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Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0
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Music

Color Me Badd reunited (and it feels so good)


R&B group will play July 30 in OKC

Rob Collins June 15th, 2011

Color Me Badd is reforming with plans for new music and live performances after Oklahoma City’s 1990s-era R&B pop group that wanted to “Sex You Up” signed a new management deal earlier this month.

mark-bryanMark Calderon and Bryan Abrams

The reunited CMB consists of local Badd boy Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon and Kevin Thornton. Sam Watters, long dogged by Kenny G comparisons, declined the reunion.

CMB hit it big with “I Wanna Sex You Up” in 1991. Two more No. 1 singles followed, with the band releasing a triple-platinum debut album and nine Top 40 hits before disbanding in 1998.

The reformed trio signed June 8 with Wright Entertainment Group, whose owner, Johnny Wright, has managed *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers.

“We actually were about to sign with him right after we got out of our Sony deal in 1998,” Calderon said. “With the group dismantling and raising families, we all kind of split apart. We all went our ways basically. That’s pretty much why we didn’t go with Johnny.”

Calderon, who lives in Cincinnati and is a look-alike of ex-Wham! singer George Michael, said he helped facilitate the signing of preteen performer Isaiah Pittman V — aka Ip5 — with the Orlando-based WEG and discussed a possible CMB reunion. Thornton, the Milli Vanilli doppelgänger, agreed to join.

“Kevin seemed like he wanted to get back into the groove of things,” he said. “We kind of all got back together. It was funny.”

CMB is headed to Orlando later this month to plan future recordings and live appearances. Then CMB will play five gigs with All-4-One of “I Swear” fame touring the South Pacific before an OKC show July 30 at Casablanca, 13801 Quail Pointe Drive.

“We’re really not trying to do it for nostalgia,” Abrams said. “We don’t want to just spend the next 10 years touring off of our old stuff. We really are planning on putting out a new record.”

COLOR CORRECTION
Abrams’ arrest record is well-known. Suffering from alcoholism and psychiatric issues, he entered long-term treatment out of state last September. Now out of rehab, he’s taking the ViSalus Sciences Body by Vi Challenge, a 90-day meal replacement and weight management program.

“The fact that we’re signed with WEG Entertainment is huge, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m half-assing it,” he said. “It’s a really healthy change for me."

Abrams said he’s not even drinking soda or caffeine.

Kevin Thornton

“God willing, we’ll be responsible and set a better example than we did the first time around,” he said. “It’s going awesome, man. To be honest with you, I don’t even think about it anymore. I don’t think about the addiction issue. … I’m just trying to focus on the group. There’s no room for error anymore. We’re all human, but we all hold each other’s future in our hands.”

Thornton, now working as a youth pastor in Fort Worth, Texas, is the trio’s spiritual leader.

“We’re just happy that he’s down with us,” Calderon said. “We’ve got a lot of big plans for the future. This time around, we want to do things a little bit differently, man. We want to give back a lot more than we did before. We love OKC. That’s our hometown, and we want to get more involved with the community.”

Fourth original member Watters is now a successful record producer married to former “American Idol” finalist Tamyra Gray.

“Sam’s doing a lot of big hits,” Calderon said. “He just had a new baby. The door’s always open for Sam to come back. That’s all up to him.”
 
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06.15.2011 at 01:14 Reply

WHERE in OKC will they be performing on July 30th?????

 

06.15.2011 at 01:16 Reply

That's great!  Always a fan!

 

 
 
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