derek has also lent his talents to recordings by other artists and by the dawn of the 21st century, finally launched his own solo career. Hailing from a small city not far from Detroit (Riverview, MI), St. Holmes became originally interested in music via his mother, who sang regularly in a church choir. Not long after, St. Holmes picked up guitar and began to sing himself and was influenced by the usual Brit-rock suspects of the '60s (the Rolling Stones, the Beatles), but also soul and blues artists (Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King). By the early '70s, St. Holmes was fronting a local Michigan rock outfit called Scott, who opened up several shows for Ted Nugent. Nugent's singer at the time left the Motor City Madman high and dry and several auditions were arranged with St. Holmes, all of which proved unfruitful. Just as St. Holmes was about to relocate to the West Coast to try his luck there, a final audition was arranged and this time, St. Holmes and Nugent decided to unite. Nugent's third release, 1977's Cat Scratch Fever, turned out to be the group's big commercial breakthrough, resulting in Nugent's lone solo hit single and further sold-out arena tours. St. Holmes left the band shortly after the 1978 in-concert set Double Live Gonzo Derek went on to form a new group, Saint Paradise with his former Nugent band mate Grange, who issued a lone self-titled release for Warner Bros. in 1979 before splitting up. Following the split, Derek ended up collaborating with former Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, dubbed Whitford/St. Holmes. The duo also managed to issue a lone self-titled release in 1981 for Columbia Records (although another album was completed, it was ultimately shelved) before Whitford returned back to Aerosmith and St. Holmes briefly reunited with Nugent for a tour. St. Holmes was then invited to join Michael Schenker's band in England, but his participation with the former Scorpions/UFO guitarist only lasted for a pair of albums, Built to Destroy and Live at Hammersmith, as St. Holmes opted to return back home in the U.S.St. Holmes spent a few years in the mid-'80s putting together a band in Chicago before reuniting once more with Nugent. St. Holmes continued to tour and record off and on with the Nugent (Nugent's main focus during the late '80s/early '90s was the pop/rock super group Damn Yankees, however), including lending his vocals to Nugent's 1995 back to basics release Spirit of the Wild. Soon after, St. Holmes formed Big People, which was comprised of former Cars bassist/vocalist Ben Orr passed away in October of 2000, Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto, plus guitarists Pat Travers and former 38 Special member Jeff Carlisi. 2000 saw the release of St. Holmes' first true solo release, Then & Now. Derek currently plays with “The Paul Reed Smith Band” and “Derek St Holmes Blues Band”.
Gary Grainger is a self-taught player. Gary learned the bass as a teenager. He gave up his interest in drums when his father brought home an old electric bass given to him by a co-worker. Gary also toyed with the tuba and sousaphone in high school. Though surrounded by musical influences for most of his early life, at 18, Gary enrolled as an art major at Morgan State University in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. He kept his interest in the bass alive by playing in local bands on weekends when his studies permitted- While at Morgan, Gary became involved with both the marching and stage bands. His local, after hours playing began to expand outside of Baltimore into the clubs up and down the Washington Baltimore Corridor. In 1974, Gary joined soul singer Luther Ingram on a four month gig in Florida. After Ingram, Gary returned home and joined a fusion band called Inner Visions which was later transformed into the Columbia label recording group Pockets. Between 1978 and 1981, Pockets recorded three albums and toured as Earth, Wind and Fire's opening act. Subsequent to Pockets, Gary began to freelance doing studio sessions. Between Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and New York. During this point of his career, he met Eumir Deodato and recorded two albums with him: Night Cruise and Happy Hour. Fortunately, 1986 was not to be the year of exception. Upon hearing one of Gary's live performances on tape, guitarist John Scofield inducted him into his quartet to create the bass platforms that would support Scofield's own style and musical vision. In 1993, Gary, his Brother Greg and their partner Tony Bulluck, the tour manager for Whitney Houston, developed a sophisticated mini-recording studio. Through a very effective use of space and some creative engineering concepts, the trio designed Hillview Studios to support musicians who want to bridge the two worlds of acoustic and digital sound. Since then, they have been busy producing a broad range of artists whose music runs the gamut from jazz and rap to pop and gospel, as well as creating original jingles and music scores for Umbro Sports, ABC Sports/Nutmeg Mills, Rudo Sports and others. Gary's other endeavors include both performing and studio work with Maysa, Lonnie L. Smith, Pure Soul, Nancy Wilson, Dennis Chambers and George Duke in the Walt Disney Clinton Inauguration Special "Celebrations for Youth", also Eric Marienthal, Slim Man, Nelson Rangell, The WPG Trio, Less Traveled and Ken Navarro to name a few. Grainger was also the opening act for the East Coast All Star Jazz ensemble at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Washington D.C in July of 2004. Gary has completed many different cds with different groups and styles of music. He recently completed his bilingual Spanish/English cd, The Meritxell Project/ El Proyecto Meritxell, with one of his musical parteners Meritxell. His other cds include Grainger Phase 1 and Grainger Phase 2, both of which he recorded with his brother Greg Grainger. In 2001 he recorded with long time friends Blues Webb and Benjie Porecki, The WPG Trio, a mix of jazz, R&B and funk. Gary’s has his own signature 5- string bass guitar with Paul Reed Smith, which they released on the market in January of 2005. He has held bass clinics in several cities in Canada and China, promoting his new bass guitar. He also played bass in Paul Reed Smith’s new CD release of “Look at the Moon”.
