The Paul Elisha Band hopes dads visiting the rolling hills of Athens this weekend will hear of its Marvin Gaye-themed show through the grapevine.
Hit songs will resonate from The Union’s speakers Friday to celebrate the soulful stylings of the R&B legend.
“We are playing all the big hits,” said Paul Elisha, lead vocalist and piano player. “I try to make it seem like it’s not just karaoke.”
Marvin Gaye, dubbed the Prince of Soul, is known for hits such as “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Let’s Get It On,” “Sexual Healing” and “What’s Going On.”
Throughout his career, Gaye’s music passed through several phases: Motown, soul and R&B, protest and sexual. Elisha plans on focusing on the soul and R&B period of his music, with big hits from other phases.
“Marvin Gaye was one of the first artists I listened to,” said Jack Gould, the band’s saxophonist and manager.
The band will have help from a multitude of musicians — Emerson B. of Dysfunktional Family, Mark ”Mavis” Meredith of Elemental Groove Theory, Zach Pontzer of Sasafraz, The First Street Heat and more — but they may not all practice together before the show, Elisha said.
“It’s a production, but we’ve worked with a lot of them before,” he said.
New rap lyrics will be added to some of Gaye’s most famous protest songs to keep them relevant.
“These songs were powerful, and they still are today,” Elisha said, referring to Gaye’s protest era. “It still applies to urban problems and issues.”
Although a Marvin Gaye-themed show is new for the band, Friday is not its first experience with artist-inspired shows.
Last year, the group performed a night of Michael Jackson songs, and a few of those might show up Friday night.
“We wanted to do the theme shows to spice it up and get people to come out every week,” Gould said.
Gould added that they are trying to do the music justice by getting all the instrumentals right, which is why it requires so many guest acts.
Three hours of belting Marvin Gaye can be taxing; Elisha said the show ends whenever his voice gives out.
wh092010@ohiou.edu
