Kevin L. Staley
Age: 32
HOMETOWN: Wagener
OCCUPATIONAL: CEO, Staleys Music Solutions; minister of music, Gospel Water Branch Baptist Church
MEMBER OF: Modern Jazz Movement, since 2009. "We do mostly original music and a few covers."
PLAYS: Piano, keyboard and percussion
FAVORITE CONCERT ATTENDED: Take 6, Bell Auditorium, 2010. "I just love their style and the way they can just blend the genres so easily. It's just awesome."
FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: Playing with Bryan McKnight, Township Auditorium, Columbia, 2000. "At the time, Bryan McKnight was really one of my heroes. ... He's one of the greatest songwriters in the game right now."
FAVORITE MODERN JAZZ COLLECTIVE SHOW: Club Hush, Columbia, 2009. "It was actually our first performance together. ...The fan support was just so awesome, from everybody knowing us from previous bands that we played with and everything."
FAVORITE BOOKS: Myles Munroe's In Pursuit of Purpose, the Bible and Russell Simmons' Do You!
WORST SHOW: Youth jam at a church in Orangeburg, S.C., 2003. "I didn't know what kind of keyboard they were going to have there. And they had a (Yamaha) Motif, but the stand was so suspect. It was a little small Motif 6. The stand just collapsed in the middle of the song."
FAVORITE ALBUMS: Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage; Israel and New Breed, Alive in South Africa; Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
FAVORITE FOOD: "My wife's lamb chops."
MUSICAL ROOTS: "Started on keyboard when I was age 6. I switched to drums, playing in church and things of that nature. All through school, marching band, I played trombone, saxophone and every percussion instrument, including orchestral percussion instruments. I did my formal studies, majoring in music, at Benedict College, with a concentration in percussion. I did some touring; I've toured with everybody from Alicia Keys to Yolanda Adams. Now I'm back here in Augusta. ... I'll be going back to school at Augusta State finishing up my degree next semester."
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