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Way Overdue Productions and Publishing

 

About Us

Text Box: HISTORY of GERALD KENT and WAY OVERDUE PRODUCTIONS My early memories of hearing my mother play Chopin waltzes on the piano are clear as yesterday. In 1959 I took my first lessons, with my brother Mark (who has since gone on as an artist in his own right). I was exposed to listening, day in and out, to every imaginable style of music; my dad was a bandleader before he was called to duty in World War II. A teacher in an Autauga County Alabama middle school exposed me to the bass fiddle (hey, I wanted the guitar!). Sad I can’t remember his name…much thanks are due him. February 1966, I received a Sears Silvertone $10.99 model plywood folk guitar (yes, you could drop it from the top of the Sears tower, it would have probably bounced). I played my first dance in 1967 ($5.00 per band member!) with a Crestwood 335 and a young drummer, Bill Prainito. (His family, whose house we filled with the joyous sounds of covers of the Blues Magoos, was not impressed.) You still with us, Bill? Hey! I got a link to bassist George Kerby’s website with a photo of this historic event! http://www.gkerby.com/fourthflight.html 1968 came and connected me with some high school buddies (Tim? Dennis?) (the Kaper) and we actually landed a $50.00 job opening up for the Iron Butterfly at the world renowned Grande Ballroom in Detroit. (We were not quite ready for this venue. The audience was expectedly not thoroughly impressed. Anyhow, what a blast!) The next few years I tried to figure out the business by myself; after all, I was 17 and knew everything. Seemed, though, I was always a year or so behind my Detroit guitar peers; you could say I was Standing in the Suburbs of Motown. (Not even I was impressed.) About this time I met a young Jim Hunter (now of Cazador Music in Los Angeles; www.jimmyhunter.com) who could play Buddy Rich drums as a teen (We attended the same high school; he pursued band classes and I pursued other stuff, not worthy of mention). I also met Ron DiPalma (a keyboard harmony and music history wizard) and Dan Schafer, (now in the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame, 2003; he played with George Jones and Shania Twain), who taught me, respectively, the standards and modes, and changed my playing forever. (Now you know who to blame). A drummer from Statesboro, GA, “Bud” Hodges, introduced me to the virtues of musical simplicity, about 1971. I left for my first road tour at this time, with some Southern rock talent, “Nickels and Dimes”, out of Atlanta. Are you still with us, Bud? I returned to Detroit 1972, and joined Jimmy Hunter to accompany pianist and vocalist Tom Powers in Pontiac, MI. Quite gifted, Tom. I believe he plays in Phoenix at this time. Several bands and gigs later, I met Trenita Womack (now with the Funk Brothers), Belita Woods (now with P-Funk and George Clinton), Charles Overton (then the circular breathing King of Detroit) and Delbert Nelson (also with the Funk Brothers). I joined Brainstorm, a soul-brass band with loads of talent. (E.L. Johnson was an extraordinary bassist, Jeryl Bright a brilliant young trombonist.) (Can’t forget William Wooten, who could play “Summer Madness”, all parts, no accompaniment). The first release was my composition, “Wake Up and Be Somebody”, and the third, also mine, “On Our Way Home.” I have a BMI check for $13.50 for 2005 royalties, from overseas somewhere. (And 14 or so on-line sales.) Also, the radio still plays “This Must Be Heaven”, a ballad never released as a single; it certainly should have been. Although the experience was valuable, I found it necessary to find work outside music. (I guess I liked hearing “Your loan has been granted”). Anyhow, my association with Delbert has given me time to work with the IDMR Detroit choir. This has been the most fruitful of my music experiences, for every reason. My sister Cecilia once spoke of revisiting one’s dreams. As an “empty nest-er”, I desired to do something with my art while still able. I got some sage advice from old friend Jim Hunter, and I had my nephew Thomas (age 16 at the time) assemble a custom Windows set. Learning the system was not too hard (but time consuming); hey, computers have pictures! Icons! Point, click! (no more DOS commands!) Viruses! Lost data! Eight tracks later I have my first package prepared for your ears. It’s a hybrid of virtual and real-time audio; if it brings you a little joy in this world where less and less is available daily, I have succeeded. So! Forgive me if I’m just a little “overdue”; I’ll pay the fine.