Offering the good mix required for first-rate funk, rock and soul — a talented bassist, sick lead guitarist and rock-star-esque front man — The Quake is a crowd-pleaser, to be sure. However, founder and lead singer James Norman might consider
Offering the good mix required for first-rate funk, rock and soul — a talented bassist, sick lead guitarist and rock-star-esque front man — The Quake is a crowd-pleaser, to be sure.
However, founder and lead singer James Norman might consider that less than a compliment, as he prides himself, and the band for that matter, in being more unique than what typically caters to the masses.
“We try and keep it obscure, but we want people to know and recognize the songs,” Norman said of his mostly-‘70s-era cover band.
“We don’t want to be Top 40 or your average anything,” he said, “and we don’t want to play things that everyone else is playing — we just want to play what people are familiar with and recognize and want to dance to.”
An example? “Sledgehammer,” Norman said, citing one of the less-knowns included in his set. “No one is expecting that — it blows their minds.”
What the audience also may not be expecting is being struck by the urge to get up and dance, an impetus that nearly possessed all in attendance at The Quake’s most recent show, Saturday’s “Rock-n-Lei” Fundraiser for the Kapa‘a Rotary Club.
Packing the dance floor almost immediately following The Quake’s start (a floor that had remained empty with the preceding act) Norman didn’t let the rare few who remained seated feel left out — he made a serpentine route between the tables while singing, wireless mic in hand, touring the crowd.
“I’m all show,” Norman said of his penchant for hamming it up. “I like to go around and let people know we’re here — maybe I’m claustrophobic. It’s free therapy for me.”
Norman, who has been singing for 30 years, started The Quake in San Francisco. He said part of his singing career also included touring Sweden with a band called Ready and Willing and being part of a stateside tribute band, Who Too.
As for the rest of the current The Quake, which Norman has started up on Kaua‘i with a different entourage, there’s plenty of showmanship to go around.
That’s including lead guitarist Lefty, a guitar teacher who delighted those dancing with energetic, improvised riffs. Lefty’s main sources of inspiration include Wild Cherry, Rick James, James Brown and the Ohio Players, he said.
The Quake band members, whom Norman said get together roughly twice a week in Wailua to rehearse, all have day jobs, but that doesn’t stop them from being passionate about their work as musicians. Norman said forming the group took some serious talent-searching. Current band members have been together since January, he added.
“It was a lot of trial and error,” Norman said of finding the right crew. “We went through a lot of auditioning to find all the best talent on the island. … Energy and attitude is everything.”
Using referrals, Craigslist and his sense for chemistry, Norman was pleased with his findings: Lefty, drummer Ron Margolis, singer Dolly Kanekuni, bassist Doug Schneider and keyboardist Bart Krbec.
“It took a lot, but it was worth it to find that level of musicianship together,” Norman added. “It’s not just finding someone off the street. Everyone in The Quake is very professional.”
The band’s next steps will include making time to further augment their lineup with more ‘70s repertoire, including era classics such as Queen and Parliament, Norman said. That, and future gigs that help support the community, including Kapa‘a Rotary’s Taste of Hawai‘i (June 6), the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair (Aug. 26) and Kaua‘i Hospice’s 21st Annual Concert in the Sky (July 4).
“We never turn down a benefit for a good cause,” Norman said. “Community activism and giving to the community is important. We are there for Kaua‘i.”
