The Stone
City Band is considered by many of their peers as being one of the Greatest Live Performing Funk/Rock Bands of all time! To experience the Band live in concert was like an adrenaline rush of pure unabashed raw energy.
The Stone City Band is back and ready to Fire up the Funk again! For more than 3 decades this legendary Band has provided the sound that's been heard on recordings by Rick James, Teena Marie, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, The Mary Jane Girls, Eddie Murphy, and Hammer just to name a few. Their music can be heard on countless samplings by many of today's Hip Hop artists. On any given day you can watch a commercial, movie or TV program and you'll hear the distinct signature sound of the Stone City Band with its pulsating bass lines and irresistible rhythms. Formed in 1978 by Punk Funk King Rick James, the Stone City Band served as Rick's recording and touring band from the beginning and through the height of his career. They were responsible for cranking out timeless hits such as "YOU AND I," "MARY JANE," "BUSTIN' OUT," "LOVE GUN," "FIRE IT UP," "GIVE IT TO ME BABY," "GHETTO LIFE," "FIRE AND DESIRE," "STANDING ON THE TOP," "SUPER FREAK" and more! They have performed on numerous prime time TV shows such as the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Saturday Night Live, Dick Clark New Years Eve Show, and many more. They recorded three albums for the Motown label during the 80's. In n Out, was their first album then came The Boys Are Back and finally Out From The Shadows. The Stone City Band also provided vocals and performed on projects by other Motown artists during the early to mid eighties.
In 1981 Rick James and the Stone City Band were on top of the entertainment world. Achieving incredible success with the Multi-Platinum Street Songs album. They were receiving the highest accolades, winning awards and breaking attendance records playing to sold-out stadiums and arenas across the country and Europe. However, at the beginning of 1983, the time was right to get away from show business, and its grueling and rigorous pace. Over the next 10 years band members would leave one by one for personal and professional reasons. Like an exodus the Original Stone City Band would be erased from the contemporary music landscape. With many new band members interchanging with newer members the sound would understandably change immensely. Rick James would never again capture the heart and sound as he did with Oscar on bass, Lanise on drums, Levi on synthesizer, Nate on percussion, Billy and Erskine on keyboards. With the original Buffalo contingent gone from the glory days, that distinct sound would become a thing of the past.
In the year 2004 talks of the original band surfaced and a reunion tour and CD were being discussed. In May the discussions got serious and all the original members were contacted about the possibility of performing together again. As members began working out their schedules, and setting up rehearsal and tour dates, the Band got news of Rick's untimely death, which occurred on August 6, 2004.
"Shocking, Devastating, Unreal" were some of the comments his Band mates said trying to compose themselves after getting the news that Rick was gone. After attending Rick's funeral in Buffalo the Band members went into many weeks of contemplation and deciding if they should proceed with the proposed reunion or scrap all plans. With much deliberation the original members who all hail from Buffalo, New York, decided to reform the group and begin rehearsals, record some tracks for a possible tribute/reunion CD and plan a world tour to celebrate the life, music and legend of their leader, friend, and mentor Rick James. This highly anticipated Funk extravaganza will included original members and feature Levi Ruffin Jr., vocals, and keyboards, Oscar Alston, bassist/vocals, Billy Nunn, keyboards/vocals, Lanise Hughes, drums, Nate Hughes, Percussion and Erkskine Williams, keyboard/Vocals.
Joining the band will be the Punk Funk Horns and JoJo McDuffie original lead singer of the Mary Jane Girls.
The band is currently writing new songs, recording and rehearsing for their upcoming tour scheduled for late May 2005 with dates to be announced. They are also in discussions with record distributors, several music publishers and considering a possible book/movie deal.
The Stone
City Band is considered by many of their peers as being one of the Greatest Live Performing Funk/Rock Bands of all time! To experience the Band live in concert was like an adrenaline rush of pure unabashed raw energy.
The Stone City Band is back and ready to Fire up the Funk again! For more than 3 decades this legendary Band has provided the sound that's been heard on recordings by Rick James, Teena Marie, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, The Mary Jane Girls, Eddie Murphy, and Hammer just to name a few. Their music can be heard on countless samplings by many of today's Hip Hop artists. On any given day you can watch a commercial, movie or TV program and you'll hear the distinct signature sound of the Stone City Band with its pulsating bass lines and irresistible rhythms. Formed in 1978 by Punk Funk King Rick James, the Stone City Band served as Rick's recording and touring band from the beginning and through the height of his career. They were responsible for cranking out timeless hits such as "YOU AND I," "MARY JANE," "BUSTIN' OUT," "LOVE GUN," "FIRE IT UP," "GIVE IT TO ME BABY," "GHETTO LIFE," "FIRE AND DESIRE," "STANDING ON THE TOP," "SUPER FREAK" and more! They have performed on numerous prime time TV shows such as the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Saturday Night Live, Dick Clark New Years Eve Show, and many more. They recorded three albums for the Motown label during the 80's. In n Out, was their first album then came The Boys Are Back and finally Out From The Shadows. The Stone City Band also provided vocals and performed on projects by other Motown artists during the early to mid eighties. 
