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Just Strange Brothers return to rock the Fitton Center for Creative Arts with a tribute to American Music-Born in the U.S.A.“It’s definitely the broadest theme we’ve ever tackled for a Fitton Center show,” said Just Strange Brothers saxophonist/keyboardist Danny Manning. “It’s a daunting assignment, all of American music. Where do you start?”
Without giving away too much, how about New England? Not only is Boston the site of the first shots of the American Revolution, it’s also one of the all-time great arena rock bands.
JSB kicks off the first half of the show with the shredding guitar and tight vocal harmonies of “Foreplay/Long Time” and follows with a parade of bangers by red-white-and-blue rockers like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Kansas and Chicago.
The second act features a funkier vibe with more American originals like Steve Wonder, Prince, Aretha Franklin and The Trammps, to name a few.
“We want the audience to get the biggest bang for the buck, so we’re kind of leaning into our strengths for this show,” Manning said. “The rock side of the show, we’ve actually done a lot of those tunes with the artists who recorded the songs. And at our best we’ve always been a funk band.”
A nine-piece band with slamming horns, Just Strange Brothers cover a lot of musical ground. Manning said the audience can expect some medleys – for example, Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” mixed with “Beginnings” or Prince’s “1999” paired with “Raspberry Beret” - to highlight the depth and breadth of American music.
“We only get about 11 numbers per act, so we’re cheating a little bit,” Manning said. “You get the driving rock of one and more of the singer/songwriter feel of the other.
“We’re hitting a lot of subgenres under the rock and funk umbrellas and we’re playing songs that fit in more than one category. Aretha’s ‘Natural Woman’ is not only pure Atlantic Records, but it’s also showcasing Carol King at the forefront of the ‘70s female songwriters.”
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101 S Monument Ave, Hamilton, OH, United States, Ohio 45011
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