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The Groove Agency Band in Kansas City - Frequently seen at The
Levee in Kansas City
Groove
Agency Band
- The Groove Agency Band was founded in 1996 by Joey (Syron)
Dale, Terry Hamillton, Adam Blue and Scott Fromm. The
Groove Agency band eventually added drummer
Remon Grayson (Funky
Rexx) to complete the lineup. The Groove Agency played
regionally until Adam Blue landed them a steady weekend gig at
The Levee in Kansas City. The Groove Agency name was
originally "The Agency" named after the rehearsal space that
they rented called "The American Agency" - Adam Blue later
changed the name to The Groove Agency in 1998.
Today The Groove Agency band only has two original members in
Terry Hamilton and Scott Fromm - the guitarist and the
saxophonist. The other two founding members and lead
singers Joey Dale and Adam Blue left the band to pursue other
avenues and projects. Adam Blue currently leads the
famous Kansas City band "The
KC All Stars" who were recently voted "Kansas
City's Best Band" by KMBC-TV.
Groove Agency Photos
This
is a historical account of Groove Agency by an official Groove
Agency founding member - All Photos Courtesy of ABP Inc. - All
Rights Reserved 1996
The Early Years
The Groove Agency made their debut appearance in 1996 at a
dance club in Northtown. It is always a mistake for a live
band to perform in a dance club that is used to having only a
DJ! To make matters worse, when it was time for the
Groove Agency (known only as "The Agency" at that time) to
take the stage, the DJ played their first song of their set
"This is How We Do It" right before the band went on!!
It was a nightmare for the unkown Kansas City band, as they
had planned out their setlist perfectly and they were going to
kick off their show with the hottest hit on the radio at the
time Montell Jordan's "This is How We Do It". The band was
waiting backstage to be introduced, and for the DJ's last song
he spun "This is How We Do It". This put Groove Agency in a
frenzy and they were forced to skip the song and go straight
into a Sly and the Family Stone song that the audience had no
idea what it was. They cleared the dance floor and stared at
the band like they were from another planet or something.
The problem with a live band performing in a DJ dance club is
that a live band can't possibly keep up with the latest songs
that are out at the time and a DJ easily can by pushing
"play". Most bands, including The Groove Agency have a large
backlog of songs that are from older generations and DJ club
dance crowds want to hear only the freshest and newest hit
tracks. This is why, at this particular show, The Groove
Agency failed miserably. Had the DJ not played "This is How We
Do It" right before the band was supposed to go on and perform
the song, the night might have swung in their favor. The band
was told to "cut it" after just one short set and each band
member made $50. The booking at the club was the idea of the
band's "booking agent" who happened to own a Kansas City
modeling agency called "The Agency", where the band rehearsed
and also took it's name. Once the band failed to impress the
audience that night, the booking agent and owner of "The
Agency" modeling took less of an interest in the band and
stopped putting out effort to book the band. They would now be
on their own to book their own shows...
Enter Joey Dale, better known as "Syron", one of the founding
members of The Groove Agency and the leader of the band. The
band's next show would be booked by Syron at a small party
thrown for his fellow workers at Bartle Hall. The audience was
comprised mostly of Syron's black coworkers who were not at
all impressed by the band from song one. As any live musician
knows, most black people do not like live bands and prefer a
DJ. If they do like live music, it is usually "straight ahead"
jazz, or the blues. When The Groove Agency came out and
attempted to play some old Motown and R&B like Janet Jackson
and Sly and The Family Stone, the audience sat with their arms
folded and did not move, dance or applaud AT ALL throughout
the entire show. Instead, they shouted at the band "play some
2Pac!" - again, proving that a predominantly black audience
wants to hear rap music and current R&B and have absolutely NO
interest in old school R&B. This show proved to be disaster
number 2 for The Groove Agency, but they went back and
rehearsed and got ready for the next chapter.
The Next Chapter...
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