Sunday 20 May
 
 

The Black Jack Gypsys — 3:1

Oklahoma City trio The Black Jack Gypsys doesn’t engage in any rock ’n’ roll posturing in its debut EP, 3:1. It’s the real deal.

05/16/2012 | Comments 0

Parker Millsap and Michael Rose — Palisade

Fledgling singer-songwriter and Purcell native Parker Millsap builds quite a foundation with stand-up bassist Michael Rose on their debut, Palisade. From the sounds of it, a monumental career is in the works.
05/09/2012 | Comments 0

Admirals — Admirals

With its self-titled debut EP, it’s not hard to see Stillwater rock outfit Admirals wears its influences on its sleeve.
05/02/2012 | Comments 0

JD McPherson — Signs & Signifiers

If anybody in Oklahoma is most likely to capitalize on wide-audience distribution right now, it must be Broken Arrow’s R&B-flavored rocker JD McPherson, whose debut album, Signs & Signifiers, was re-released last week by Rounder Records.
04/25/2012 | Comments 0

Double R — Dr. Digital

If I had to guess what field of medicine Moore-based rapper Double R (of Purple Mouth Bandits) had in mind for Dr. Digital, I’d have to go with psychiatry. Frankly, this album is pretty crazy.
04/04/2012 | Comments 0
Newsletter
Home · Articles · Music · Music · Color Me Badd reunited (and it...
Music
. . . . . .

Color Me Badd reunited (and it feels so good)


R&B group will play July 30 in OKC

Rob Collins June 15th, 2011

Color Me Badd is reforming with plans for new music and live performances after Oklahoma City’s 1990s-era R&B pop group that wanted to “Sex You Up” signed a new management deal earlier this month.

mark-bryanMark Calderon and Bryan Abrams

The reunited CMB consists of local Badd boy Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon and Kevin Thornton. Sam Watters, long dogged by Kenny G comparisons, declined the reunion.

CMB hit it big with “I Wanna Sex You Up” in 1991. Two more No. 1 singles followed, with the band releasing a triple-platinum debut album and nine Top 40 hits before disbanding in 1998.

The reformed trio signed June 8 with Wright Entertainment Group, whose owner, Johnny Wright, has managed *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and the Jonas Brothers.

“We actually were about to sign with him right after we got out of our Sony deal in 1998,” Calderon said. “With the group dismantling and raising families, we all kind of split apart. We all went our ways basically. That’s pretty much why we didn’t go with Johnny.”

Calderon, who lives in Cincinnati and is a look-alike of ex-Wham! singer George Michael, said he helped facilitate the signing of preteen performer Isaiah Pittman V — aka Ip5 — with the Orlando-based WEG and discussed a possible CMB reunion. Thornton, the Milli Vanilli doppelgänger, agreed to join.

“Kevin seemed like he wanted to get back into the groove of things,” he said. “We kind of all got back together. It was funny.”

CMB is headed to Orlando later this month to plan future recordings and live appearances. Then CMB will play five gigs with All-4-One of “I Swear” fame touring the South Pacific before an OKC show July 30 at Casablanca, 13801 Quail Pointe Drive.

“We’re really not trying to do it for nostalgia,” Abrams said. “We don’t want to just spend the next 10 years touring off of our old stuff. We really are planning on putting out a new record.”

COLOR CORRECTION
Abrams’ arrest record is well-known. Suffering from alcoholism and psychiatric issues, he entered long-term treatment out of state last September. Now out of rehab, he’s taking the ViSalus Sciences Body by Vi Challenge, a 90-day meal replacement and weight management program.

“The fact that we’re signed with WEG Entertainment is huge, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m half-assing it,” he said. “It’s a really healthy change for me."

Abrams said he’s not even drinking soda or caffeine.

Kevin Thornton

“God willing, we’ll be responsible and set a better example than we did the first time around,” he said. “It’s going awesome, man. To be honest with you, I don’t even think about it anymore. I don’t think about the addiction issue. … I’m just trying to focus on the group. There’s no room for error anymore. We’re all human, but we all hold each other’s future in our hands.”

Thornton, now working as a youth pastor in Fort Worth, Texas, is the trio’s spiritual leader.

“We’re just happy that he’s down with us,” Calderon said. “We’ve got a lot of big plans for the future. This time around, we want to do things a little bit differently, man. We want to give back a lot more than we did before. We love OKC. That’s our hometown, and we want to get more involved with the community.”

Fourth original member Watters is now a successful record producer married to former “American Idol” finalist Tamyra Gray.

“Sam’s doing a lot of big hits,” Calderon said. “He just had a new baby. The door’s always open for Sam to come back. That’s all up to him.”
 
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
 
 

 

 
06.15.2011 at 02:14 Reply

WHERE in OKC will they be performing on July 30th?????

 

06.15.2011 at 02:16 Reply

That's great!  Always a fan!

 

 
 
Close
Close
Close