Kansas City Blues News

April 2003

 

“Hot Picks”

By Stan Koron

 

On April 18 and 19, the Nace Brothers make an appearance at Blayney’s in Westport.  This popular group travels to Kansas City on a pretty regular basis.

 

The Nace Brothers Band first played together on Dec. 31, 1981.  Twenty-two years later, they’re still going strong with three orininal members-David Nace, Jimmy Nace and Tim Williams-and their newest member, T.J. Drhardt.  The band is now musically unstoppable , touring 220 dates over 50,000 miles a year.

 

For the Nace Brothers Band, music has been and always will be a way of life.

 

What sets the Nace Brothers Band apart from so many other bands on the road today?

 

But what sets The Nace Brothers apart from so many other bands on the road today? It's the soulful, aggressive vocal style of leader David Nace. Brother Jimmy also shares the spotlight, with a guitar that flows with the same soulful emotion. For these reasons and others, the band has found itself catapulted into national status -- all the way from their Warrensburg, Missouri home.

 

Rich in musical heritage, Dave and Jim have found themselves following in the footsteps of their father, Johnny Nace.

 

Johnny took Kansas City by storm in 1968 when he charted two regional hits -- Blue Notes and Midnight Train, selling over 40,000 copies each.  That success landed him on tour with Carl Perkins, Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb… and the list goes on.

 

But Dave and Jim's musical roots go even deeper. Their grandfather, Percy, was a real bluegrass fiddler and guitar player. And their great-grandfather, Valandingham Nace, was a classically trained violinist.

 

The band's bassist and violinist, Tim Williams, is also native of Warrensburg, Missouri.

 

He played his first rock-n-roll gig in eighth grade, and who should be on drums but David Nace! Tim grew up playing music with his father, Dr. Hugh Williams, a respected music professor at Central Missouri State University.

 

Also a graduate of CMSU, Tim brings versatility to the band. By switching from bass to violin, he allows the band to revert back to their roots and play an authentic acoustic set during performances.

 

In 1996 the band added key boardist T.J. Erhardt from Santa Barbara, California. T.J.'s talents allow the band to play with more power than ever before. Switching from Hammond Organ to piano to squeeze box on acoustic sets, T.J. seems the perfect addition to an already explosive rhythm section.

 

Make sure to get out and check out these groups-and continue supporting live music!