Since 1973 KC and the Sunshine Band has been putting out hits. Hits that we still dance to today… On November 2, 2019, KC invites you to come out and shake your booty for a “Boogie Bash” at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
SHOW NOTES:
[00:44] KC and the Sunshine Band in Frisco, Texas on November 2, 2019 [00:52] The origin of the name “KC and the Sunshine Band” [02:28] Early influences [04:15] Establishing longevity [08:18] The Show Experience (what to look forward to) [9:45] Dallas/KC and the live debut of “Shake Your Booty”LINKS & RESOURCES:
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Transcript
Machine Generated
All right Frisco. We are very fortunate today to have a very special guest with us, none other than KC from KC and the Sunshine Band. KC, thanks for joining us.
Thank you for having me. How’s everything?
Everything is going great. We’re looking forward to having you in Frisco very soon. So, uh, how’s the tour going so far?
Well, it’s always going great. I mean, I do mostly weekends, so, um, I’m looking forward to coming to Frisco. I don’t think I’ve ever been to actually Frisco and, uh, coming, you know, with the band and having a good time with you, with everyone.
Well, very good. So for everybody listening to us, KC and the Sunshine Band are going to be here at Comerica center on November the second, so that’s coming up very quickly. Be sure to go out and get your tickets for that. Uh, but KC, why don’t we have you, I wanted to just kind of get a little bit more about you and some of the background on the band. And the first question I have is how did you come up with the name, the Sunshine band?
Uh, my last name is KC and I worked in a record store in the prefix for Columbia records at the time was aK and a C. and, um, so when I’m coming up for the name, there was no band. It was just me really. So, um, I had been to a wedding and I saw this chunk of new band and so I made this record and I thought, well, I’ll just call the KC and the Sunshine Band from the state of Florida. And it was actually KC, the Sunshine junk, a new band, what I called it. And, uh, we, we, I dropped the junk and after the second record, cause it was kinda just too long to go on playlist and everything like that.
Totally makes sense. So, and when did you actually form, uh, formed the band?
Uh, the day I put out the first record actually, I mean, you have to understand that there was really no band. Uh, it was just studio musicians that I used and, and, and hired to, to play on the records. And, um, uh, all of a sudden I start becoming successful with this name and there’s no bands. So eventually, um, after the second album or whatever, I have to get down at night or those started happening, I just went to the, some of the guys who were playing on the record and asked, you know, would you be part of, you know, Gladys as KC and the Sunshine Band.
Oh, very good. And in terms of, of the music you write, it’s, it’s a lot of fun. It’s very danceable. Um, what were some of the early influences for you in, in the stylistically the type of music that you’ve been putting on?
Well, I’ve always just all kinds of music around. Like my mother loved music. My mother loved more B music. My father could care less about any kind of music, I think. Um, I mean he enjoyed it, but I don’t think he ever bought a radio or anything in his life. Um, um, which is not a bad thing. And my father was the most amazing person to have, either one, like downplaying my father’s being somewhat bad person, but, um, uh, so I grew up listening to, to that. I grew up in the gospel church. Uh, and, uh, so I, I gravitated more towards RNB music. Um, you know, the gray ends up in the Motown sound that definitely a lot of the Motown sound and, uh, you know, the greater reach of Franklin stop with all the horns and the stacks stop with Sam and Dave and, uh, you know, Johnny Taylor and then all the LATIC stumble, Wilson Pickett and, um, you know, just all that great R and B music at the time. And then there we came along, then came James Brown, of course James Brown. And uh, then later on it was like Joe Cocker and Englishman. Uh, uh, I just, you know, that whole scene. And then there was Chicago and blood, sweat and tears. So it just kind of grabbed me, you know, from what I think I, I was just, I was influenced by a little bit of everybody, but probably more by Motown than, than anyone. I would think totally makes sense. And there are certainly a lot of that reflected I think in the music that we hear. Um, knowing that we were going to have a chance to chat a little bit today, I’ve been going back and listening to a lot more of the old songs and you can certainly hear that Motown influence in that.
Um, another interesting aspect of your music to me has been the longevity. You’ve written songs that people still love to listen, to, still love to go out and dance to and, and have a good time. When KC and the Sunshine Band comes on, what would you attribute to, to that longevity? How did you pull that off?
You don’t have a gender. They were great songs, you know, they were, critics destroyed them all the time. I mean we were always put down by the critics. Like it got to a point where I just wouldn’t even read anything, any, any critic, any review that was written about us or anything about the music. Uh, they would just, uh, you know, just constantly this constant backlash against it and, and, and that sort of thing. I guess it’s proven, you know, it’s amp stood the test of time and it’s, it’s proven that there’s some substance to it. Evidentaly because you know, every attended over 250 movies and TV commercials and every sporting events and everywhere you go, every party that wedding and bar mitzvah and everything else, it’s, you know, it’s there. So, um, I guess they weren’t so bad after all.
