History and Personnel
Seventh Son is a Kalamazoo based blues band formed in 1986. Three of its founding members - lead singer/harmonica player David Hunt; singer/drummer Steve Kovach; and singer/bassist Patrick Banks remain with the band today. Guitarist Scott Matteson and singer/keyboardist David Cleveland joined in 1990. the band expanded from five pieces to seven pieces with the addition of horns in 1992. Current saxmen John Blissard and Todd Jones joined in 1992 and 1993 respectively. This remarkable longevity and low personnel turnover has enabled the band to achieve a high degree of professionalism.
Band Philosophy
Seventh Son is an "amateur" band in the best sense of the word. They perform for the love of the music. Where "professional" musicians are compelled by the marketplace to perform the same set of saleable musical commodities night after night, Seventh Son revels in the freedom to play the music that moves them. As a result, the band maintains a playlist of over two hundred songs, any of which might be performed on any given night. Regular listeners know they will never hear the same set twice. The band is constantly adding new materials to its playlist, at the rate of fifteen songs per year, to keep things fresh.
Repertoire
Variety is the hallmark of Seventh Son's repertoire, eoncompassing many different styles of blues music, including Chicago/Delta blues, West Coast jump, Memphis soul and New Orleans funk. Add touches of jazz, gospel, rock 'n' roll, and even doo-wop and you just begin to describe a Seventh Son performance.
After forteen years, Seventh Son has become West Michigan's longest lived and one of its premier blues bands. Seventh Son plays about three out of four weekends in clubs all over West Michigan and Northern Indiana. A 1995 self-produced CD consisting of sixteen songs (six of which are originals) was available at all performances. The CD is sold out, but, cassette tapes are still available. Please contact the owner of this site for more details.
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