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Eddie Reddick (of LA Boppers) (FON) |
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 Eddie Reddick was born in Louisiana. He was introduced to music at the
age of 7 by his father Ed Reddick Sr.
By the time he was 12 he’d become the bass player in his dad’s band,
“The Rhythm Gents”.
The Rhythm Gents, a five piece band consisting of bass, drums, guitar,
sax and vocals performed music ranging from Motown, to Rhythm And
Blues.
From artists like Sam Cook to Otis Redding to The Coasters to BB
King, The Temptations and so many others.
Eddie didn’t realize it then, but he was learning the essentials for
becoming a professional musician from his father on guitar,
his uncle [Warren Reddick] on drums and various saxophonists and lead
vocalists from the New Orleans area.
Even though he was only twelve, Eddie continued playing the small clubs
in the local area.
Three years later his father decided to move the family to California
where he felt there might be more musical opportunities for himself as
well as for Eddie.
At the age of fifteen, Eddie was somewhat skeptical and apprehensive
about going to a strange
place and leaving his friends and many relatives, aunts, uncles, and
cousins behind.
Long Beach California is where Eddie’s father migrated after contacting
a cousin {Percy Anderson} in Long Beach who had arranged and actually
secured a job at the Long Beach Naval Ship Yard for him. Six months
later his father sent for the family.
By the time Eddie, his mother and sister moved to California his dad
had already formed another band with some local musicians.
When Eddie arrived in Long Beach he continued playing in his father’s
band for another two years,
until one night about 10:00 {A Thursday Night} which happened to have
been a school night, there was a knock on the front door.
It was a friend frantically explaining there was a band in a popular
local night club who needed a bass player like right
now because the organ players’ bass keyboard had suddenly malfunctioned
after performing two songs.
Eddie requested permission from his mom and dad then grabbed his bass
guitar and his amplifier and loaded them into his friend’s car,
arriving about ten minutes later at a club by the name of Big Tates.
After setting up his equipment and briefly talking to the band leader
about the song list,
he sensed a big relief, realizing he knew practically every song on the
list because his father’s band had been performing most of the same
songs.
Even though he was only seventeen the band loved his mature style of
playing. That night Eddie landed a steady 3 night a week
gig with a fairly well known local group by the name of Jesse Johnson
And The Chocolate Fudge.
This was a 5 piece band consisting of keyboards, drums, guitar,
percussion and saxophone and now a bass player.
Even though all the other guys were in their mid to late twenties they
seemed to have trusted and
respected the new kid in the band. Eddie remained with the Fudge for
three years performing in places like
Vegas, Hawaii, and various clubs throughout the Los Angels area.
By this time he was barely twenty years old. The Fudge dismantled
around that same time due to the normal burn
out of playing the same circuit over and over again. Shortly there
after, Eddie formed another band with a group of excellent musicians
from
Long Beach who were closer to his age . The band went by the name of
“The Exciters Unlimited“, who later became “Above And Beyond.”
The band was stylized around the concept of Earth Wind And Fire.
Consisting of Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Guitar, two Horns and two lead
singers.
One of the lead singers doubled on the Congas while the other doubled
on the Timbales.
The energy of this 8 piece group was amazing as choreography became an
intricate part to every song they performed.
They became known for their tight musical sounds and their smooth
energetic dance steps as well as for their flashy dress attire.
The bands’ popularity soared very quickly as they found themselves
working very consistently in and around Orange County and the Los
Angeles area.
The band eventually hired a booking agency who contracted engagements
regularly in Canada and Japan.
However after four years without a record deal and hitting the same
circuit over and over again they
found themselves going through the common process known as the burnout
syndrome.
After some serious contemplation, Eddie decided to accept an offer from
an L.A. based group who was looking to replace their current bass
player.
This group was a three man one woman singing group by the name of Side
Effect who was currently enjoying a couple of top ten singles on the
R&B charts.
Side Effect retained a ten piece back up band who went by the name of
The LA Boppers.
Eddie ultimately gave his notice to ABOVE AND BEYOND and two months
later was on the road with Side Effect and The LA Boppers.
He found himself touring beside or opening up for bigger more well
known acts, such as The O’ Jays, Frankie Beverly And Maze,
The Ohio Players, Cameo, The Brothers Johnson, The Gap Band, Kool And
The Gang and so many of the old school artists.
