Show Info
Thursday, September 1, 2016
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
$0.00
Bio
April B. & The Cool is a band of novelty. Our originals are fresh; We breathe new life into songs that have been in existenc...e longer than we have been alive; We have lived what we have written. (Well, we've *at least* lived a great deal of it.)
Our sound draws from jazz, 70s funk, and all the sub-genres of soul music. You may hear some P-Funk at and April B. & The Cool show. You may hear April sing a Lyn Collins tune before slowing it down with some Amy Winehouse. Set lists change, but whatever we choose to play, we'll do it justice.
Each member of The Cool is a lifelong musician. We put years of work into honing our respective skills and, because we are disciplined players, we are able to unify our collective ideas and knowledge into perfect harmony-- literally and figuratively.
Dauntless and incredibly hip, April B. (April Bennett) fronts the band. Her musical journey began with the fifth grade Strings program. At 10 years old, she learned the basics of the viola and continued to play through her second year in undergraduate school at Converse college. Studying guitar and piano was required of first year students in the Music Therapy program so she bought her first guitar, Yamaha G231 (still sounds amazing), from an old man on an electric bike who claimed to have once traveled the world playing the guitar. She would later go on to the University of South Carolina Upstate to study Commercial Music where the electric guitar became her primary instrument. April B. cites Nina Simone and her mother, Sharon, as two of her greatest musical influences.
Jon Inman, holds down the low end in April B. & The Cool. He's played in many cities across the country and currently calls Union, SC home. Jon has been playing bass guitar since he was 8 years old. True story: Jon purchased his very first bass with dimes his father helped him roll in the parking lot of the store-- talk about dedication! Flea, Jaco Pastorius, Bootsy Collins, Ryan Adams, James Brown, The Allman Bros., and Jerry Jemmott are some of our bass player's most significant musical influences.
Although he currently plays keys in our band, Reggie Jackson was, years time ago, a bassist. In fact, he played key-bass in our band when April B. & The Cool was a trio. He attended undergraduate school at Brevard College in North Carolina. Not only is Reggie a bassist and keyboardist, he is also a top-notch barber and producer. Reggie writes produces original music with XO Music Production Group. Pianists Di Wu and Stevie Wonder are Reggie's main musical influences.
Last, but certainly not least is our drummer, TJ Jeter. He is a man of many hats-- once again, literally and figuratively. TJ is a graduate of Limestone College in South Carolina and, like Jon, is a Union, SC native. TJ has been playing drums since the age of 8. He says, "My father gave my a practice pad, drumsticks, and a rudiment sheet...after practicing with just that for two years, he drove me down to Stone Mountain to pick up my first kit from his old band mate's house."
Our sound is soulful. It is marked by April and TJ's vocal harmonization. We get funky and we get loud. You will, without a doubt, hear our influences in our playing. The chord progressions in our original music are jazzy. The lyricism does not leave much to be desired. April B. & The Cool sets out to keep you listening while you dance.
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