Local Spins on WYCE traveled to Grand Haven to chat with the veteran bandleader as well as Third Coast Recording founder Bill Chrysler while also debuting new tracks by Michigan artists.
Raised in Tennessee and Muskegon: Carl Webb (Photo/Local Spins)
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Growing up in Tennessee, Carlton Webb had plenty of family inspiration when it came to playing music.
His mother, Otera, and his aunts performed gospel and country music on the radio station in Camden, Tenn., every Sunday as The Stepp Sisters, and his mom taught him how to play guitar at age 13.
Webb, based in Muskegon, still considers his mother his biggest musical influence, followed by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Buck Owens, Santana, B.B. King and Elvis Presley.
Playing a Mix of Originals and Covers: Carl Webb Band (Courtesy Photo)
“I can’t do a song without it sounding with a bit of a Southern tinge because of my upbringing,” said the singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
Formed 23 years ago, West Michigan’s Carl Webb Band – Webb, bassist Tom Hull, drummer Bill DeMarse and saxophonist/flautist Dan Giacobassi – regularly regales West Michigan audiences with a mix of originals and covers. Guitarist Greg Miller occasionally sits in with the band as well.
Check out a video of the band with Miller as special guest performing recently at Grand Haven’s Bolt Park as part of WAWL Sounds of Summer Series.
VIDEO: The Carl Webb Band, “She Came Out of Nowhere”
Live at Bolt Park, Grand Haven
“I would say the style of my music is Americana – a mixture of country, rock, folk, Latin and blues,” Webb said. “We do covers because people want to hear those, too. I mix in my own songs and they are accepted better that way.”
With four releases of original music and another recording on the way, Webb’s songs are weaved into live sets featuring the music of Dylan, The Beatles, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Chris Stapleton, Adele, Post Malone and more.
A graduate of Mona Shores High School who also attended Muskegon Community College and Baker College, Webb, 72, said The Beatles first inspired him to start a group as a teen.
Lots of Outdoor Summer Shows: The band at Bolt Park. (Photo/Local Spins)
“Everybody had to have a band” after hearing The Beatles, he recalled.
Performing as a duo or with a full band, Webb has a packed schedule of July and August performances ahead, including The 18th Amendment in Muskegon at 7 p.m. tonight (July 21), The Deck in Muskegon on Saturday (July 22), Fruitport for the “Dancing into the Sunset” series on July 27, the Grand Haven Eagles on July 28 and Hops 84 East in Holland on July 29 and Aug. 4.
View more upcoming dates here.
This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE featured two tracks by the Carl Webb Band – the group’s most recent single, “Pere Marquette,” inspired by Muskegon and “You’re to Blame,” from the 2022 album, “New Beginnings.”
The show — which spotlights music by Michigan artists at 11 a.m. Fridays at WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org — also aired new music by Cal in Red, Lost Magic, FINKEL, Strange Heart, Earth Radio, Daves at 7, Bradley Sinclair, Trifocal and Fire in the Attic. The podcast also includes an interview with Third Coast Recording Studio founder Bill Chrysler. Listen to the full radio show podcast here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (7/21/23)
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