THE ROCK: What was your motivation to get into the music business?
K Wills/Style: I've always enjoyed music as a child. Having the typical roots of playing and singing in church, I enjoyed the performance. Every kid that listens to the radio and watches television has that same fantasy--to be some type of star! But as you go through the business, you realize that star status does not come easily. But even not having your name in the papers or radio or TV, there's nothing like being on stage and performing.

THE ROCK: What was the motivation to start Style?
K Wills/Style: We had originally formed the group back in 1988. We had great success until we disbanded in 1992. The motivation this time was that we had our space and everyone had the opportunity to do other things, but we knew what we had before and wanted to see if we could recapture it again.

So in 2000, Ralph Martin, the late Mel Rich, and I decided to put the band back together, almost Blues Brothers-like! We had a well rounded sound that was missing from most bands and wanted to bring that back. Most groups have a good vocalist or a good instrumentalist or a solid groove, but it's hard to find a group that has it all. We try to offer powerful vocals with strong harmony, sitting on top of a solid groove that makes you want to get out of your seat!

THE ROCK: What are the pros and cons of the music business?
K Wills/Style: The pros are numerous, but it depends on what motivates you. Money always seems to be a big motivation for most, but that shouldn't be your main focus. Doing something that you love to do is always the biggest reward. Getting to meet people, make new friends, work with professional artists, getting to travel and be spoiled a little, hanging with your band, which turns into your other family, fans that love your work and express their appreciation--those are definite pros. Cons include having someone try to take advantage of you and your product, which is a staple point in the music business at EVERY level; being gone so much from your family and/or loved ones; the exhausting work involved, especially for a band where everyone has a full-time job on top of performing.

Also getting caught up in the money. I see so many talented folk lose something special because they cared more about what they were getting paid at the end of the night versus how the audience responded to them. Everyone wants to get paid and be paid what they're worth, but that will come in time if your product is solid. I see many bands that will scale down the size to do a gig just to put more money in the pockets of the ones performing. They don't think about the two drawbacks that this produces: 1) people hire you because of your sound and what they've seen of you. If you cheat and bring a smaller package or even a different package, you're bound to get complaints; and 2) for the players that don't get to do the gig, they feel left out and start to build resentment. There's nothing like bad feelings in a band, because at some point it's going to blow, and it might be at a very bad time.

THE ROCK: Are you writing your own music?
K Wills/Style: Individually we've been working on originals either for ourselves or other projects. We are looking at putting some material together specifically for the band now to give us a different marketing advantage. It's something that we had to do anyway, as we are constantly approached at the end of a show and someone will ask where they can get a CD of the band. We've put it off for too long now, so we're getting that together.

THE ROCK: How did you recruit the members of your group?
K Wills/Style: Everyone is from the PG County area, so from knowing each other to knowing someone who knew someone, we formed the group that way. Musicians kind of have that degree of separation where you can trace one person up to almost anyone else. Lorenzo is the only member that we kind of found, or as Baker likes to put it, "Mel found Zo at a gas station and brought him to us like a puppy, like 'can we keep him?'" (inside joke)
Our members are John Alford, Shawn Ware, Lorenzo Johnson, Reggie Baker, Eddie Agnew, Perry Seldon, Ralph Martin, and myself. It's a collection of veteran players that have done everything from playing the states to playing Japan and Europe; from doing TV spots to hosting TV shows; from opening up for folks from the Four Tops to Jaheim and Tony Toni Tone, to playing/singing with national artists from George Duke to Patti LaBelle.

THE ROCK: How do you classify your music?
K Wills/Style: I would say that we would like to be thought of as more so Classic R&B, versus the trendy categories of today, like Hip-hop, Neo-soul, or something like that. We're kind of old school, but incorporate today's sound to keep us current. It's tough for us based on the location. We're close to DC, which is primarily known for Go Go music, but we're not a Go Go band. Most bands in the area strive to hit that mark because some Go Go bands can make very good money. What I love is when I talk to a potential client that tells me how they love the band because we can do the old and new, and not sound like a Go Go band like most others around the town.

THE ROCK: Where does Style want to be five years from now?
K Wills/Style: Honestly, we're all too old to be living the fantasy of "chasing the deal". If it comes, great--if not, just enjoy what we're doing, while we're doing it. I don't really want to be so much in the club circuit (or peanut circuit as affectionately know by most musicians, due to being paid 'peanuts'), but we like to keep our roots and stay in touch with the fans. But I see so many bands that get disillusioned with playing and the ups and downs that come with it, that they quit and never make the mark they wanted to. I'd like for us to sit back five years from now and know that we've made a stand and left a mark in the area.

THE ROCK: What are some of your future goals?
K Wills/Style: I'd like for us to complete an original project where we have something in our name. The mark of an artist is not all about what he/she is doing at that time, but what they can leave behind. I'm not looking to be super rich, but it would be nice to do the music full time and have the time to do more writing and producing for other artists--veterans and newcomers. Other than that, traveling and playing other cities and countries, and doing work as an opening act for national artists when they need a band.

THE ROCK: Who are your favorite artists and why?
K Wills/Style: There are many, but to narrow it down, I'd say Stevie Wonder, Mint Condition, Earth Wind & Fire, Joe Sample, and Phyllis Hyman. For me, no one has consistently written timeless music like Stevie Wonder. His music is incredible, but his lyrics and his messages are as beautiful as you can get in expressing a thought or song. His lyrics are so badly missed in today's music, where it's all about being a pimp or hustler or thug or nigga--all things that we grew up despising and now we glamorize them. I love EWF for the positive stuff they talked about as well as the beauty in the band concept, because that's what music is all about--it's not about just the front man or woman, or the musician that can solo his butt off. It's about how everyone comes together and plays their role to make something special happen, just like a championship football or basketball team. I love Mint Condition for the same reason as EWF, except I appreciate them so much for bringing back that style of live music. Plus Stokely Williams is probably one of the absolute best vocalists in the business today that people don't know about. He is phenomenal! I love Joe Sample, being a pianist myself, he's someone that writes and plays from his heart and soul. You can feel his improvs when he solos in a song to the point that you can almost understand what he's saying, and there's not a single word spoken. Last but not least, I love Phyllis because she's that soulful, powerful vocalist that you love to listen to. Her messages about love and relationships are real without being so negative. Her voice touches your spirit and warms you inside, almost giving you that feeling yourself of being in love just from listening to her.

I know all my favorites are old school, so for today's artists, I'd say I like Kanye West, Ledisi, Jill Scott, and Alicia Keys. They are true stars for a newer generation that forgot or knows nothing about the artists I mentioned above. With that, I gotta give respect to Prince, George Clinton and Parliament, and Sting--veterans that still play a heavy role in today's music.

THE ROCK: Any new projects or events?
K Wills/Style: My latest project is working on writing and shopping material to other artists. Hopefully we can get picked up by someone and maybe a career can come from that. I'd like for us to get the original CD completed and out, so we can have that under our belts. As for events, the best thing to do is check us out at www.styleband.com.

THE ROCK: Thank you Keith.
K Wills/Style: Thanks for the opportunity to allow us to be heard. Much success to the ezine.