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Bio
The Charles Walker
Band is a
five piece band that performs various styles of blues, R&B and funk with
precision and energy. What adds to the band uniqueness, apart from
award winning musicians (together for 4 years), is the richness and raw
energy of the original material. A quote from Noggin Blues Matters!
magazine describes us best, “…we are treated to the full panoply of
Blues styles, great tunes, intelligent lyrics and superb instrumentation
throughout.” (Issue 33, 06)
Charles Walker,
tenor saxophone, keyboard, songwriter & band leader, received formal
jazz training at UW Eau Claire. He has played saxophone for over 17
years. His last band was Muddy Blue, who released a CD entitled “Low
Down Dirty Blues”. He has played with such greats as Big Al from New
Orleans and JJ Johnson at BB’s in St. Louis. Muziczine describes
him as “Particularly inventive,
Walker
is a musician bursting with talent. Well capable of building a melody
line, his tenor sax thrusts through the mix powerfully” (4/6/09). His
influences are Luther Allison, Ray Charles, Illinois Jacquet, Louis
Jordan, Stan Getz, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Sax
Gordon, Keb’ Mo, and John Coltrane.
Porsche
Carmon, lead vocals, was born and raised in
Columbus, OH.
Porsche’s vocal talent was first discovered at the age of twelve during
her first musical theater audition for The Me Nobody Knows.
From elementary thru high school, she
studied and performed vocals and several woodwinds including flute &
bass clarinet, as well as performed in several musicals throughout the
local theater community.
By the time she reached college, her focus
was no longer on music and was solely on developing a career in
engineering.
After a decade of musical “silence,” Porsche
re-discovered her passion for musical performance in 2001 and began
performing on the Milwaukee scene, eventually sharing the stage with
notable talents in New York, Chicago, and Milwaukee such as Jon Pairs,
Vic Valenti & Walters Chicago Bands, and the Milwaukee Bucks house band
Streetlife w/ Warren Wiegratz.
Since then she’s incorporated percussion and
flute into her act, while developing a vocal versatility that stretches
out to many genres including jazz, soul, funk, rock & R&B.
In 2010 she joined the Charles Walker Band,
where she sings both lead and backup vocals, and plays congas &
percussion.
The
Door County’s
Peninsula Pulse said of her talent, “Carmon’s soaring gospel-soul
singing, recalls the days of Motown”.
Her biggest aspiration is to travel the
world and touch the souls and hearts of those that hear her through her
expressions of music.
Misha Siegfried,
lead guitar, hails from St. Paul, MN. Migrating to Milwaukee in
2002, Misha’s resume includes Fire On Your Sleeve (pop/rock), Genie
Halliday Revue Band (R&B/Blues), The Mixx (R&B/Blues), Reverend Raven
and the Chain Smoking Alter Boys (Blues), Blue Wagon (Blues), and
Mississippi Gun & Gun Smoke (Blues/R&B). His influences include Eric
Clapton, Moses Oakland and Freddie King. He is also a fan of John
Coltrane and Hunter S. Thompson.
Kent Hamele, bass guitar, has been playing bass for over 35 years and
his last big blues experience was with Cadillac Joe and Paul Flipowitz. He lives in
Madison, Wisconsin and has played the gambit of rock, pop, Caribbean, African
and, of course, blues genres in the process. He has opened for such greats as Lil’Ed,
Johnny Bassett and Shemekia Copeland.
Keywan Ryland, drums, developed an early interest in
percussion. However, he didn't begin his study of the various percussion
instruments until he was sixteen. Originally from Milwaukee, he learned
by watching and emulating the area's top drummers. Some of his musical
influences include Aaron Spears, Calvin Rodgers, Thomas Pridgen, Spanky,
Dave Weckl, and Dennis Chambers. He enjoys playing all styles of music
including Gospel, Rock, Funk, Hip-hop, and Blues. Keywan has played for
local artists SLM and Funky Session and also Christ the King Church.
Besides music, Keywan also likes to watch movies, shop and play
Playstation 3. When he is not playing with the Charles Walker Band, you
can catch him drumming with the Steve Hantschel band. You can follow
Keywan on twitter at www.twitter.com/keyzthadrummer. |