In Oregon City
The Party Angels captivate audience at Hing’s
The Party Angels are a four-piece, plus vocalist, variety band. Together for almost two years, the band features a lead guitarist, drummer, bass player and a combo keyboardist and rhythm guitarist, along with a very pretty and captivating front vocalist. The band focuses musically on a variety of pop, classic rock, a bit of country, some ‘80s and current hits. Each member has a long history of playing experience to draw on and incorporate into their craft.
The Party Angels are: Front person and vocalist Linda Phillips; lead guitarist Larry Laatz; bass player Kurt Bevers; drummer Stanny Nidbalski; and keyboard/guitarist Dave Miles.
The Party Angels (Photo by Kurt "Swingcat" Johnson)
All of them do both back-up singing and some also do lead vocals. The band is very much a vocal band with frequent harmonies and choruses.
Vocalist Phillips has sung professionally since she was 17, primarily backgrounds on the club circuit. She sings a variety of different music and explains, "I like to create a warmth for the crowd. I like to really have the energy. But I love to sing ballads as well. I've found the most important thing is to please the crowd. I consider myself to be an entertainer before a singer."
Lead guitarist Laatz has played for over 42 years. His preference is rock music. He comments, "I see myself as a catalyst on stage. Everybody in the band has a personality that is fantastic, as that translates to an interesting ensemble onstage. I bring energy. My style is a little more aggressive and definitely designed to open eyes. The results are eye catching. The one thing we all have in common is equal proficiency. There's no weak link. There's great respect and talent. I think what makes a good band is five individual people accomplishing the same thing. Be prepared to be entertained."
Drummer Nidbalski has played with the band since its inception. He adds, “Since I've been playing with Kurt before in Nobody's Bizness, we formed a very good bass player and drummer bond. I got the opportunity to play with Kurt in a new band and jumped at the opportunity. Not only do we respect each other as musicians, I also have great respect for him as a person. I don't have to tell Kurt ‘let's do something.’ I just look at him and know something's going to happen. We know each other so well. And my style is, less is more.”
On keys and guitar is Miles. He's played since he was 17, first as a pianist and then keys. He says, "What I do is get whatever's missing such as horns, violins...I try to fill in the gaps to try to make it like original songs. I like to solo on my different instruments, so I have to think like a violinist. One thing I've been known for is slide guitar. I've found a niche playing slide parts.”
Bass player Bevers is also band leader, along with Phillips. He talks about the band's inception; "Linda and a friend named Bob Stull and I founded the band and immediately brought Stanny in. We spent a lot of time looking for players and Bob's name kept coming up. We brought Dave in to see how it felt. We rehearsed and it felt right and that became the unit. Our main focus is playing corporate parties, wedding receptions and special events. Our plan is to have a strong philosophy of promotion with our website: www.thepartyangels.com. The main thing for us is that we play a wide variety of music. The basic thing is we really strive to play this stuff as accurately as possible as that's what people expect. I'd love to invite people and what I think they will find is this is the most vocally-oriented band in town.”
When it all comes together there are strong, clear and smooth vocal harmonies, while Phillips commands the stage and takes control of the crowd with her showmanship. The bassline is solid and tight with crisp and concise drumming and rhythm keeping it the pocket. Topping it all is sizzling, sharp guitar licks with sweet and sultry tones from the keyboards. It all locks the listener in and gets them up on dance floor into the groove. On a final note, the band intends a name change to Secrets in the near future. (See listings for Hing’s and ad this issue.)