Show Biz Kids – Conjuring the sound of Steely Dan with some of the Tampa Bay’s best players

Coming of age in the 1970s, the soundtrack to my life was the jazzy, rhythmic and often darkly humorous music of Steely Dan. They managed to produce hits that were smart and catchy. The band fused jazz and pop using the best studio musicians working in both genres.

 

Now, 40 years on, Steely Dan’s music still sounds vital and new to me. And apparently to lots of other folks – some who weren’t even born when early albums like Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam and the classic – Aja, were going Platinum (Aja went multi-Platinum!).

 

While founders Walter Becker and Donald Fagan continue to perform as Steely Dan – I saw them last year at the “Naming Rights For Sale” amphitheater at the fairgrounds – a few brave musicians are putting together bands playing Steely Dan’s complex and demanding catalogue.

 

Here I’ll introduce one of my new heroes – Phil Magallanes. Phil and his wife moved to town seven years ago, after a long run as a top touring and session musicians in South Florida and New York City. Phil’s list of credits include tours with Debbie Gibson, Blood Sweat and Tears, Arturo Sandoval and Engelbert Humperdink, along with sessions that also featured some of the top names in jazz, hip-hop and pop.

 

Phil returned to Florida when the recession took away a lot of his work. They moved to the Tampa Bay area to be near family and more affordable real estate. They quickly fell in love with the place.

 

“There’s something really cool about the quality of life on this coast. We bought a house on a lake. We’re not rich but we’re living pretty nice,” he told me.

 

And musically it has been very welcoming. He’s worked with most of the best musicians in town and met the rest. He had an idea of doing some Steely Dan tunes in 2014 and started writing charts. He got together with other great players and singers who loved the tunes, including Ric Craig, a drummer who played with an LA Dan band called Pretzel Logic.

 

Hooking up with sax star Austin Vickery was critical – Austin helped polish the charts for the crackerjack horn section. Steve Boisen joined on bass, letting Phil move to keyboards (he plays both bass and keys) and the great jazz vocalist Denise Moore joined as part of the back-up singers. And for this show, the other backup singer is Giselle Jackson, who worked with Ray Charles as one of the Raylettes.

 

Phil said the final piece of good luck was landing singer Todd Plant. The band had another singer lined up but he was a bust. With just two weeks before the debut show last summer, Todd agreed to do the gig. And he brings just the right voice and attitude for the Donald Fagan role. He’s a great singer with a very cool vibe.

 

“And not a diva bone in his whole body,” Phil added.

 

I caught that first gig – a weeknight showcase last summer at the Ringside in downtown. Fans at the Ringside went nuts for this 12-piece ensemble of master musicians and so did I. I booked them the next day for a show coming up this Friday, Sept. 23, at the Palladium.

 

Steely Dan fans will  love the sound and the feel of this show.

 

“We structure our show just like Steely Dan – they start with some up-tempo minor blues type of thing.” Phil said.

 

And the great solos – guitar, sax, etc – are there.

 

“At the heart of it, Steely Dan is a rock ‘n roll band and the guitar is very important,” Phil said.

 

Check out Show Biz Kids this Friday night at the Palladium. It’s not a trip down some nostalgic avenue, it’s an exploration of some of pop’s best tunes by guys who know what they are doing.

 

For tickets call 727 822-3590 or follow this link to the Palladium box office.