special to pop

The Performing Arts Studio is pleased to bring Kane, Welch, Kaplin back to the Summer Breeze stage May 18. Music begins at 7:30 p.m. in Lions Park at the corner of South Flood Avenue and Symmes Street. Summer Breeze Concerts are free and open to one and all. Bring your own seating and refreshments and enjoy an evening of outstanding, family friendly, entertainment.

Those who attended the almost rained out concert last summer will testify to the outstanding musical experience Kane, Welch, Kaplin provided. "It was magical." says Summer Breeze Chair Steven White. "They moved into the gazebo and played the entire show with the audience, who had braved the sprinkles, clustered around, spellbound."

In 2004, Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin, well known artists in their own right, joined Oklahoma native son Kevin Welch and began recording as a band. Their first two albums reached number one on the Americana charts.?

Kevin Welch grew up in Oklahoma where he played in the popular regional band Blue?Rose Cafe. He moved to Nashville in the late 1970's and became a songwriter for Tree International. His songs were recorded by numerous top artists including Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, The Judds, Reba McIntire, Charlie Pride, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty and Trisha Yearwood. Welch also developed a highly successful solo career.?

To the considerable talent of Kevin Welch, add the distinct songwriting flavor of Kieran Kane and refreshingly unscripted instrumentation with Fats Kaplin's playing of multiple instruments, unite it all with the fluid, rhythmic pulse of Lucas Kane's spare drumming, and you have the unique sound of Kane, Welch -- Kaplin.

The band recorded "You Can't Save Everybody" in 2004 and "Lost James Dean" in 2006 (resulting in a nomination for duo/group of the year by the Americana Music Association.) Drummer Lucas Kane joined on the latest release, Kane, Welch, Kaplin in 2007, and the groove and intimacy found in the earlier releases continued.

The album title, "Kane, Welch, Kaplin" is an assertion of band cohesion, says Welch. "We want people to finally understand that we are a band, not just three solo artists playing for the hell if it."?

Intuition and groove are a big part of what holds the sound together, both on stage and in the studio, with the group's invigorating, live, seat-of-the-pants approach to recording. It is not unlike the vibrant, freewheeling precision of jazz improvisation. "There's kind of a simpatico, almost telepathic way that we can play together that's unlike anything else," Kaplin observes.?

Moving between electric, steel and acoustic guitar, fiddle and electric sitar, Kaplin adds perfectly placed kinetic color and melodic counterpoint. "Fats is the other us," marvels Welch. "We throw out musical suggestions as we're playing, kind of like clearing your throat or raising an eyebrow. There are little nuance-y conversations going on. Fats is probably the only guy that we could have added to that mix without it interrupting that."?

Lucas Kane eased effortlessly into the role of the group's unobtrusive yet unfailing heartbeat, using only a minimal setup (floor tom, hi-hat and cymbal). "A typical drum kit seems like overkill when one can get so much out of so little," he says. "What Lucas does is so subtle and yet so incredibly musical and rhythmic," his father (the elder Kane) comments. "He gets a phenomenal amount of energy out of one note. The fact, oddly enough, is that we added another person but there's actually less going on. He's the drummer I've been looking for all my life, really."

Summer Breeze concerts are produced by The Performing Arts Studio and made possible, in part, by grants from the Norman Arts Council, the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Sponsors include Michael Miller, Caring Pediatrics, Gingerbread Nursery School, and the Norman Smile Center. Contributors include Avanti Skin Care, Fowler Mitsubishi and Republic Bank and Trust. Friends are Ed -- Sumya Adwon, American First Abstract, T. J. Campbell Construction Co., Cardinal Engineering, The Earth Natural Foods, David Fries Roofing, MDS Plumbing, Modern Wealth Management, Hal Smith Restaurant Group, and the Zoo Amphitheater. Neighbors are The Montford Inn, Residence Inn of Norman, Norman Parks and Recreation, Gilliam Music, The University of Oklahoma and Norman Copy -- Printing.

For additional information on this and other PAS programs, visit www.thepas.org or call 307-9320.