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About The David Kurtz Band |
Every band dreams of achieving the impossible: creating a sound like no other, and inspiring critics to employ words and phrases like "unclassifiable," "singular" and "unlike anything you've ever heard before."
But any musician, music lover or critic worth his or her salt knows that all modern rock bands – in one way or another and to varying degrees – e some debt to those who came before. And while the David Kurtz Band are no exception to that rule, their music leads the listener on a journey that covers vast musical ground; where influences fade gently into subtle nuances that weave in and out of each other with such ease that it's not immediately clear whence it all came.
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The David Kurtz Band's sets incorporate the simplicity and vigor of
early rock 'n' roll, the experimental spirit of late '60s folk rock and
psychedelia, the pop and hard rock sensibilities of the '70s and '80s
and the introspective flavor of '90s rock bands, creating a sonic
amalgam that stretches the notion of classic rock. Whether tearing
through classic bar rockers (Beatles, The Doors, Creedence, Stones),
off-the-beaten path covers (Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, ELO, Styx) or
originals (culled from Kurtz's pair of remarkable solo albums), the band
moves as freely across the eras as they do genres, leaving
predictability in the dust and pure rock satisfaction in their wake.
The David Kurtz Band makes a conscious effort to leave the predictable,
ho-hum bar band songs to the predictable, ho-hum bar bands. Rather than
simply playing things safe, this is a band that thrives on the
unexpected, populating their sets with much-loved classic rock songs
that most bands wouldn't bother to attempt. That's where over 125 years
of combined professional experience and highly evolved musicianship come
in. You just won't hear another band play these songs with this much
expertise, attention to detail or passion. Four-part harmonies don't
hurt, either.
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Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist David Kurtz and fleshed out melodically by Blake Harper's (Old Scratch, Reality Funk & Soul Revue, also currently The Fabulous Checkers) masterful lead guitar work, the David Kurtz Band is an exercise in cross-genre rock at its very best. Keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Zuda's (Citizen X, Reality Funk & Soul Revue) has rare gift for channeling brass and string sections as easily as he does Elton John and Ray Manzerek, and the tightly locked rhythm section composed of drummer Melvin D. Shelton (The Grinders, Roger Jameson & Jaded Hearts) and bassist Michael Henningsen (Strawberry Zots, Ant Farmers) round out the group.
Feel free to classify the David Kurtz Band as "this" kind of group playing "that" kind of music. But you might just find that after the first set, there's really no point – it's just finely honed music that's expertly seasoned with styles and sounds that span the highpoints of nearly every important milestone in the history of rock 'n' roll.
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