Will Carmichael, vocals
“I love singing with BRI, and am very grateful to Greg Anderson for forming this group and giving me a chance to be in it! I’m incredibly impressed with the talent in this group. I’m looking forward to making music with these guys for a long time to come!”
Q: Who has inspired you musically?
A: “David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, and Johnny Cash are three of my earliest musical influences, along with Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Talking Heads, The Beatles, and The Kinks just a little later. Then I discovered Blood, Sweat & Tears and fell in love with their style and with their music. Another major influence on me musically was various blues acts in Chicago in the 80s (Lefty Dizz, Otis Clay, etc.). I had the great pleasure and fun of jamming with those guys on multiple occasions back when I was a sax player (I played alto, never as well as our own Robin Smith, though!). Finally, classical singing is also a big influence on me, especially English art songs. I spent about ten years studying classical singing and developing (or trying to develop) a classical technique. It’s an area I plan to explore more in the future.”
Q: Other groups that you perform with – present and past?
A: “Back in the day in Chicago, I performed (singer and sax) in an avant garde rock rock group called The Bombastics. Also with various blues acts including Lefty Dizz and Otis Clay. Then I took a long hiatus from musical groups and explored acting (musicals and stage plays), some classical singing (primarily student recitals), etc. Today, in addition to BRI, I sing with The Sedalia Ragtime Orchestra. I’m also trying to find a big band to join (or maybe I’ll just have to form one!): Sinatra, both he as a singer and also the songs that were written for him, remains one of my first musical loves.”
Q: Favorite horn groups?
A: “Blood, Sweat & Tears – Love the music, love David Clayton-Thomas’ singing, Al Kooper’s singing was great, too, and one of my favorite BS&T tunes, I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know, is sung by Kooper. Also really enjoy Chicago, Tower of Power, and The Blues Brothers (one of the best “pickup bands” ever assembled!).”
Q: Other instruments or information to add?
A: “I want to add auxiliary percussion and harmonica to my skills for BRI. I’ve also played guitar and piano at various points in my life (mostly folk guitar), and would like to get back to guitar, perhaps developing those skills well enough to play rhythm with BRI at some point (but that’ll take a while). I might even pick up the sax again! But I’m first and foremost a singer and expect I always will be.”
Q: Anything else to share?
A: “As mentioned above, I got to play with Chicago blues man Lefty Dizz. One day, back in the early 80s, he invited me and a keyboard player friend of mine down to the Checkerboard Lounge to sit in on his show. The Checkerboard is deep on the South Side of Chicago in an area that is predominantly African-American. My friend and I took the L down to the gig, and when we walked in, we were the only white guys in the place. Seemingly every head at the bar just turned and looked at us as we walked in, sizing us up. Not unfriendly or anything, but surprised–and maybe a little suspicious. There was a moment of slight tension. Then, Lefty called out to us from the stage, saying “Get on up here!”, and from then on, any tension that was present completely vanished and we were just part of the band. It was a great gig and a great reminder that music is truly universal. I’ll never forget that night!”