Twenty-three years may not seem like a long time to remain in the same job or be married to the same person but when speaking of the longevity of a band, this is incredible.
The History and Future of Grand Marquis
The Grand Marquis band started in 1998 with a Guitar/Singer, Drummer, and Bass player. Soon a Saxophonist was added to this mostly rockabilly blues group. In October of 2001 Trumpeter Chad Boydston moved to Kansas City and joined the group in February of 2002. At that time, most of their performances were in restaurants and bars.
By 2003 the front man/singer (Slim Hanson) left the band at the end of the year and the remaining musicians decided to continue performing. At that point, Saxophonist, Bryan Redmond decided to replace Hanson as leader and vocalist. Guitarist Sam Nicolier who was heavily influenced by Django Reinhardt’s guitar style and Chad Boydston with a strong Jazz background completed the group- Bryan Redmond (Sax and Vocals), Chad Boydston (Trumpet), Ben Ruth (Bass), Lisa Mckenzie (Drums), and Sam Nicolier (Guitar). Their musical style gradually developed into a more cafe’ jazz and blues style as they began writing our own material.
In 2004 they were hired to go on a nationwide tour playing in major clubs around the country. They performed with three female dancers and traveled on a tour bus with a large equipment truck following behind. That tour lasted for two months with five shows a week. When they eventually returned to Kansas City, they were sounding tighter than ever.
For several years this same group averaged 100 performances a year. When their original guitarist decided to move to California, he was replaced by their current guitarist, Ryan Wurtz. After this change, they began writing more of their own music. This became difficult for their drummer at the time and they had to make the difficult choice to replace Lisa Mckenzie with Fritz Hutchinson. Hutchinson was a multi-instrumentalist and brought a new energy to the band. This was also the time the very talented Trevor Turla (Trombone) joined the band.
That group created an album titled “Brighter Days”, consisting of mostly original songs. Hutchinson left the band about 2 years ago and was replaced by Natalie Bates who has been responsible for giving their song ideas direction. They have recently recorded a new album with her which will be released later this year..
The band has recorded 9 albums and performs at countless festivals. In 2014 Grand Marquis was a finalist at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
Some of the band’s goals are to some day write/record a hit record, receive ASCAP checks and a Grammy Award. They love performing on the road and usually take two road trips a year (New Orleans, Florida, etc.).
Grand Marquis continues to rehearse every week and is constantly bringing new tunes and ideas to work and expand on. Members of Grand Marquis attribute their longevity to the high level of respect for each other and describe their motivation as “all for one, and one for all. Music is an incorruptible language that changes lives”.
Now that you have some information about this talent ensemble, take some time to watch the following video to understand why this ensemble has lasted so long and continues to entertain their followers.
Check out their Web site at……..
Our next Post will give you more information about the talented trumpet player, Mr. Chad Boydston feature on the video above.
