Ted Mentry and The Planets
The Planets is the brainchild of two legendary Colorado musicians and songwriters, Ted Mentry and Helen Allison Hawkins. In 2001, shortly after Mentry released his third personal full length solo album, Hawkins contacted him to play some dates as lead guitarist for her own group, The Allison Hawkins Band, for which she was the lead singer and driving force. After a year of playing an exhausting schedule of Colorado clubs, bars, parties and concerts, Mentry and Hawkins formed another musical ensemble that could either play the club circuit doing cover tunes honoring the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Jonny Lang, Sonia Dada, Little Feat, Neville Brothers and others, or, more importantly, an entire show based on original work already proven by Mentrys skills as an artist, writer and producer and new works collaborated with Hawkins.
The result is The Planets, a six (sometimes seven or eight) piece outfit that completed its first original, full length CD in July of 2006, entitled:
It Is What It Is.
The album is a brilliant collection of rock, blues, ballads and movements that typify all of the melodic strengths of the genre with the backbeat of a band that has proven itself in each of the arenas that it has explored. It has already been described as Annie Lennox meets Pink Floyd with Dire Straits as the backup band. Available online and in stores July 4th, 2006.
Some of the musicians who lent their creative talents to this project were Rebecca Folsom, Mark Oblinger (Firefall), Darren and Dawn Kramer (DKO), Ed Edwards, Chuck Smith and Bill Miner (Cactus Jack).
The current touring band features Ted Mentry on lead guitar, Allison Hawkins on lead vocals and Colorados finest veteran backing musicians, Steve Johnson- keys, guitars and vocals, Kenny Hoffman-drums, percussion and vocals, Geno Sirokman-bass and vocals.
A new album is expected out in the fall of 2009.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
(See above)
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
This is our schedule page currently:
http://www.planetsmusic.com/schedule.html
Your musical influences
Beatles, Pink Floyd, Motown, and of course Joe Bonamassa
What equipment do you use?
PRS, Divided By Thirteen, Baker Guitars, Collings, Taylor, Heritage, Tone Tubby, Celestion.
Anything else?
I'll think of something......
