Veteran Memphis band FreeWorld will celebrate its newest album at Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern today at 10 p.m.
The band members have been playing together for over two decades. The new album titled, From the Bluff, will be the band’s fifth album.
“This past October was our 21st anniversary. So yeah, we’ve been around a long time,” Cushing said.
FreeWorld founding member Richard Cushing said Dave’s has been the band’s second home for years and owner Dave Hood is a close friend of his.
“Dave is like my brother and the tavern is like my living room. That’s why the release party is there. It rules, it just rules,” Cushing said.
The six core members of the band performing are bassist, lead vocalist and lyricist Cushing, drummer and lyricist David Skypeck, guitarist Brian Overstreet, trumpeter, vocalist and lyricist E.J. Dyce, guitarist Scott Katzev and 78-year-old legendary jazz vocalist and saxophonist Herman Green.
Hood said FreeWorld is known for its impressive shows.
“They get such a positive response whenever they perform at the tavern. They have such a good connection and relationship with the crowd. Richard is a great musician. He’s a Renaissance man,” Hood said.
FreeWorld was founded in 1987 by Cushing. He then approached Green and asked him to join the band.
“[Green] is the heart and soul of the band. He is our founding father. Having him in the band gave us credibility,” Cushing said.
Green has been playing for over 50 years and has played with some of music’s greatest such as B.B. King, Miles Davis, Clark Terry, John Coltrane and Art Davis.
“[Green] is unbelievable, probably the best that’s ever played at the tavern,” Hood said.
The band’s music does not fit into one genre of music. It plays everything: jazz, blues, rock, soul and reggae, Cushing said.
“If there were a genre of whatever, then that’s where we would be,” he said. “We always stay true to ourselves. We all have different backgrounds in music, so we each bring a certain style of music and writing to the band.”
Cushing said FreeWorld is always in transition and has had a diverse array of members.
“The good thing about having so many people coming in and leaving is that when they do leave, it’s always on good terms,” he said. “That’s why our name suits us because we’ve had all races and ethnicities in the band before. We are very broad in scope.”
The band is inspired by groups such as Parliament Funkadelic, Steely Dan and Weather Report and legends such as Frank Zappa and Miles Davis, as well as other Memphis bands, Cushing said.
“We are rooted in Memphis, so of course we’re fans of other Memphis bands. We take a piece of Beale Street with us everywhere we go,” Cushing said.
Unplanned and impromptu performances are also commonplace at FreeWorld shows, he said.
“We nor the fans know what’s going to happen at any performance. Old members will show up, jump on stage and play with us. Sometimes we play about 30 to 40 songs in a night,” Cushing said.
MSU alumna Laura Fortgang has seen the band perform many times in Starkville and Memphis. She said the band is exciting to watch perform because it keeps the crowd dancing and smiling.
“They stand out because they are such a down-to-earth band. They feel like family to me. If I could tell the band on thing, it would be to keep smiling,” Fortgang said.
The release party will be $5 at the door or no cover charge if attendees purchase a $10 copy of the band’s new album.