The Jackson 5 song “Dancing Machine” gave us the Robot. But it also inspired Nashville session musician Derek Wells to get a few friends together for a night of musical tributes, the success of which – much like Michael Jackson’s dance moves – has taken on a life of its own.
“It really all started last year. I was just like, you know, I want to play in a band with horns. I’ve never been been able to do it and I love that kind of music. I’m gonna do it.”
After being on the road with Josh Turner through the majority of his 20s, Wells – a guitarist – made the choice in 2011 to stay in town and do session work full-time. His parents are musicians, which gave him an inside look at the world portrayed in documentaries like “Muscle Shoals” and “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” and a desire to be a part of that environment.
“That stuff still happens here every day,” Wells says. “Session musicians are the secret service of the music industry. If you took the top 15-20 songs on the radio, I’m sure it’s less than 30 of us on all of it. It might even be a smaller number.”
Which brings us back to “Dancing Machine.” And desire.
“I’m at the point in my career when I play more music with headphones on than with headphones off almost never get to go out and just play with a band or play music that I have kinship with.”
So Wells got to work, recruiting friends (think: Abe Stoklasa, Kree Harrison, Lucie Silvas, Maren Morris, etc.), letting them pick songs, and charting those Motown-era hits – like his beloved “Dancing Machine” and Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” – himself.
Through the process, he learned a new appreciation for songs he already loved. “Listening through songs to learn them is a different set of ears than listening to enjoy them,” he says. “And it directly relates to what I do as a recording musician. I’m dissecting these recordings and how they did it.”
To bring the night to life, he turned to a friend (Mike “Grimey” Grimes) who had a new venue (Basement East) with a big stage. Grimey offered a Tuesday night slot. “I was like, I don’t care when you do it. It could be Monday afternoon, I just want to do it,” Wells says. He paid the horn guys out of his own pocket in an effort to keep ticket prices low. And on a July night, under the name Soulfinger, Derek Wells and friends shared the Music of Motown, Stax and Muscle Shoals with a sold-out crowd.
Before 2015 came to a close, Wells found himself back on stage at the Basement East with his Soulfinger comrades, this time paying tribute to Fleetwood Mac. Giving singers like Emily West the chance to belt out “Edge of Seventeen” to another sold-out crowd.
Wells says his original plan was to play the band’s Rumours album cover-to-cover, but he decided to expand the available song choices to include the band’s entire catalog: “I didn’t want to limit them much. Didn’t want anyone to do the favor begrudgingly or think ‘I can’t even do a song I love.’”
Wells says the events tap into the reason he and his friends started playing music. “You were in some room by yourself and it was just the feeling of doing it. Solely for your own enjoyment. No reaction. No immediate gratification other than from yourself and I think that’s part of the reason we’ve got lucky with people wanting to be a part of these shows because it kind of gets you back to that feeling. Before you could play or write or whatever you had songs that gave you that feeling. For me that’s where it started, and that’s still what I ultimately want it to be about.”
The shows’ success came as a surprise to Wells who insists he was doing it selfishly for fun. He now acknowledges the way the series has hit a chord for not only the singers, but fans as well. After the soul night show, the group Young Entertainment Professionals – or YEP – approached him to collaborate on a series of nights featuring cover songs from different eras sang by people from around town.
And while he’s pitching in to help those events, he says he’s not interested in branding the Soulfinger shows or leaving his career behind. “I’m doing these to get away and have fun and remember what it’s like to play with a band and eat it up,” he says. “As much as it is a breath of fresh air from my business, my day-to-day, I’d miss my job.”
“When this all started there was no intention of it becoming a thing. I was going to do Soul night and that was going to be the end of it.” And then both shows sold out. So now the new plan is to do them again. Later this year. Exactly like the first time. Same singers. Same songs.
In the meantime, the YEP Rewinds shows continue. Derek Wells and (a different group of) friends will take the Basement East stage February 16th to cover 80’s rock. And he’s promised a few surprises. Tickets are $7 and can be found on Ticketweb.