Eddie received an enormous amount of exposure for his signature
thumping style while playing the bass exclusively with his thumb.
He became known as Ed Funky Thumbs Reddick a nick name which stuck with
him for a long time.
One year after joining Side Effect and The LA Boppers, Eddie found
himself signing his first record deal.
The LA Boppers had landed a record deal with Fantasy Records out of
Oakland California.
The deal was through Side Effects’ production company ‘AT Home
Productions.
’ Unfortunately the deal secured only one Album which received a
minimal amount of airplay.
Shortly thereafter the contract was bought out by Polygram Records. An
album was immediately recorded and released on the Polygram label.
The album rendered a top ten hit entitled, Is This The Best {Bop Do
Wah} The song received consistent airplay with regular rotation on many
stations.
Even though it appeared this song had become a moderate hit, there
still wasn’t enough funds generated to maintain ten hungry musicians.
In spite of the hit song the touring dates had slowed considerably at
that time. As a result of that situation,
the management team orchestrated a strategy to dismantle the band only
to reform and re-sign it a short while later with the same record
company.
Only now, instead of ten guys signing to the label there were only
four members.
Things still didn’t improve very much financially after their
orchestrated move.
Ultimately Eddie and a couple of the other guys in the band decided to
form a club band to maintain some financial stability
while waiting and hoping that the record might generate a promotional
tour and eventually propelling the record to hit status.
Unfortunately that big hit never happened, however, fortunately the
club band ended up earning money on a more consistent basis than the
recording band.
Another fortunate situation came into play for Eddie when Wayne
Henderson, the executive producer and the founder of At Home
Productions
had received a major deal to produce over a dozen acts based on his
track record and his huge success with writing hits with and for his
group The Jazz Crusaders.
Wayne contracted Eddie on many of these recordings which kept him busy
in the studio, recording bass tracks
for several acts including Bill Withers, Roy Ayers, Billy Cobham, Bobby
Lyle, Michael Narada Walden, Sergio Mendez, Ramsey Lewis, and many
other artists.
This lasted for at least a year, then things began to slow down a
bit. The LA Boppers had no tour dates scheduled and Side
Effect had not been touring at all for lack of hits. Gradually the
recording sessions became so sporadic
and far and in between, that Eddie decided to weigh some other options.
Eventually the calls stop coming and the realization sank in that
perhaps the steady work in the clubs would be the ticket for now.
The final option was to go full time with the club band which was more
financially consistent.
After loosing contact with the recording situation, he found himself
saying yes to more and more club gigs as opposed to the few recording
dates.
The club dates had ultimately out weighed the studio recording
sessions.
As it turned out that was indeed the way it would be for many years to
come, and the rest is history as they say.
In retrospect, Eddie has gained a wealth of information and experience
by coming in contact with so many talented musicians and entertainers.
He is forever thankful for being blessed with an opportunity of that
nature.
This CD is no doubt the result of the passion and appreciation that
has come from all of the years of first hand
experience gained from remaining in direct contact with live audiences.
As a result of staying directly and personally
connected to these audiences, Eddie has developed a natural feel for
what people enjoy and respond to on the deepest level of entertainment.
His intentions with this CD are to create that old school passion yet
maintain a new and fresh approach to enhance the creative process.
Eddie realizes on every level of entertainment people love to be shown
that they’re a part of and included in whatever
is taking place on stage or in the mind of the entertainer. As a matter
of fact including the audiences has become second nature and a
trademark for Eddie.
Whether it’s getting people to scat along with a simple melody or
simply having them to
raise the roof or just saying clearly in the microphone the name of an
individual in the audience.
Hopefully this CD will give the feeling of including the listener
and treating them as though they are in the presence of this dedicated
entertainer.
Each song except for Sunset and Thinking of You were created from a
basic groove starting with just a drum beat and a bass line.
Then the melodies were built around the grooves. In essence most of the
songs are basically jams.
These jams were designed to translate into funky grooves and pleasant
melodies to the listeners.
Giving a bit of old school feeling yet utilizing todays incredible
technology to enhance the basic quality of the music.
Check it out for youreself and feel the grooves of "All Basses Covered"
by Eddie Reddick.
More information:
Buy Embracing The Basix on CDBaby.com
Eddie Reddick's Official Site
Eddie Reddick on MySpace
Eddie Reddick on PayPlay.FM
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