Published: July 26, 2008 01:58 am            

MOLSON CONCERTS: Shepherd, Brotherhood, Wanted by the FBI

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the self-taught guitar prodigy, took the Molson Canal Concert stage Friday to a big, enthusiastic crowd at the Ulrich City Center.

A pair of Lockport-based bands, Wanted by the FBI and the Brotherhood, kicked off the show.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd, born in Shreveport, La., learned how to play the guitar at age 7 from Muddy Waters records. At 13, joined New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee on stage and decided on music as a career.

He formed his own band and gained early exposure through club dates and radio. His father helped him land a major-label record deal with Giant Records.

In 1995 at age 17, while still in high school, Shepherd had his first platinum album “Ledbetter Heights.” The recording was an immediate hit, selling more than 500,000 by early 1996. His combination of acoustic blues, rockin’ blues, Texas blues, Louisiana blues topped Billboard’s blues chart for 20 weeks. Blues records rarely achieve that level of commercial success.

Shepherd, now 31, was named No. 3 guitarist by Guitar World, B. B. King and Eric Clapton were named number one and two, respectively.

His “Trouble” album in 1997 received a Grammy-nomination as did his 1999 album, “Live On.” In 1998, the band was an opening act for the Rolling Stones during its “No Security” tour.

Shepherd has toured and played with many of his idols, including the Muddy Waters Band; B. B. King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Etta Baker and the Howlin’ Wolf Band.

In 2007, Shepherd appeared on The Tonight Show, opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Orange County Fair and performed at the 2007 Dutch Mason Blues Festival.

He also backed up veteran southern blues players for a documentary, “10 Days Out.” Blues from the Backroads appeared in 2007.

Singles that reached the chart include, “Déjà Voodoo” in 1995, “Aberdeen” and “Born With a Broken Heart” in 1996, “Slow Rid” in 1997, “Somehow, Somewhere, Someway” and “Blue On Black” in 1998, “I” in 1999, “Was” in 2000; “Alive” in 2004 and “The Place You’re In” in 2005.

Shepherd married actor Mel Gibson’s daughter in September, 2006. The couple had a baby in 2007.

First on stage Friday was the Brotherhood, a four-piece band featuring Ken Trabert, vocals and acoustic guitar; Dave Stoll, lead guitar and vocals; Tom Mullaney, bass; and Matthew Knott on drums and vocals.

Playing in the series isn’t the only highlight of the summer for the Brotherhood. NASCAR will be using one of the band’s songs, “Shift,” as music for a commercial about membership. The commercial was shot in Chicago and will be airing on ESPN during NASCAR races by the end of the month.

Wanted by the FBI has also attracted some attention, including overseas. The band was wanted by Saudi Arabia to put on a New Year’s Eve concert but chose to decline a $14,000 offer to travel and perform in the city of Dubai, which sits on the Persian Gulf and on the other side of the Gulf of Oman from Iran. Lead singer Phil Salamone said the band did not feel safe, as the group was advised not to venture out of the hotel.

The band consists of Salamone on guitar, harmonica and is the lead vocalist. Brian James of Tonawanda does bass and vocals; Jeff Jones of Newfane is lead guitar; and Joe Mangella of West Seneca is on drums.

Wanted by the FBI was selected by RadioIndy.com for Gold Artist status. “Increase The Dosage” is No. 2 in top 20 blues radio. Radioindy Gold Artist screens thousands of songs by independent artists and names the best artists. It focuses on musicianship, songwriting and recording quality.

Radio stations from Buffalo to Paris are taking notice of Wanted by the FBI. The band’s “Until The End Of The World” was picked for the No. 4 spot on Volume 5 of WBFO-FM radio’s recent CD. A Paris, France, radio station has been broadcasting the band’s CDs in 120 different countries. “It Takes A War” was No. 2 in the top 100 all time for 2007 on 365 Internet radio.

The band went without a name for some time, but a temporary drummer who played with them had “Wanted by the FBI” on his drum cases. The name stuck.

Wanted by the FBI’s Web site is www.fbiblues.com. The Brotherhood’s Web site is www.myspace.com/brotherhoodlpt.

        

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