Band of the Week S Five

HIP HOP/Soul
"Hailing from St. Louis, S Five blends hip hop, soul,
and funk to produce a sound that is tasteful and diverse."

Front man and Lead Vocalist Rodney Nathaniel Gray Jr. aka Rod 'Wisdom' has everything it takes, to take this band to the next level. Rod is surrounded by some very fine musicians.

Band members are: Andrew Gibson aka A/G - Drums,
Ben Kniffen aka Brother K - Bass, Andrew Miramont aka Monti - Keys/guitar , Anthony Butler - Vocals/Saxophone

A few weeks ago BSMS received S Five's, "The Real EP" CD in the mail, Wow! Great music! Their song, "Movin the Crowd"does just that! You might want to go see these gents perform locally while you still can. If they can keep it together, great things will surely come their way!

While writing this article I was told by Andrew Gibson/ Drummer, that the band has made some "personnel" changes.

According to Andrew Gibson, Anthony Butler, Vocals/Saxophone will no longer be listed as a part of the live act, " because we're working on forming an actual horn section and will only use it sparingly. We do, however, now have a keyboard player named Jason Martin." We certainly wish the best for S Five and that the current changes strengthens the band and puts them over the top! According to Andrew Gibson, "We're working on big things and taking our band huge."

Andrew Gibson, " We've got some serious studio work to do. We will be working hard, writing new material and getting it recorded, then possibly expanding the live group. Not saying we won't be giving any performances or taking any gigs, but our focus will be heavily in the studio. We're working extremely hard and trying to make some big things happen. Thanks for those of you who are fans and have supported us in our endeavors. The music industry is a very difficult fortress to break into, so we've got our work cut out for us."

"Hailing from St. Louis, S Five blends hip hop, soul, and funk to produce a sound that is tasteful and diverse. Their fresh approach to hip hop appeals to funk fans and jazz junkies, and S Five is turning the heads of people who usually disregard rap while never alienating the loyal hip hop crowd. The group has just finished their five song self-titled demo and is working on a full length album. But their live show is the best way to experience their sound. S Five delivers passion and musicality to a genre stereotyped by soul-less performances and indistinguishable music. Taking influence from Talib Kweli, Black Thought, and Mos Def, front man and extremely talented lead vocalist Wisdom spits introspective lyrics. The live band consists of Monti on guitar and keyboards, Brother K on bass, and “Doctor” A/G laying it down on the drums. Their fan base is growing, ears are opening, and S Five is promising nothing but the best. for booking, contact Miles Dela Cruz at 314-791-1069 or email SFiveMusic@yahoo.com

S Five playing their original song "Move the Crowd."
September 25, 2010 at The Kirkwood Amphitheater
www.myspace.com/SFiveMusic
www.facebook.com/SFive.fb

"Artist of the Week" Wayne Givens

BMS had the good pleasure many years ago to be introduced to Wayne through a mutual friend and musician, Kevin Simon. In those early days you could sense there were a few among us who shined a bit brighter than their peers.  It became quite obvious why Kevin was so excited to team up with this extraordinary musician. What great joy to choose Wayne Givens as the "Artisit of the Week."

"Heavily influenced by The Beatles and the classic rock era of the early 1970's, Wayne began his musical career in 1976 playing cover tunes in the St. Louis, MO area. As his performing progressed, Wayne began throwing the original tunes he had written into the mix at his shows. His group, Ambush, was selected to have a song on the K-SHE 95 compilation called "Seeds," which featured songs from the top ten groups in the area. Later, KWK put out a similar album called "Moonshine," and Ambush was selected out of hundreds of groups to have a song there also. It was soon clear that there was definitely an audience for Wayne's songs. During the 80's, Wayne was fortunate enough to work with Danny Liston from Mama's Pride and Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep fame, on Danny's project "Every Beat Of My Heart." During the 90's, Wayne continued writing songs and eventually worked with Gary S. Paxton in Nashville TN for a brief period, learning much about the songwriting craft from one of the great songwriters and producers. In 2006, Wayne had a number one song on the charts at IAC, a site that features over 30,000 songs that can be streamed online. That song, "Who's Gonna Save The Day?" was written the day John Lennon was murdered, and is featured on Forces Of Nature, released in February 2009. All songs on the album are written and produced by Wayne, who plays all the instruments as well as providing all lead and harmony vocals. "http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/waynegivens

TICKET TO THE BEATLES came together in the summer of 1997 with the express purpose of performing the music of The Beatles. Great attention to detail is taken to reproduce
faithfully, the sounds that The Beatles forever etched into our memories. Our band decided early on, that it was the music, rather than the image, that we wanted to reproduce.
Classic, is the term used to describe great music, and as with any endeavor to capture the classics, a high degree of skill is involved....

"The timeless classics of the Fab Four live on in the authentic sounds produced by TICKET TO THE BEATLES. The band was formed in 1997 when Baker Symes (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Dave Bohannan (guitar, vocals) got together to "play some Beatle tunes." Wayne Givens (bass, vocals) joined them a short time later to add his vocals and to begin recreating the incredible vocal harmonies of John, Paul and George. With the addition of Jim Laverty (drums), the band was complete. In 2005, the TICKET TO THE BEATLES welcomed a new "George" into the band. After a death-defying and harrowing escape from the Blue Meanies of Pepperland, George Smith arrived on a flaming bundt cake and passed the audition.

"http://web.mac.com/lavertypro/iWeb/Ticket%20To%20The%20Beatles/Welcome.html