2009 Best Local Non-Rock CD Release
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36.06% Unlikely Alibi,
Others with Votes (more than one):
Douglass Street, Watch It Cowboy
* On the ballot
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The guys from Unlikely Alibi know how to fill a stage. With six core members and at least four or five friends who rotate in and out, the only thing unlikely about this alibi is that they might someday be accused of keeping it down.
Unlikely Alibi -- Todd Roth on trumpet and vocals, Duane Alexander on drums, Jerome Schooley on guitar, Travis Fry on bass, Jake Wilhem and Curtis Shaw on backup vocals, Kris Miller on keys, Aaron King on trombone and Dan Cappelli on bari sax -- also know how to pack a bar, make one helluva CD and in general show people a good time. Case in point, the Whammys, where they brought the house down with rocking renditions of Roth-penned originals "Just Keep Doing It," "Dancin' on Coals" and "Everything My Way."
Whammy night was in a way representative of the kind of year Unlikely Alibi's been having, and by that we mean, busy. Not only did they take home awards for Best Funk/World Performer and Best Non-Rock CD Release for their first full-length record At the Ready, but the guys were double-booked, with a gig with their Brooklyn-based ska friends The Forthrights at the Brass Rail later in the evening.
That's just kind of how things have been going for Unlikely Alibi, who have regular as clockwork gigs at Columbia Street West, Bill's Mid City Grill and the Gin Mill. They're also looking forward to a spring tour with the Forthrights beginning April 2 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The tour will take them through the Midwest, up and down the East Coast, with a stop at Brunswick Studios in Brooklyn, as well as into the South, both deep and shallow.
Unlikely Alibi got their start four years ago when Roth returned from a stint in Florida with a head full of songs and a hankering for a new band. He started jamming with Alexander and former member, Tony Timms, and the trio brought in Schooley to round out their unique ska/reggae/smart pop sound. The lineup's gone through a few changes over the years, -- Schooley, for instance, took some time off to work it solo and to front CookiePuss -- years in which they racked up a Battle of the Bands victory and a Whammy for Best New Performer, but things are solid now, and Roth said as long as the fans keep coming out, Unlikely Alibi will be there too.
"Keep supporting us and we'll keep rocking," he said. (Deborah Kennedy) |
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