Michelle Kaplan

Memory Lane - Leaves You Aching For More

Don’t go see this band…Ok; you’ve been warned…you’ll be sorry.

The next morning when you rise to find your hips hurting, your shoulders sore, and your body radiating a dull general ache from dancing like a fool - echoes of “I told you so,” will ring in your ears.

When you can barely whisper a “good morning,” because you were singing at the top of your lungs, while you were dancing like a fool, you’ll remember that you had been warned.

Four guys - DJ DC, Popeye, MR (Motivated Radiated) William T and Smoove, yeah, just smooooove, whose harmonies could put the Temptations to shame sing soft, smoldering jazz, ala Nat King Cole, smoky blues from the likes of Muddy Waters and an array of music that ranges from Marvin Gaye to Prince, closing the generation gap.

Memory Lane. They could have been called The Chameleons for their ability to move from the Temptations, that they nail - dead on, to Prince’s “Kiss,” to the Latin rhythms of Santana’s “Smooth”, all in a row, all without missing a beat.

“Our motto is we sing everything from swing to bling bling,” said Gregory “Popeye” Alexander. “We do some old style Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Sinatra,Tone Loc - We’re bringing sexy back.”

Popeye admits one of the very best things about what they do is bring people together.

“That’s what’s so cool about it…like when we play at weddings… the families don’t know each other or don’t necessarily like each other but at the end of the night, they’re hugging and kissing each other.”
Popeye joined the band after his wife spotted an ad for a singer in the paper. He went and auditioned and that was that.
The multi-talented artist’s resume reads like a whose-who in the music industry. He has shared the stage with just about everyone including Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Kool the Gang, Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bo Diddley to name a few.
He has also appeared in several movies including 48 Hours, The Four Heartbeats and The Hollywood Shuffle.

With all that going on, you’d think his dance card was full but he manages to pull off a full time job as a VP of sales and marketing for a security company in California and a radio show six days a week on WFLM 104.7 on the Treasure Coast.

Yes, they have the look, the outfits, the synchronized hand movements and a little choreographed dancing going on. Mostly they have the vocals down solid. Because of this, the prerecorded music can be forgiven, that, plus the addition of live sax and harmonica, washes away any of the canned feeling from the tracks.

“This ain’t nothing new, MR admits, “People been doing karaoke and track shows forever…three individual’s with character and styles that are so different - that’s what makes it work.”

For MR, joining the band was just another creative outlet.

“I was looking for another venue… me being a recording artist and doing a one man show…we never practice, we do our own thing and then go our own way.”

MR’s own thing includes his own record company, APTO (A Positive Thinking Organization), Inc., MR says that he’s the only artist to have released, a song about Valentines Day.

MR’s got range.

“I’m blessed with Teddy Pendergrass and Wilson Pickett …I can get as mellow as Barry White or Frank Sinatra that’s where my range lies.”

He leaves off the James Brown, clearly when you hear MR, you can’t miss that scratch from the Godfather of Soul.

Hanging in the back, coordinating the tracks is mix master, DJ DC, Dale Carter the band’s manager and creator. The other founding member, Herbert ‘Smoove’ Tims, saw Carter’s flyer, searching for a male vocalist. Smoove called on his lunch hour and auditioned.

“We bonded…from that point and grew to what we are now…It’s been about five years.” “I bring my passion for singing. I’m a strong tenor, like Luther Vandross…and I can do low, baritone…I do a little of both.”

Spend the night with Memory Lane and your journey begins with smooth jazz and swing. Then 50’s Doo-Wop with standards like the Flamingos, “I Only Have Eyes for You.” Next prepare for Motown, Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love,” “My Girl,” from the Temptations. Then dance to songs like Earth Wind and Fire’s “September,” McFadden & Whitehead “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now!” Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration,” and the infamous Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones.”

So, Ok, go see Memory Lane, but remember, the next day - you’ll pay.

See Memory Lane at Zia Restaurant & Lounge, 4350 PGA Blvd, inside the Embassy Suites Hotel, Palm Beach Gardens. Wednesdays from 8 PM to midnight, call 561-627-2535.

Every Friday from 9 PM to 12:30 AM at the Colony Hotel, 155 Hammon Ave., Palm Beach, call 561-655-5430.

Visit their website, www.memorylaneband.com.

PBG Lifestyle Magazine - July 2008 Edition