Wayne Sharp's Mushroom Brotherhood

Band Tribute Gulfport, MS United States

About Wayne Sharp's Mushroom Brotherhood

WAYNE SHARP presents THE MUSHROOM BROTHERHOOD. a stunning recreation of THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND taking the stage with the visual and musical energy synonymous with the iconic band. ...

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Members

  • Wayne Sharp - Hammond B3 Organ , Piano, Vocals

Press

“The Georgia Allman Brothers Band Association (GABBA) held the seventh annual GABBfest – a reunion and revival for the ABB faithful on September 25-27, 1998. Of course, we met in Macon (back where it all began…sort of). Folks started arriving on Friday. GABBA registration was at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where there was a time to chat with all the other ABB and related band friends. For $40, we got a ticket for a free meal (including beverage and dessert…peach cobbler, anyone??) at the H&H, admission to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the opportunity to see/trade/buy ABB related merchandise and tour the historic halls of the Phoenix Sound Recording studios (Capricorn) (where if you asked, you’d find some of us, selling tee shirts), and an auction of some very nice musical items. Saturday night at the same venue was worth the entire $40 alone. First up was Chris Hicks and his band. I thought they were good fun and I enjoyed his voice – he has that raspy tone – sort of like a couple of other guy singers we all know. Then the Barry Richmand band played. Barry is quite a guitar virtuoso. He played feverishly sometimes and wowed the crowd with his abilities. THEN THE REAL SHOW STARTED... There was a bit of a wait for the next act, but the stage setup looked interesting…2 drum kits, enough amps for 2 guitars and a bass, and a big Hammond B-3 at the far end of stage right. Sure enough, six guys showed up to play – the guy at the Hammond had long blond hair and the two guitar players…well, they both resembled Dickey Betts, and one had a Warehouse New Orleans shirt on. Johnny Mo stepped up to the mic and said “It’s Macon, it’s GABBA, and we’re the Allmost Brothers Band.” Then they started playing Don’t Want You No More and went into Not My Cross to Bear. Now, you KNOW this audience has heard ABB cover bands and tribute bands before. They’re skeptical, cynical, and have a ‘prove it to me’ attitude – after all, they’re ABB fans who actually traveled to Macon and paid for this privilege. Partway through NMCTB, I noticed a few folks looking at each other, raising their eyebrows and lowering the corners of their mouths, as if to say ‘not bad’. Sometime into You Don’t Love Me, the eyebrows were still going up, but the mouths were turned up, as in “that was a nice lick, he got that one right”. During Trouble No More, they were jabbing elbows into each other’s ribs, saying “Did you HEAR that?’, and flat out smiling. By the end of Dreams, people were shouting song suggestions. One of the best parts was during the between song lull, when folks were shouting suggestions, one guy yelled “Play all night!”, and EVERYBODY smiled. Wayne Sharp (the Hammond player and singer) answered “Keeping the Tradition Alive”. At the set break, the audience showed their appreciation. There were requests for photos, autographs and folks who just wanted to say thanks. Several longtime ABB fans said “They’ve got it down cold”, “that fellow doing Duane has it exactly right”, “I’m impressed by the guy playing Dickey’s part – he’s nailing those solos”, and “Man, this is the way the ABB used to do these songs”. The second set started out in a beautiful, wistful way. Pete Quigley, who plays Duane’s part, sat alone on a chair on stage and played “Little Martha”. It was sweet and sad at the same time. I had tears in my eyes. People were shushing each other, saying “Be quiet, it’s Little Martha”. Then the rest of the band joined Pete and they played in Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Stormy Monday, Statesboro Blues, One Way Out, Please Call Home and for the encore, Whipping Post. They started playing at 11:10p.m. and ended at 1:50a.m. It was over 2 hours of pleasure and amazement. The guys in this band are Wayne Sharp from Gulfport, MS on keyboard and vocals; Pete Quigley from West Palm Beach, Florida on guitar (Duane’s part); Mark Whittington from Jackson, MS on guitar (Dickey’s part); George Mills from Mobile, AL on bass; and Wayne’s sons Sean and Myles on drums. There’s talk of making the Allmost Brothers Band an annual GABBA event. If you missed them this year, make plans to be there next year. Kudos to the band and to those who helped bring them to GABBA. Thanks to Kirk Anderson, President of GABBA and to all the folks who worked to make the event a success. They were selling tee shirts, stamping hands, and generally, being ABB fans who were welcoming us all to their city. And to add to our musical pleasure, on Sunday we got to see and hear the Mule, as they played at Luther Williams field as part of an all-day musical event (non GABBA related, but fortuitously timed for the GABBA attendees). All in all, it was a great event. If you were there and can add to this story, please do. If you missed it, start saving now and making plans for next year’s GABBAfest.” -

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