Yeah. I don’t know, not really a big fan of some of the critics in their criticisms. Anyways, I think the, uh, the true test is how the fans have reacted. The longevity normally the critic’s role because every critic has their own, it seemed like back then, I mean, most critics were rock and roll, you know, from the rock and roll era, whatever. So you can always tell what their influences were because you would see all these great reviews of this rock stuff may get some R and B or something like us and just destroy it. It’s like, you know, I mean, they were being so partial and it was so evident blatantly like right in your face how partial they were, they were being, do you think that just kind of part of the time when you guys were coming about and becoming more famous with the transition in New York? I think it has a lot to do with part of the times. I think our music was threatening to a lot of different genres and then a lot of different people for some reason. Um, you know, like, like when Elvis came in, his music was threatening and the Beatles music was threatening to everyone. And I think we really was the same way with us really. If you think about it, I mean, we did change the sound of music. We did change, you know, we ushered in this whole dance thing or whatever, and it was our upbeat that just created this whole movement that was sort of there. But we, we were the fire that ignited it. You know what I mean? Um, and, uh, I kind of lost my train of thought,
but no, that’s for violet.
So, so, so, so in a sense we became very threatening. That sound, that whole thing that was started, happened, became very threatened to other artists of other JARAs, uh, because people were not, were, were gravitating toward this whole new sound, that idea of music and everything.
Well, we’re very grateful that you did not listen to the critics and that you kept, uh, being true to yourself and left us with all the books.
Sure. I mean, I, I never, I never have really listened to people if I would’ve done that, I never would have made it at all because I was told I, uh, you know, I was white and I would never make it in an R and B world. So, uh, you know, it was kind of crazy that there was these type of pres prejudicial ideas that if you’re white, you can’t sound black and if you’re black, you can’t sound white. And if your country, I can’t sound, not country and you know, et cetera, et cetera, well, cheers to proving them wrong. Um, yeah. You know, I do what I do and I do, and what I do is just natural that comes to me. I don’t imitate anyone. I’ve never imitated anything. Um, I just do what is KC? And that’s who I am. And um, yeah, no, no. I was even prayed to study music because I was afraid it would take away any natural sounds that I had or, or it would make me part of the machine. I was always afraid of being a part of this machine that they all want us to be a part of. And I was afraid of, I became too much part of that machine that I would not have my own identity.
So coming up with the show, now you’re going to be playing in Frisco again on November 2nd. What should people be looking forward to? What kind of experience are they going to get when they come out to the show?
Okay, well if you know, you know, our shows, there’s 15 people on stage, including the dancers and everyone and everyone. I like everyone to participate. You know, there’s times when one of the singers will kind of do some of that talking to the audience and I just kind of take a little step back. I want everybody to, to, to be a part of the show and everyone is a part of the show. Um, and you know, it’s, uh, I’m not sure how long our show is going to be that night, but it all depends, but it’s, you know, it’s all the hits and then some, and I’ve been throwing bits and pieces of other songs from, from the albums into the show. Um, I’ve always wanted to keep it from [inaudible], uh, to, to, to, to everyone that comes. So, um, you know, I try not to have too much kind of filler in some of the pillar I do use would be like a song from the 70s or something like that, just to keep it familiar, more familiar with the, the, the entire audience instead of just, you know, the truth. I mean, of course the two KC, ESB fans, that’s very important. But I want everybody to be able to connect so well and I think they will. And I think you’re going to find a very welcoming and warm audience in Frisco. We’re very much looking forward to having you here.
Well, I mean, I’ve always loved that area. I mean, how far are you from Dallas?
So Frisco was about, uh, 2030 minutes North of Dallas to kind of depending.
Okay.
Oh yeah. It’s a, it’s a Northern suburb, but, right. No, I know how warm. I mean, I remember when we first really shake your booty. I think it was in, uh, it’s six flags over Texas that I first debuted that song to a crowd and, um, I wasn’t sure it would be a hit record and we did the song and the crowd went crazy and that just confirmed that I was wrong on that one. I was right on all the other ones, but I was a little skeptical, skeptical about shaker booty for some reason, but it was, uh, in that area of Texas that I first debuted that song alive. So it, there’s a lot of fun, fond memories there. So, yeah, that’s a good little bit of a trivia, something for us to think about as people are coming out to the show. So thank you again.
Well listen, I know you’ve got a very packed schedule and we’ve only got a few minutes with them.
I appreciate you taking your time out of the day. That to have me on.
Yeah, you bet. And again, everybody in Frisco look forward to having KC and the Sunshine Band here in Frisco, Texas on November 2nd. And thanks again.