Michael Olivieri

“What has brought us here is we’re just a tight-knit group of friends…We got an opportunity to go play some music and do a thing. So we threw a setlist together, had one rehearsal, and anything goes.”  This is what Michael Olivieri, frontman of Knights of Hope, said about the band and tonight’s show at Campus Jax in Newport Beach.  The story goes that the show was rescheduled from a CD release show for Olivieri’s band M.O.B. The band was unable to do the show, so Olivieri and some of his friends, who are seasoned, talented musicians, got together to perform as Knights of Hope. You may also remember Olivieri as frontman for the 80’s band Leatherwolf. I had the fortunate opportunity to take in the show.

Knights of Hope opened the show with “Are You Ready” by 70’s soul band Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).    The acapella harmonies at the beginning were perfectly layered and gave the song additional texture. The instrumentation of the ten-piece band delivered a full dynamic sound that echoed the rock, soul vibe of the original. Ray Brezden’s (bass player for Shine On) funky baseline, along with Michael Oliveiri’s soulful timbre laced with a bit of grunge, faithfully recalled the style of PG&E.  Their next song, “Hole Hearted” by Extreme, Phillip Bardowell demonstrated his vocal mastery with his powerful baritone interwoven with depth and brightness. (Bardowell sang backup for Jan and Dean, sang with the Beach Boys 1998-2001, Played guitar and sang with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss)  The song also featured some sweet slides on the lap steel by guitarist K.K. Martin, who then wielded the Mando guitar( guitar/mandolin hybrid) on the next song, George Harrison’s poignant “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”   Olivieri sang lead and played the Eukele on this beloved Harrison’s peace anthem, while guitarist Aaron Broering and Mike Wallace paired up for a solid dual guitar slide rendition of the song’s epic Harrison solo.

Aaron Broering

Dan Lucette (member of the band M.O.B.) took center stage with his acoustic guitar delivering vocals on the Transatlantic song “We All Need Some Light.”  After that, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Aaron Broering performed one of his originals, “Second Wind.” The lyrical message and the harmonies were reminiscent of the 1970’s exceptional singer-songwriter era. Broering co-founded longtime Eagles tribute band Desperado and has also performed with past members of the Eagles. Broering also is a frontman in the Pink Floyd tribute band Shine On.

When K.K. Martin began singing the gospel song, “Jesus On The Mainline,” his gritty vocals and Mando playing reminded of the Ry Cooder version but with a slight Cajun feel.  Martin, originally from West Monroe, Louisiana, was the winner of the LA Award’s Outstanding Blues Artist. He has recorded and played with Eric Burdon, Booker T, Rick Derringer, The Chambers Brothers, and others. Drummer Bill Lawerence took his turn singing lead on one of my favorites, the Youngbloods “Get Together.”  Lawrence is a seasoned musician who has been playing the drums for fifty years.  He worked for Capitol Records in the 70’s recording country demos and later was in a band called Ghosts of the Open Road. He also, along with Broering, is co-founder and drummer for Shine On.

Chariya Bissonette

Chariya Bissonette played keyboards and sang the lead beautifully for the song “Follow Your Road” by Seawind. Bissonette has an extensive resume’ which includes performing and recording backup vocals for Nia Peeples, Rick Springfield, Ashford, and Simpson, Elton John, Lady Gaga. She is also an abstract artist and motivational speaker, and that’s just touching on a few of her accomplishments.

At this point, my spirit was feeling uplifted, and glancing around at the audience, and they were feeling pretty good also.  The positive vibes from the music and the artists were spilling over us all.  Knights of Hope turned up the energy dial a couple of notches with Rare Earth’s “Celebrate,” which featured Mike Wallace on vocals. (Wallace is an exceptional guitarist who has played with Keith Emmerson, Ronnie Montrose, Steve Porcaro of Toto, Bob Birch from Elton John’s band.)  Wallace’s vocals, along with the entire Knights of Hope ensemble, mirrored the soulfulness of the original.

The band’s version of the old gospel blues call and response song, John the Revelator,” was enchanting.  K.K. Martin’s soulful vocals had a raw emotional grittiness that mirrored the devout evocations of the song’s message. Olivieri added to the blues aesthetics with some smooth slow slide action on his Round Neck Gretsch. The band’s articulation of the song had an intoxicating appeal.

Bill Lawerence

Dan Lucett did a great job vocally with the Allman Brothers Band song “Soulshine.” Guitarists Broering, Wallace, and Martin raised the dynamics with their brilliantly orchestrated guitar solos. Credit also goes to Olivieri, who added another layer with his blues harp skills.  The final song of the evening was an original by Knights of Hope frontman Michael Olivieri.  The song, titled “Hallelujah,” Olivieri explained, was written in remembrance of his mother, whose final moments were the inspiration for the music.  The delightful devotional song had a sweet flow with harmonies coupled with poignant, devotional lyrics.  The show was a wonderful treat of exceptional talent, an excellent song list, and an abundance of feel-good energy.   We spoke with frontman Michael, and he talked about the song list, saying, “We had a theme, so the songs had to fall into that theme of goodness, hope, peace, and love” he added, “As far as picking the song list…It was basically just What does your heart feel like singing?…”Everybody’s got their heart and soul in this.”  The enthusiasm and musicianship I witnessed on stage demonstrated the band members’ connection with the music. The band’s strength lies in the diverse group of talented musicians who bring unlimited possibilities of where their music can take them.  I hope they continue with this line-up in the future. Olivieri mentioned that the goal for the band was to do some recording and possibly release an LP in the near future.   I for sure will be keeping an eye out for upcoming material from this inspirational ensemble.   BackkStage360 would like to thank Knights of Hope for the invite, and thanks also goes to Campus Jax for hosting and live streaming some fantastic music.

Knights of Hope

Jen B. / BackStage360

K.K. Martin