thePULSEBy Mike Ricardi
In and around the Worcester area, two words come to mind about The Bee’s Knees – huge potential.
A little over two years ago, area veteran musician Mike Thibodeau was looking for some solid backup while he was recording a solo album. Drummer Joe Giotta was the first to come on board with him. Soon thereafter, bassist John Donovan and lead guitarist Ed Barnett were recruited into the outfit, solidifying a lineup that would combine a spectrum of musical elements ranging from country to blues to roots to rock and pop. Says Thibodeau, “They just all happened to be in the right place at the wrong time; we just took it from there.” The end result was no longer Mike’s solo album, it was a group effort that became The Bee’s Knees.
Since that fortuitous meeting of the musical minds, the band has racked up many awards, including the 2005 Wormtown Sound Awards for Best Roots/Country Act, and has landed coveted opening gigs for Badfinger and for former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay. These shows proved the band’s ability to escape the “bar band” stereotype and gave them the opportunity to showcase their talent on a bigger stage to a larger audience.
As well as making welcome noise at venues like The Lucky Dog and The Palladium, the band performed at the Americana Music Conference held this past September in Nashville, TN, a big break for which they are still very thankful. The band’s first full length recording, Long Before, released in 2004 and recorded at West Boylston’s Tremolo Lounge Studios with Roger Lavallee, has received critical acclaim all over New England, and the band acknowledges just how important and gratifying that recognition is. Of the songwriting and recording process that yielded Long Before, Thibodeau reports that is was, not surprisingly, a bit unpredictable. “We never have a set schedule when we go into the studio. In reality, every time we are there, we do not direct the song, the song directs us!”
So all in all, the band’s eclectic approach is working out very well. In any given genre of music, it is usually quite easy to note musical influences. The Bee’s Knees are all over the place, in the best sense of the term, both in their sound and their influences. The individual member’s backgrounds in and appreciation of jazz, pop, country, and blues artists have all contributed to the band’s overall sound, but no one style is overpowering, a tough balance to achieve.
As far as the future is concerned, the band plans to take it one day at a time. “As a band, we’re just trying to save our money for studio time, for rehearsal, whatever it may be. However, playing live is the real thrill.” They have plans to start writing material for a new album in 2006, but nothing is etched in stone. For the time being, the band continues to focus on the live scene that has earned them a solid reputation, taking advantage of the fact that this is a great time to be playing in and around the Worcester area. The Bee’s Knees are, without question, about to take their act to the next level, and audiences will be in for a treat.
You can visit the band’s website, www.beeskneesmusic.com, for all the latest information, including upcoming performance dates.
