By Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News
BATTLE CREEK — Allie Garland might pick up a saxophone, sit at a piano, grab a guitar or step behind the drums. With Awesome Sauce, even the band does not always know exactly where the next song will take them.
“I think we do … the first couple songs that are pretty familiar to us, and then after that, it’s fair game,” Garland said.
That unpredictability has become part of the identity of the Battle Creek-based group, which blends rock, jazz, funk, R&B and pop into performances shaped as much by audience energy as preparation. If a crowd is not responding to one genre, Garland said, the band shifts directions.
Awesome Sauce’s current lineup includes Garland, bassist Ronnie “Coach” Parker, guitarist Steven Opp, vocalist Danita Ray and drummer Sean Gibson. Several members connected through local blues jams at the Bohm Theatre in Albion and open mic and karaoke nights around Battle Creek and Kalamazoo.
Garland has been performing publicly since she was 13. She started on saxophone at 11 before adding piano, guitar, bass, drums and other instruments. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance and marketing from Albion College and recently completed a master’s degree in jazz studies performance at Western Illinois University.
Though Garland fronts the group, she emphasized the collaborative nature of the band and the musicians’ ability to improvise together on stage.
“I don’t count anybody who’s a weak link in this band, because this band is really good at doing stuff on the spot as well,” Garland said.
Opp described the group as a collection of “musical mutants,” pointing to the members’ varied backgrounds and ability to move between genres during performances.
Parker, who coached football at Albion College for more than 24 years before retiring from coaching, calls himself “the guardian of the groove.” He said the band’s chemistry works because the musicians trust one another and leave room for spontaneity.
“Everybody leaves the ego at home,” Parker said.
Ray joined the group after Garland heard her sing karaoke at a bar in Springfield and invited her to add harmonies. Ray, who describes herself as a support singer, said she was already a fan of Garland before joining Awesome Sauce.
“I shake a mean tambourine,” Ray said.
Though the members balance music alongside day jobs, church performances and other responsibilities, Garland said performing remains central to her identity.
“It’s what I’m known for, that’s what I do, that’s just what I’ve always done,” Garland said. “It’s what I’m comfortable with. I feel like that’s my identity.”
How to hear them
Allie Garland and Awesome Sauce will perform in the first semifinal round of Battle Creek Battle of the Bands from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 15 at New Holland Brewing alongside Bombshell and Barefoot Blonde.
How we reported this
This report was written following a group interview with members of Allie Garland and Awesome Sauce, as well as background research from prior coverage in the Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek Shopper and Albion Pleiad
.
Photos courtesy of Allie Garland
