| Imagine that Deep Purple and Sly and the Family Stone had a love child that grew up in New Orleans listening to Ray Charles, Black Sabbath and Booker T. That love child would be the Sugar Free Allstars . Due to their various musical influences and unusual instrumentation, this funky organ/drum duo is tricky to classify. The music is a unique blend of New Orleans funk, Memphis soul and Hammond organ-drenched gospel all wrapped up in a rock and roll package. Add to the mix a touch of pop songwriting sensibilities and a high-energy live show and you've got the Sugar Free Allstars . On Hammond B-3 organ and lead vocals is Chris Wiser . Wiser pulls multiple duties in this outfit as he covers bass lines on the B-3 while cranking out Maceo Parker-style saxophone solos. Wiser began his musical career on saxophone when he joined band in the 7 th grade and continued studying music through college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University where he received his Master's degree in Music. After teaching elementary music for one year, he decided it was time to pursue performing music full time. A versatile musician, Wiser has played in many different bands in a variety of styles such as The Tommy Dorsey big band (40's dance music), Mandala (John Mayer style rock), Smilin' Vic and the Soul Monkeys (Memphis R&B) and the Hosty Trio (groove-oriented organ trio). His witty, sometimes goofy lyrics combine with the sound of the organ to create a Ben Folds meets Booker T vibe that cannot be denied.
On the drums is Rob (Dr. Rock) Martin . Martin also began his musical career in 7 th grade band, starting on clarinet. As fate would have it his band director quit mid-year and he reassigned himself to the percussion section before the next director started, thus changing the course of his life. Martin studied percussion for 3 years at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he and Wiser first met. His in-the-pocket style of playing has made him a very in demand drummer and he has played in various bands over the years such as BBEF, Mandala (with Wiser) and the Jimmies. In addition to playing drums in SFA Martin is the first call studio drummer for the distinguished Bell Labs in Norman, Ok. He lays down a rock-solid beat that gets the dancers on the floor and keeps heads boppin' and hips shakin' all night.
Sugar Free Allstars have hit the road hard and are expanding their fan base with every show. Calling Oklahoma City home, the band frequents the Central states including the Rocky Mountains. Working into the festival circuit SFA has played the Great Unknown Festival (Fayetteville, Ar), the Wham Bam Thank You Jam (Kansas City, Mo), Dogstock (Melvern, Ks), Log Jam (Isle, Mn), and were personally selected by Little Feat two years in a row to play their Feat Fest in Eureka Springs, Ar. With the release of their first children's album SFA has expanded their realm of live performances to include kid's shows at elementary schools and in the summer of 2007 did two library tours around the Oklahoma City area as part of the Pioneer Library System and Metropolitan Library System Summer Reading Programs.
The band's reputation for high-energy live performances has given them the opportunity to collectively share the stage with many diverse acts such as R.L. Burnside, Hank Williams III, Dick Dale, Marcia Ball, G. Love and Special Sauce, Steve Kimock, Bowling for Soup, Paquito D'Rivera, New Orleans Juice, David Garza, Dr. Hook, Bill Watrous, Moonshine Still, Dead Milkmen, Brave Combo, Fred Tackett and Sam Clayton of Little Feat, the Flaming Lips, Dave Mason and Jim Capaldi of Traffic, Rich Matteson, Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers, Speakeasy, Bo Diddley, Soulhat, Cecil "P-nut" Daniels, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, the Gamble Brothers, Wes Jeans, Nay Rock (Erykah Baduh's sister), Dash Rip Rock, All-American Rejects, Dr. John and of course, LA Guns
The Sugar Free Allstars' discography includes four studio albums, three of which were recorded in part or whole at Bell Labs in Norman, Oklahoma. Bell Labs studio also claims recordings by the Starlight Mints, Mike Dillon (of Critter's Buggin' and Les Claypool's Frog Brigade) and the Flaming Lips. Music from Sugar Free Allstars' second and third studio releases, Dos Machos and Return of Dos Machos , has appeared in episodes of PBS' "Roadtrip Nation" and both albums have spent time on the Jambands.com top 30 radio charts. SFA's most recent release and first kid's album, Dos Ninos , has received favorable reviews by national children's music reviewers such as Warren Truitt of the New York Public Library, Stefan Shepherd of "Zooglobble", and Fred Koch of "Chicago Parent" magazine. The album has also made it into Fids and Kamily's top 15 "Best Music of 2007 for Kids and Families" awards list. The first song on the disc, "Bathtub Boy" , was in the XMKids' (XM radio channel 116) top 13 charts for thirteen weeks, peaking at #1 for two of them. The band's songs have also been featured on several community, college and internet stations in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Colorado, North Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan, Oregon, and down under in Australia.
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