Tribute show group Shake Rattle & Roll will perform Oct. 9 at the Esquire Theatre in Carthage.
Comprised of band leader Tavie Spivey, her sister LeAnn Bemis, avowed funny girl Brenda Spencer and relative newcomer Debi Comis, the band is on a mission to bring the fun of the ’50s and ’60s to both those who were there and those who came after.
These internationally known, award-winning ladies will quickly have the audience dancing and laughing and loving the music of an era gone by.
“It’s a real family show,” Bemis said. “People bring their kids and grandkids to the show. We cater to those people.”
Achieving the level of success the band enjoys did not happen by magic.
Spivey was freshly retired from 27 years in the Army and had always wanted to have an all-female show group. She started singing when she was 15 and quickly discovered she could make more money singing on weekends than she could in a whole week at work.
Spivey’s husband, Tom, was getting ready to call it a day as well and entertainment was needed for his retirement party.
Bemis recalls the event.
“They wanted her to bring entertainment for the show and it ended up being just me and her. We didn’t have a group so we had to put a group together. It went well and the phone started ringing.”
The group has been together for 16 years now and although Spivey admits it was a bit difficult to find the perfect blend of harmonies and personalities for the show, she says “things are trucking, comin’ back and we’ve got a lot of people interested.”
Spivey said, “… it’s not all just women’s songs.”
Some of the stars that they pay tribute to include Roy Orbison, the Four Seasons and Elvis.
“We do everything from ‘Lollipop’ to ‘Little Darlin,'” she said. “A big draw on our show is that we get the audience involved with us. We do singalongs and we’ve got some gals who love to work the harmonies.”
Bemis said, “We’re there to have fun and love entertaining other people to make sure they have fun. Our show isn’t just singing … we have choreography, jokes, we go out into the audience; we try to get everyone involved. It really is an interactive show.”
All four members of the group used to sing gospel and that love of music and harmony shines through whenever they perform.
While some of the support from their husbands is more of the cheering from backstage kind, Spivey’s husband, Tom, is actually their sound engineer and Bemis’ husband, Doug, handles their merchandise sales, photography and security.
“So many of the fans follow us from show to show,” Bemis said. “They’re almost like friends, they call out from the audience and say, ‘we’re here, we’re here!’ We’ve (also) become friends with the bands and other entertainers we work with.”
In addition to the satisfaction of winning awards (including a recording contract at a doo-wop contest in Las Vegas and “Vocal Group of the Year” by Valley Star Awards), it’s the love of the music that keeps the group working hard to continue to hone their skills and bring their show to as many fans as possible.
Bemis says, “We’re excited about coming to Carthage. We haven’t entertained there before.”
She added, “I think my favorite thing is the friendship that the four ladies and I have together and we love entertaining other people. We’ve been together so long it’s almost like we’re sisters.”