Oak Ridge Boys’ Long Road Leads to Valley

Many rock and country musicians spend a good part of their lives on the road. For the Oak Ridge Boys, a group that dates from the 1940s, that road has been longer than most. On Tuesday, it leads to the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

“We’re the act that won’t go away,� says Joe Bonsall, the tenor of the vocal quartet. “We’re not kids anymore, but we’re out there rockin’.�

The Oak Ridge Boys started out as a gospel singing group back in the 1940s. More than 30 different members of the group had come and gone by the early 1970s, when the current lineup of tenor Bonsall, lead singer Duane Allen, bass Richard Sterban and baritone William Lee Golden first performed together. In 1977, the group crossed over into the country pop sound that it still performs today.

Since then, the Oak Ridge Boys have scored one double platinum, three platinum and 10 gold albums. Their hits include “Elvira,� “American Made,� “Thank God For Kids,� and “I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes.�

Bonsall says he’s excited about the group’s recent signing with a new label, A & M Records, but more excited about having Golden back with the group after a nine-year absence during which he pursued a solo career.

The vocal quartet spends about 180 days on the road each year traveling with a 30-person cast and crew and 20 tons of equipment in three customized buses and two 18-wheelers. What do the boys do to avoid the bus version of cabin fever?

“We tend to watch videos and play music real loud,� Bonsall says.

* The Oak Ridge Boys perform in concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tickets are $40-$47.50. Call (800) 233-3123.

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Soul Survivors: Soul music aficionados will have at least a couple of choices this weekend to hear some live music right here in the Valley: the band 818 at Bourbon Square and the Disciples of Groove at Cafe Cordiale.

Disciples’ lead singer Mark Williamson, who’s originally from Manchester, England, says his soul music roots are buried deep in his childhood.

“My dad was a preacher, I wasn’t allowed to listen to pop music,� Williamson says in a decidedly English accent. Instead, Williamson did listen to lots of gospel music. When he emigrated to the United States in the early 1970s and heard American R & B, he fell in love.

The other Disciples of Groove are Danny Jacobs, Russ McKinnon, Larry Antonio, Robbie Wyskeff and John Greathouse. Williamson says all are music biz veterans who have performed with each other and other musicians in various ensembles through the years. Williamson says he’s the band’s only Englishman.

“They’re all foreigners from America,� Williamson says. “I’m the lone posh-speaking person in the band.�

The band plays a wide range of ‘70s R & B music, including tunes by Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Ohio Players, Hall & Oates and others.

818, on the other hand, is a Valley-based 10-piece ensemble that has gigged locally for more than five years playing what the band’s manager, Robert Avila, calls a Bay Area R & B sound. But 818 is not only a band, it’s a family affair.

Avila’s brothers Jerry and Gabriel Avila play congas and lead guitar, respectively. His cousin Eddie Avila is the drummer. Other members are Miguel Elizondo on keyboards, Mark Walters on bass, Juan Perez on trumpet, Andre Shade on sax, Jon Z on trumpet and Ronnie Roberts on vocals.

“The band is made up of brothers, cousins and really good friends,� Robert Avila says. “It’s the closeness that has allowed us to keep the band together and develop our sound.�

The band’s repertoire includes tunes by Tower of Power, Malo, Chicago, the Isley Brothers, Rick James, and even the Texas Tornadoes, the manager says. “We do a variety of tunes,� he says. “We’re versatile--we can do anything and do it well.�

The band is currently preparing to enter the studio to produce a CD of its original music, which Robert Avila says is similar in style to the cover tunes the band does.

“The music that we do utilizes the whole band, but we feature the horns,� he says. “By this time, we know how we want to sound. We’ve matured over the years and we’re ready to go on to the next step.�

He says the band wants to break into doing bigger venues and concert dates. It already has performed at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura and the Coach House in Orange County as an opening act for the Stylistics and Tower of Power, he says.

He says being the manager of the band is an eight-hour-a-day job most of the time, but he’s not complaining.

“It’s been great for me, because I’m one of the biggest 818 fans,� he says. “It’s a lot of work, but I want to devote myself totally to 818.�

* Disciples of Groove play at 10:30 tonight at Cafe Cordiale, 14015 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. No cover. Call (818) 789-1985.

818 plays Friday night at Bourbon Square, 15324 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys. $6 cover. Call (818) 997-8562.

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Nothin’ But the Blues: Sandwiched between the Gospel Brunch in the morning and King Cotton at night, the fifth annual Willie Dixon Scholarship fund-raiser will be hosted by B.B. King’s Blues Club in Universal City from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Slated to perform are blues artists Smokey Wilson, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Benois King, John “Juke� Logan, Doug MacLeod, Rick “L.A. Holmes� Holmstrom, Johnny Dyer, B.J. Sharp, Janiva Magness and Jamie Wood. Also appearing will be 14-year-old blues pianist Taryn Lynn Donath.

The Willie Dixon Scholarship award is given annually by the Southern California Blues Society to a student majoring in African American history, music, communications or folk art.

* Willie Dixon Scholarship fund-raiser from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at B.B. King’s Blues Club at Universal CityWalk, 1000 Universal Center Drive. Tickets are $15. Call (818) 622-5464.