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Smooth grooves, timeless tunes: Mellow Madness captivates
- Details
- Tuesday, 04 March 2025
- Written by Amber Little
Music is a universal language that has existed since the beginning of time. The oldest form of communication and storytelling, it has been a vessel for love, unity, revolution and change. Every decade brings its own sound and voice and builds on the foundations laid by the artist before. The mark of truly good music is its ability to transcend time and remain timeless and classic. R&B is one such genre, spanning from its crooning soul beginnings in the '50s and '60s to the sultry sounds of today, it has stood the test of time and can get a crowd off their feet at the first note.
For those who grew up in the '70s and '80s, there was no other genre of music more saturated with talented songwriters, artists and bands.
Mellow Madness is Fayetteville’s premier Classic R&B cover band. They cover all the favorites from the '70s, '80s and some '90s. They focus mainly on “old school” music, like Earth, Wind & Fire, Tina Marie and Anita Baker.
Originally founded in 1979, co-founder Reggie Wright has kept the spirit of the band alive, with its new lineup of members including Calvin Thomas also known as Eddie Kane Jr. (stage named after the Five Heartbeats legend) and Rosette Sands also known as Mahogany Rose.
The band in its new form has been making a name for themselves, booking events around the city and the state, bringing the funk and live tunes to eager audiences.
The current iteration of Mellow Madness is made up of 7 members: Leondra on bass, Mickey on saxophone, Anthony on keyboard, Lee on drums, Reggie on guitar. Thomas and Sands lead the band with their voices. Sands is the newest member of the group, a powerful vocalist, with a tone similar to those she emulates.
She has been the perfect addition to the once all male band. Her tenure with the band started when she was slated to sing with the band for a reunion hosted by Reggie Wright. A previous engagement with recording artist Gregory Smith kept her from being able to perform, but her undeniable chemistry with the band and her extraordinary talent cemented her place as the newest addition to the band, bringing femininity that the once all male band had previously lacked.
“We decided we were going to continue to practice and work on the band and just make a name for Mellow Madness,” Sands said.
A school teacher by day, Sands has found her sweet spot on the stage, performing some of her favorite music of her youth saying, “When I’m performing, I just turn into something I always wanted to be. I feel like a star. I feel like that’s my moment and I’ve always been very shy. I just transform into someone totally different when I’m on stage. I love music. I’m mad at myself for taking this long to actually be a part of a band, but I just love singing. I didn’t start singing publicly until 2007.”
Although her entry into the music scene was later in life, she has always been surrounded by music.
“My dad always had a band. The name of my dad’s band was The Soul Serenators. My grandpa was part of a Gospel band. My dad played behind the Manhattans. His nickname was GuitarZan,” Sands explained.
Thomas has been singing his whole life, jokingly saying “I probably came out my mother's womb singing,” and has been the lead vocals since the band's reincarnation by Wright. While Sands was originally slated to lead the band for the reunion organized by Wright, she reached out to Thomas when she realized she wouldn’t be able to make the gig. Thomas, a seasoned performer, was ready to step in and put on a show and has been rocking with the band ever since.
“I think at the second rehearsal, I was like, this is pretty cool. I’ve never been in a band before. I’ve been in groups before, but never a band. I said, guys, for future reference, after this is over with, the gig we’re going to do. If you need me for anything, just let me know and I’ll be more than glad to step in.
"They all looked at me and they started laughing. I didn’t know why they were laughing. And they [said] I don’t think you understand; we don’t want you to go anywhere. We want you here with us, we want you to stay with us, because we’re going to keep this thing going, so I [said] you ain’t got to tell me twice. [When I perform] I get to moving around in this chair and sometimes I start feeling it and sometimes I think I’m feeling my legs in this chair. Ready to get up out the chair.”
Mellow Madness is looking to make its mark in Fayetteville.
“We do these performances because we need to bring the grown and sexy to this town, places where people can go and feel comfortable and know that they’re just going to be around mature adults. That’s what Mellow Madness is bringing. We want people to reminisce. We want people to think of their childhood and where they may have been in the 80s and 90s. We’re trying to have somewhere where people can go and look for us to bring the grown and sexy. That’s our goal,” Thomas said.
The band is currently looking to set up residency here in the city with a local business that would like to bring “the baddest band in Fayetteville” to their stage and their customers.
For more information on upcoming performances, booking Mellow Madness or to inquire about residency, you can reach out via their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569021382478
(Photo courtesy of Mellow Madness)
