THE BAND
Skip the Needle: Born from group of friends jamming: all veterans of multiple bands, tours, recording. Shelley Doty (Shelley Doty X-tet, Jambay) guitar, Kofy Brown (Kofy Brown Band, Sistas in the Pit) drums, Katie Cash (Katie Cash, Dolorata, Year of the Fist) guitar and Vicki Randle (the Tonight Show, Mavis Staples) bass. The band is the collective effort of four Bay area bandleaders, each lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, performer and songwriter. Lead singing duties rotate among the members while the others add background vocals. The songs are collectively written to showcase each member’s unique contributions, bringing together rock, funk, soul and fusion in an amalgam that rocks hard and is also musically diverse and complex; carries a strong, socially conscious message but wants everybody to party while hearing it. If Jimi Hendrix, Chrissie Hynde and Chaka Kahn cloned a baby, this band would be the result. Skip the Needle is reckless, eclectic, fearless and fun, dedicated to love and like nothing you've ever heard before. Skip the Needle Rocks the Love.
Shelley Doty
Labeled "a future legend" by one reviewer and a "guitar goddess" by another, Shelley Doty is considered one the best independent performers in the business. Watching her perform is awe-inspiring due to her masterful guitar licks, soulful voice and charismatic stage presence. As a songwriter, she creates articulate songs for today by sprinkling them with respect for the music of her youth (rock, R&B, jazz, funk). Shelley sings with passion and plays with an authentic raw energy that cuts through the air with jubilant imagination and freshness. Her brand new CD "Over The Line" is now out and available via CD Baby. In addition to fronting her band, the Shelley Doty X-tet, Shelley also often performs solo acoustic. When Shelley plays electric guitar she rips into it like no other woman ever has - she has a swagger and confidence to play lead guitar that is as rare as it is electrifying...
Visit: www.shelleydoty.com
Katie Cash
The music of Katie Cash harkens to a time when rock n roll inspired revolution. In the manner of legends, she handles her guitar with an unparalleled command, embodying the music with every fiber or her being — hair flung as staccato punctuations to the heart she wears on her sleeve. She owns her vocal delivery, swinging you between high & low in an array of lustful richness and provocative rhythms. While leading, composing, producing and performing in her solo outfit, Cash also shares lead vocal and guitar duties in Oakland based bands Year of the Fist, & Skip the Needle, gliding between punk rock and rock n soul with graceful authenticity her fans have come to love.
Visit: www.katiecashmusic.com
Vicki Randle
“I grew up listening to folk & rock music, but people expected and harangued me to sing R&B and soul music. My first tour was with Narada Michael Walden opening for the Brother's Johnson and Rufus with Chaka Kahn. Chaka, a drummer herself, began to insist that I sit in with Rufus as a kind of stealth move so she could play timbales when she wanted to. From there I toured with George Benson for the next 10 years, in addition to stints with Dr. John, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Loggins. I recorded when off the road with Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Todd Rundgren. I ended up in the Tonight Show Band with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2010. The last 8 years I’ve toured and recorded with Mavis Staples, was featured in the HBO documentary Mavis! and on two of her records.
Visit: www.vickirandle.com
Kofy Brown
Kofy Brown, an Oakland, CA musician, singer and songwriter has been a pioneering force in the Bay Area’s hip-hop soul scene since the early 90’s. Leading her band on tour paving the way for other indie artist to trek forth, the KBB have spread the gospel of Brown’s unique style of soul, rock, funk and more all over North America, Canada and Europe. Kofy Brown has thrived by following her own creative path. She and her band the KBB have developed a reputation for putting on an outstanding live show. Her music is a soulful combination of funk, rock, blues and hip-hop topped off with a singing and rap style she calls word song...
Visit: www.kofybrown.com