Greg Grainger is no novice to his instrument and a skilled architect of rhythm, Greg is surprisingly fresh in his artistry and musical perspective. Upon hearing him, it is easy to see why Whitney Houston signed him for her 1988 world tour, why Britain’s Rhythm Magazine called his work “solid and tasteful” dubbing him a “rhythm master” and why he is the drummer for national smooth jazz artists such as Acoustic Alchemy and Kim Waters; along with being drummer and Musical Director for Maysa (the voice of Incognito’s Deep Waters and A Shade of Blue).As a small boy growing up in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, Greg was weaned on the grooves and rhythms of such acts as Parliament and Weather Report. He began drumming at age seven, jamming with his musical family and neighborhood buddies. “Even as a kid” he says, “I ate drums, drank drums, and even dreamt about drums. I wanted to be a real pro. I wanted to be better than good”. His efforts and aspirations received more encouragement when, at the age of 14, he was awarded a scholarship to the highly respected Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University.A self-proclaimed “drum junkie”, Greg is as at home with pop, and rhythm and blues as he is with fusion, swing and hip-hop. His world debut came at the age of 19 as the youngest member of the group Pockets, the protégé band of Earth, Wind and Fire. The group produced three albums with Earth, Wind, & Fires’ Verdine White. The Pockets experience was followed by a stint with Peaches and Herb on their Reunited tour. He later became the drummer for jazz pianist Lonnie Liston Smith.One of the most difficult temptations confronting any musician is that of imitating the artists they deeply admire and from whom they learn. Greg attributes his success to not compromising his desire to create something that is readily identifiable as “his style” and his alone. That style is born out of Greg’s artistic philosophy. “When you’re working with other artists, it’s all about support” he explains. For me, it’s about being creatively aware and weaving into the musical fabric that’s happening at that moment. When I work with singers, it’s about paying attention to what they’re singing and the way they’re singing it. In a purely instrumental setting, however, the focus is a little different. There you get your feel from playing along with all those instruments and getting the music to happen on its own level”.In the early nineties, Greg began to develop a curious love affair with studio production while doing arrangements and computer programming for Lonnie Liston Smith. Greg’s earlier work also included various jingle and session dates for PBS, District of Columbia, State of Maryland, CBS Records, Warner Brothers and MCA. His work as a session player on numerous album projects, radio and television kindled a desire in him to produce. “At the time it seemed only natural for me to become a producer. I had worked with a lot of producers and artists and felt that I would like having control over the technical and creative processes involved with music production. I also liked the unlimited creative possibilities that the studio environment offers”.It was at that point in his career that Greg decided to follow his instincts. Taking time off from touring and club dates, he pursued is new interest with relentless passion. He began his studies in computer programming and audio engineering with the same fervor that had enabled him to become a master musician.In 1993, Greg, his brother Gary and their partner Tony Bulluck, the tour manager for Whitney Houston, developed a sophisticated mini-recording studio. Through a very effective use of space and some creative engineering concepts, the trio designed Hillview Studio to support musicians who want to bridge the two worlds of acoustic and digital sound. Since then, they have been busy producing a broad range of artists (including their own funk/jazz group “Grainger”) whose music runs the gamut from jazz and rap to pop and gospel as well as national and regional commercials for Umbro Sports, ABC Sports/Nutmeg Mills, Rudo Sports and others. While this is quite an achievement that requires an abundance of time, he still manages to maintain a rigorous on the road touring schedule as well. Most recently, Greg played drums on Paul Reed Smith’s (PRS Guitars founder) new CD release of “Look at the Moon”.
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