There are few things more exciting than an explosive concert or the introduction of a new genre of music. Thanks to local electronic music producers and performers Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly, Toledo has the chance to experience both on a regular basis.

Performing at the monthly DubtronicA shows at the Rocket Bar, the duo shares new music and performs a live electronic show at least once every four weeks.

Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly are not just DJs playing electronic dance music and dubstep. According to Williams, “We are musical freedom. We produce and play what’s called purple music. Purple music is classic jazz, funk, blues and R&B and mixed with very new electronic pieces. It’s a new blend that people haven’t heard before, but it has that classic flavor from back in the day. It’s not regular electro; it’s very funky.”

Peanutbutter & Jelly were both members of the live electro/dubstep band The Living Dead for nearly 20 years.

“We’re still together but we’re all pursuing new artistic avenues, we’re interested in different art,” Williams said. “We didn’t want to explore these avenues with The Living Dead. It was its own entity and we wanted to spread our wings so to speak, reach a larger audience.”

Peanut Butter Williams & Jelly

To reach that elusive larger audience, Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly are making infectious music that is upbeat, happy and edgy. While many may ask how an electronic duo can perform live, Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly are clearly involved in morphing and creating music at their shows.

“We’re not just DJing,” Williams said. “We spin our own music and we run our DJ rigs through all kinds of electronic toys and tools. We are literally making new music on the spot at every show. We are resampling, playing keys and using electronic manipulation tools like the Kaoss Pad while spinning four or five other songs to create something fresh. We get very live.”

While live shows are an important part of what Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly do musically, they are also working on an EP.

“We are past the production stages, now we are mixing and mastering,” Williams said. “Once the EP is complete we will be booking more shows, touring regionally and spreading this new sound as far as we can.”

The pair isn’t waiting for the completion of the album to book more shows. On April 11, Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly will open for Detroit-born dubstep producer GRiZ. The 22-year-old GRiZ is making a lot of noise nationally, forging a reputation for his muisc.

“It’s an honor to open for GRiZ. Anytime a group gets to open for a national act it’s a big deal, a step in the right direction,” Williams said.

Peanutbutter Williams & Jelly are performing at Dubtronica on April 6 at the Rocket Bar, 135 S. Byrne Road. Doors open at 9 p.m. General admission is $5. The GRiZ show on April 11 is at the Clazel Theatre in Bowling Green, 127 N. Main St. Doors for the GRiZ show open at 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $18 at the Clazel box office.

Tags: Clazel Theater, dubtronica, GRiZ, Rocket Bar

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013 at 9:40 am and is filed under In Concert, Music, Star.
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After more than four decades, Rick Stevers still recalls the first time he heard his song on the radio.

“I just got back from a date with [a local disc jockey’s] daughter,” Stevers said. “We were in the driveway making out and I hear a little knock on the window. I look up and it’s her dad standing there and he says, ‘I’d like to see you in the house.’”

While sitting on the couch in trouble, he heard his song come through the radio on the fireplace mantel. The song he heard was Frijid Pink’s “House of the Rising Sun.”

“That’s how it all started,” he said.

The song was an unintentional hit, recorded only because the band had extra time allotted in the studio.

“It turned out to be the one that did it for us even though we hadn’t planned on doing it,” Stevers said. “Three weeks later it was being played on the radio.”

Frijid Pink made an impact with “House of the Rising Sun” more than four decades ago.

The song was originally recorded by Kentucky singer Georgia Bell Turner in 1937, according to frijidpink.com. After Frijid Pink’s version, it was covered by The Animals, Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan.

In 2006, Stevers, the drummer of Frijid Pink, revived his band after its breakup in 1971. With four new members, the band is recording again.

“We had a lot of fans,” Stevers said. “[And] it’s a great name. I decided I wanted to put a band back together and do what I had the opportunity to do the first time, which was make some really, really good music,” Stevers said. He has worked at the Toledo Jeep plant since the 1980s and said he missed music each day.

Stevers and the new lineup rerecorded old tracks for a CD, “Frijid Pink Frijid Pink Frijid Pink,” released last year. The band also recorded some covers, which Stevers said it doesn’t usually do. Tracks include “Stormy Monday,” a blues tune reaching almost 10 minutes, and “Tobacco Road,” a crowd favorite.

“That song is older than Frijid Pink is,” Stevers said.

A new EP, “Frijid Pieces,” includes four new songs, including “Detroit Rock N Roll” and “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.” The E.P. is an attempt to attract recognition again, which is hard, Stevers said.

“The ultimate goal for everyone in this band is to play music and write music for the rest of their lives,” he said. “If we could just get the airtime, the songs will take care of us.”

Stevers said the new music is hard to describe.

“We’re doing Frijid Pink genre,” Stevers said. “We’ve come up with a new genre, we call it new classic. It’s new music with a classic sound to it.”

Stevers said he wanted to put the band back together with the “best of the best.” Guitarist and lead vocalist Rick “Z” Zeithaml said he was thrilled when he received a call for an audition.

“I owned their first album on vinyl,” Z said. “I collect albums from that time. I’m thrilled to be a part of their continued history. I thought their version of ‘House of the Rising Sun’ was the best.”

The band is working on a full-length album of original music, which will be released in 2013.

“Everyone is working as a team for a common goal,” Z said. “There’s no ego involved.”

Frijid Pink will be at the Rocket Bar, 135 S. Byrne Road, Dec. 1. Tickets are on sale now at Rocket Bar, Studio 14 and Culture Clash Records. The Mikel-Shutters Band will open, taking the stage at 9 p.m.

Tags: Frijid Pink, Rick Stevers, Rocket Bar

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2012 at 10:54 am and is filed under In Concert, Music, Star.
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