There are musicians who can play two-hour sets night after night and others who get burnt out on the road after a two-month tour.
Alan Gorrie is among the former road warriors. He says music is in his blood.
“It’s the only life I know,” the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist said. “I chose this life early on and was very fortunate to have a success in doing it.”
The soul and funk group known as Average White Band is this year’s headlining act at the annual Northwest Ohio Music Festival on Saturday at International Park in downtown Toledo.
For more than 40 years, Average White Band has been recognized as one of the best soul and funk acts in the world. Though it has had lineup changes, the band maintains founding musicians Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre, guitarist and vocalist respectively. The seven-member band found its big break with its song “Pick Up The Pieces” in 1974.
The band saw more success in the years that followed, such as gold-selling albums and multiple Grammy nominations, as well as other hit singles like “Cut The Cake” and “Let’s Go Round Again.”
After years of touring and writing material, Gorrie said there’s a one-word method his band mates keep in mind to stay focused: “KISS” — Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Of course, he said the enjoyment of still playing concerts today is also attributed to his many years of experience in traveling, something the band “has down to a science.”
But there’s nothing like receiving positive feedback from the audience after rocking an hour and a half set list, he said.
“That’s the drug that keeps everyone of us going,” Gorrie said. “You can’t replace that. There’s no buzz in the world like it in getting the feedback from the audience to what you do. That’s the lifeblood that keeps you going. All the rest of it is hard work, but you just roll up your sleeves and tackle it.”
This weekend won’t be the first time the band has made it to Toledo.
The group has performed at Fifth Third Field stadium and was scheduled to perform at the music festival a few years ago but was derailed because of a rain storm.
Shelley Crossley, marketing and events coordinator for Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, said the organization decided to bring the funk band back this year to fulfill what was missed a few years back.
“It’s a great way to showcase a different genre of music,” she said of the festival, which benefits the Food Bank. “There’s enough time for people to enjoy being downtown and relaxing down by the river.”
She said last year the nonprofit organization’s year-long efforts raised $8.5 million toward meals that were distributed throughout Defiance, Wood, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Fulton, and Williams counties.
“That’s a lot of meals throughout northwest Ohio,” Crossley said.
Throughout the conversation with Gorrie, he talked about how he’s seen music itself change throughout his career, specifically the consumer listening to music for free, and his view of the blues genre’s mentality in “shaking off the shackles of every day hardship.”
He references Average White Band’s recent single, “Harvest For The World,” and cites the line, “half of us are satisfied, half of us in need.” The song addresses inequality, peace, and hunger, which he said is a concrete reason to perform at the music festival. He and his band mates want to raise money and awareness for those in need.
“It’s a timely thing and encapsulates what we’re all about,” he said. “We keep that spirit and message when performing.”
The music festival runs from 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m and food trucks, beer, wine and Pepsi products will be available. Tickets cost $20 and can be purchased at toledofoodbank.org or at 23 E. Woodruff Ave. between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday. Tickets will also be available the day of the show at the entrance for $25 and parking is free.
Special guests include rhythm and blues singer and songwriter Tinsley Ellis and cover band the New Fashioned.
Contact Geoff Burns at: gburns@theblade.com or 419-724-6054.
First Published June 23, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
