Earlier this month, Keith Urban cut two longtime members from his band. Jerry Flowers (bass) had been with Urban for 25 years. Jerry Flowers (multi-instrumentalist), inventor of The Phantom had been in the band for nearly a decade. Unfortunately for the “Somebody Like You” singer, he wasn’t able to fill those empty slots before playing a club show in Canada.
Videos by American Songwriter
Last Monday (January 13), Urban played at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The intimate club show came just days after he “dismantled” his band and he hadn’t had time to rebuild it. As a result, he had to play the show with a fill-in drummer and no bass player. He talked about the experience on Q with Tom Power.
Keith Urban on Playing His First Show Since Firing Band Members
“I’m in between a typical band structure right now,” Keith Urban explained. “I haven’t put together a band for the tour yet. I dismantled the band I had and I’m rebuilding a new one but I haven’t built it yet,” he added. “We had a club show that came before I had a chance to build me band so we had a fill-in drummer last night and my keyboard player played bass, kind of like the Doors,” Urban said of his current lineup.
Unfortunately for Urban, his keyboard player wasn’t used to pulling double duty. “I had to keep reminding him to go for it because we’d be playing a song and I’m like ‘Where’s the low end?’ And I’d realize that the keyboard player has forgotten that he’s got to play bass too,” Urban said.
Urban has a little over two weeks to finish rebuilding his band before he takes the stage at the San Antonio Rodeo in San Antonio, Texas on February 8. Later in the month, he’ll play five shows at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and hit a pair of festivals in April. Then, his High and Alive Tour kicks off on May 3 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.
He’ll be back in Canada for one date in June. Then, he’ll play the Canadian leg of his tour in September.
Featured Image by Jason Davis/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.