Two-time Grammy-nominated Robert Randolph & the Family Band will perform Wednesday night at Rick’s Cafe with the Benjy Davis Project as the opening act.Randolph’s previous appearances in Starkville have been greeted with strong attendance – once in 2003 at the Mississippi State University amphitheater, which attracted more than 3,000 students, and again in 2005 at the Old Main Music Festival. Welch put out 800 tickets for the performance at Rick’s.
Randolph’s Family Band consists of his cousin Marcus Randolph (drums), Danyel Morgan (bass/vocals) and Jason Crosby (Hammond organ/piano/violin). Although Randolph is known for his pedal steel guitar playing (included on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists” list), the family band has been known to completely switch positions during the middle of a song and still manage to maintain rhythm. Since the band members do this with ease, the audience is able to observe the band’s dynamics and the obvious notion that the members have mastered not only their individual roles, but each other’s functions as well.
“I’m really excited, being that they’re incredible musicians,” Rick’s Cafe owner Rick Welch said. “This is a show that people really don’t need to miss.”
RRFB began its career opening shows for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, The Derek Trucks Band, Soulive and other jazz-funk and jam-focused groups, which ultimately led them to release three albums – Live At The Wetlands in 2002, Unclassified in 2003 and Colorblind in 2006. Prior to these albums in 2001, Randolph recorded The Word alongside Medeski, Martin and Wood keyboardist John Medeski and the North Mississippi Allstars, which resulted as an entirely instrumental album with a heavy influence of gospel and blues.
Welch added that in spite of the fact that the Family Band is one of the bigger acts that Rick’s has had, they will receive the same treatment as all other bands that visit the venue.
“The main goal in an act like this is to make sure they have everything they need,” Welch said. “We’ll show them some Southern hospitality and treat them good.”
According to Randolph’s Web site, he began playing the pedal steel guitar as a teenager at his Orange, N.J., church, The House of God, where the steel guitar is carried out during the service (also known as “sacred steel”). Since that time, he has made the NBA theme song “We Got Hoops” and “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” which has been heard in several commercials on NBC. Likewise, the Family Band’s critically-acclaimed debut studio album Unclassified was nominated for two Grammy awards, gaining the interest of Eric Clapton. Their newest album Colorblind features the work of Clapton as well as Dave Matthews and Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore.
In an interview with LiveDaily, Randolph said the most important thing learned during the recording of Colorblind came from Clapton.
“He saw himself as a guitar player and just really wanted to build on that,” Randolph said. “That’s basically how I was at the beginning – just a guitar player. Really, now, I’ve learned how the guitar meshes together with the song and the vocal idea that you have. It’s opened so many [musical] doors. Just having a conversation with him led to ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With That.'”
Some influences of RRFB include My Morning Jacket, the Funky Meters, Mofro, Kaki King and Galactic. According to the band’s MySpace page, these groups are not only influences but are also considered friends of the band. In addition to the three Family Band albums, Randolph has made several guest appearances on albums of artists such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne and the Blind Boys of Alabama.
Welch plans to open the doors for the public around “eightish,” he said. The Benjy Davis Project begins at 9 p.m., and Randolph takes the stage at 10 p.m.
Tickets for RRFB’s performance at Rick’s are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the show. For more information about the band, check out www.robertrandolph.net or www.myspace.com/robertrandolph.