The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 72

6 Thursdav September 3006 com THE KANSAS CITV STAR MercyMe keyboardist praises the words o(nr at 2 pM DM tMdkM Camp Charity Von Bathany DMon Kainos the Mtoaopfc Shwan McDonald am at 10:30 am UnRghtcom or call QMS) 363-STAR about remaining Octet availability Bryson's wife Misti is pregnant and due in February So is drummer Robby wife Maggie And singer Bart Millard's wife Shannon is due in ApriL well be home for a while doing dad stuff once the babies come" Bryson said And if that enough the NASCAR season to follow Bryson readily admits one of his favorite perks of stardom is the chance to meet and make friends with some of his racing idols including Kyle Petty and Bobby La-bonte But this year Bryson is rooting for the underdog roolng for Mark Martin because retiring and has never won a championship fifth in points right he said Speaking of rooting for underdogs Bryson who grew up in Clinton Mo is also a big Royals baseball fan cyMe will release Christmas Sessions A tour for that album will start the day after Thanksgiving and is scheduled to reach Kemper Arena on Dec 2 think it's going to be a pretty popular Christmas album it turned out way better than we thought it would Bryson said It's no surprise the album turned out well with legendary Christian producer Brown Bannister at the controls After all Bannister is credited with giving Amy Grant her first big break and has won the Gospel Music Dove Award for producer of the year five out of the last seven years Mercy Me will work with Bannister again this fall on a new studio album scheduled for release in 2006 Bryson said the next one is going to be a little more rock ing than our previous albums" Yes the band has a lot on its plate for the rest of 2005 but a reason for the frantic workload By HEATHER ANDERSON Special lo The Star A sure-fire way to tick off a musician is to discuss his band in the context of a musical category This is not the case for Christian group MercyMe according to keyboardist Jim Bryson Proud to be Christian? Well yes that But also a musical reason the band is content with its religious label music is the only music that is dictated by lyrics rather than style of Bryson said thrash metal etc that music is all dictated by the style of music whereas Christian artists can perform any style of music re ally" MercyMe may not be pushing any boundaries with its radiofriendly pop rock sound but the next album will navigate uncharted waters On Sept 23 Mer BLUES Continued from Page 5 he says perfect "The parking is beautiful it's paved and level and all free The grandstand is covered so not going to be in the sun and if it sprinkles not going to get wet And the bathrooms are indoors" Access for people who are disabled is simple too he says touched a lot of musical bases: The blues are represented by a broad spectrum of local artists plus the out-of-town headliners Jazz is represented by a wide variety of local artists too including Bobby Watson with a band of students flugelhomist Haji Ahkba with the Jazz Disciples the Boulevard Big Band the Sons of Brasil organist Everette DeVan and the Scamps There will be food vendors on the site Valentine says and The Woodlands concessions will be open ''You'll be able to sit in the beer garden and have a view of the stage There's not a bad seat in the house" There will be giveaways and a play area for the kids (Valentine and company remember what like to be in the audience at a music festival) They started planning this festival only last March Valentine Davis and their crew have rounded up sponsors and put together a good roster of talent in not much time Now all they need is you 'Tve got a pretty good feeling about this" Valentine says "If we can do this without losing a ton of money by the third year it can be an international festival And Labor Day will be the weekend people come to Kansas so sad this year and I feel so bad because when I grew up they had the championship year" Bry son said fact the first major league game we ever sang the national anthem at was the Opening Day in 2003 or 2004 when they ended up winning in the ninth with a three-run homer But not having a good season this year for SoundsGood answers the call of the road 'SOUNDSGOOD' LIVE SoundsGood has two local shows before it hits the road will perform Friday at lucky Brew grille in Mission And it opara for Little Brother Wednesday at the Bottleneck in LaWrence For further information visit Noteworthy NORMAN NG The Kansas Cily Star Miles Bonny (left) and Joe Good bring a new sound to the hip-hoprap scene this month they're heading to the East Coast with their latest album to spread their sound By OSTERHELDT The Kansas Cily Star Unlike most hip-hop groups SoundsGood faithful to one style SoundsGood is committed to just that whatever sounds good to them the end we just want to make good music" says Jamal Gamby 24 known on wax as Joe Good "I think most of these cats have a confining idea of what hip-hop is It allow expansion and growth music is a novelty and not looked at as a serious thing For us to be taken seriously we have to think outside the box We have to consider ourselves musicians" Gamby met Miles Bonny at the University of Kansas in 1999 Their love of jazz connected them and their mutual appreciation of music sealed the deal That next summer Bonny went home to Teaneck NJ got an MPC player and used his jazz collection to make beats He put it on a CD sent it to Gamby and he spent a summer in Kansas City writing to music In 2002 they put out the first SoundsGood album Their hip-hop delivery is marinated in jazz and reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest Deta Soul and the Roots But think they rock to a Mike Jone6 album SoundsGood likes hip-hop in all its forms and it is tired of people fefer-m ft ifWrfaritfso tc Reed man Kim Park is this guest on Tim Whitmer's "Spirituality and All That concert series at 7 pm Wednesday at the Unity Temple on the Plaza 707 47th St Tickets are $6 anyone under 16 gets in free The Blue Room 1600 18th St presents harpist Michael O'Shiver and the group High Vibe at 7 tonight free Singer Ida McBeth takes over at 8:30 pm Friday and bassist Bob Bowman and his new group Bowdog appear at 8:30 pm Samrday cover is $5 Pianist Harold O'Neal one of the best musicians this town has produced in recent years leads the Monday jam session at 7 pm that's free Guitarist Charles Gatschet is this guest on Joe of Kansas City Jazz" series from 5 to 8 pm Sunday at the Fairmont hotel 401 Ward Parkway free To reach Joe Klopus call (816) 234-4751 send e-mail to fldo-pua9kcatmrcom or GramfBIvcL Kansas City Mo 64108 terminding Lawrencehiphopcom they did live shows and managed to give fans an appetizer last That maxi-single had local hip hop heads waving their hands in the air in anticipation of Gravy" released earlier this year It has sold 5000 copies in five months This month the two are taking an extended business trip to share their hearty meal with East Coast hip hoppers and make connections with industry executives in New York Along the way they'll perform at clubs and try to add to their fan base through live shows "SoundsGood really about putting up a front or convincing the public of this or tlflt about expe riencing life with them Bonny says love making music but after made there is nothing left but to present it to the people around us and enjoy it 6fth mem Its not fun unless other peopfeeperilce ft" is like religion" says Gamby who has been rhyming since he was 13 are all these different religions but they all believe in God and that God betters them in some way And hip-hop music comes from the streets no matter how hard people try to segregate the sounds it all comes from the same place I dis a man for what talking about because I go through that I just listen to the music If the music (stinks) then I listen" When it came to making their latest album Gravy" they just wanted tti be rm the same page at the same fifrie and they wanted the process! fie Bee foigt otpfi artist creating a masterpiece So they took their time to do it right some ways I think our music can be viewed as a painting I start with a sound and build around it and having the lyrics over my beats completes the says Bonny 24 has always been a traditional culture but not accepted by the mass music community as music I am hoping we are creating music that shows hip-hop is just as substantial as any otiter genre They took three years to make "Biscuits Gravy" but the time spent lazily Between bouts of writers block and full-time job at Fric Frac and bouts at school and mas I er.