--a web magazine written and photographed by Rick Grant,
It was a serious party crowd at Monkey’s Uncle that whipped up a real pre-
Superbowl buzz ("oh the humanity") during my visit with the Wild Card bunch
last Saturday night. This band is the epitome of professionalism, with an
active and informative website, an experienced sound man, Tim Hilliard at the
helm, and a large contingent of loyal fans who show up at WC’s gigs to party
like it’s 2005.
"This ain’t no disco" puker bunch, bubba!"
Indeed, Wild Card’s fans like the band’s special blend of originals and
classic, kick butt rock’n’roll. A year ago, I covered this outfit at Whitey’s
and I was impressed with its taut performance.
At Monkey’s Uncle, I reaffirmed my praise of this amalgam of hot rockers who
include, Wayne Williams as lead vocalist and percussion, Robert Grigg on lead
guitar and vocals, Kathy Odem on keyboards and vocals, John Kincaid on drums
and washtub bass, and Don Taylor on bass.
Vivacious Kathy Odem is the newest member of Wild Card on keyboards and Vocals.
Kathy loves performing music and found a home with the Wild Card group. Her
fellow band members share her love of music and she was easily accepted into
the band. Kathy can rock on piano and electronic B-3 and has advanced
performing skills.She can step out front and sing solo like she always belonged
on stage.I especially liked her B-3 playing on the band’s showcase Santana
songs. And, Kathy looks marvelous.
Wayne takes care of business and is living his dream playing in a working
band as lead vocalist and percussionist. Like so many young musicians,
Wayne put his musical ambitions on hold to work a day job to support his
family. Now his family is supporting his musical ambitions, and everyone is
happy. Wayne makes sure the band gets to the club in plenty of time to setup
and get their sound perfect before they go on. Again, I admire Wild Card’s
professionalism and attention to detail. I’ve seen too many thrown together
groups that show up ten minutes before going on and use their first set as a
sound check.
On drums, John Kincaid is a groovemeister and drives the band with his hot
chops. His 25 years of experience shows in his advanced style. John is also
well known in bluegrass circles as an expert washtub bass player, and was
meritoriously awarded a PhD in Washtubology for pioneering innovative design
improvements in the field of tubtrionics. He relocated to Jacksonville from his
home state of Ohio and presently works at the NADEP as an electronics engineer.
He jammed with many local bands before finding a home with Wild Card.
Lead guitarist and songwriter, Robert Grigg is an experienced musician with 25
years of playing professionally Robert is an innovative guitarist who has a
large vocabulary of musical ideas. He also shares the other band members
enthusiasm for the band and performing. With the support of his beautiful wife,
Marianne, Robert has found a nice balance between his job at NADEP and his
playing out.
Don Taylor is a groove machine on bass and his funky style fits in perfectly
with the group’s concept. Don stepped up to the plate when the band needed a
bassist. He was immediately accepted into the WC family and his wife Marlene is
his biggest fan.
Wild Card has built up a stellar reputation around the live clubs in town for
their professionalism, taut musicianship, and their ability to bring in a crowd
of fans. It’s the first step in expanding into a larger regional base. People
forget that most big time groups got their start playing small clubs, building
larger fan bases from that solid foundation.
Live rock clubs are the backbone of the industry. It’s where artists get their
start on their way up and where artists end up on their way down. How many big
time artists have burned out touring and ended up in their home town playing
clubs?.... Plenty!
Check out Wild Card’s website at (drop the "i") www.wldcard.com
which has the band’s schedule. Kudos to Robert Grigg for keeping your website
up to date. I’m on a campaign to encourage local bands to get websites. It’s a
struggle. There are even free website hosts that allow one to throw up a basic
website for nada. So there is no excuse.