LEE KRAM – DRUMS, CYMBALS & PERCUSSION Lee Kram’s syncopated rhythms, rock foundation and jam band ethic combine perfectly within the sound that is Empty Slate. Equally at home with a diverse rhythmic repertoire, Lee prides himself in his ability to “get ‘em dancin’, and keep ‘em dancin”. He has played in two-drummer bands, and is equally skilled in all aspects of percussion. His current drum kit features a side-mounted Gretch 18-inch floor tom, and includes an assortment of Zildjian cymbals, timbali, cowbells, wood blocks, and whatever else the situation calls for. For most of his life, Lee has lived in St. Louis. He has been writing original rock music and jamming in garage bands since he was 13 years old. In the 80’s, he played and recorded (back when that meant on vinyl) with Acousticity, playing his ‘Latin Traps’ set. This set up also regularly sat it with The Schwag, hosts of the legendary summer festival, Schwagstock. For his last 6 years in Missouri, Lee’s drumming drove Grateful Dead Cover Band Jake’s Leg, whom he’s sat in with at countless festivals throughout his entire career. He has also jammed with Chicago’s Dark Star Orchestra at Asheville’s Orange Peel, and he still gets the call from all of these old friends for festivals and regional road gigs. These thousands of hours spent with some incredible jam bands place Lee on a very small list. True to the essence of Empty Slate, however, there are many other sides to Mr. Kram. He has played his drums in legendary jazz circles, including with trumpet player Brian ‘Big B’ Casserly and the Knez Jakovac Trio. He’s played with Americana legends, Merl Saunders, Heartsfield, and with members of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Lee was invited to sit in by Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones and John Mayall’s Blues Breakers. He has shared the stage with Johnnie Johnson “I got to play ‘Johnny B. Goode’ with him,” Buddy Cage “on his way to L.A. to put New Riders of the Purple Sage back together,” and Mike Gordon of Phish, to name but a few. Kenny Aronoff, (who now plays on about 20 major albums per year) once asked for the picture Lee had shown him of his Latin Traps Set, saying that it was exactly the kind of set up that John Mellencamp had been asking him for. To let Lee sum it all up, “I’ve had the privilege of sharing ideas through private lessons, master classes, and clinics with the greatest drumming icons of the last three decades.” He also has an extensive knowledge of all other musical instruments and runs the Stone Cottage Band & Instrument Shoppe in Waynesville with his wife, Rhonda. They service every kind of school band in the area, providing rentals and honest repair to musicians throughout western North Carolina. Lee is the base upon which the Slate is formed. His impeccable timing and expansive rudimentary vocabulary are integral to the sound and feel of Empty Slate. He’ll hear a lick or rhythm from one of the other guys, and will somehow be already playing it along with them. His insight and experience as a lifetime professional musician are irreplaceable. But the best part about Lee is joining him for a dance, jumping into the rhythm of the moment and letting your soul fly right into the music that surrounds you. So leave your hang-ups at the door, and come soul dancing with Lee Kram and Empty Slate.
CALEB HENSLEY – LEAD GUITAR & VOCALS
How does so much soul pour out of such youth? This is the question begged by watching and meeting Caleb Hensley. He didn’t just get his first guitar when he was seven, that’s when he began to devour it. Within months of his grandpa’s first lesson, Caleb was performing in front of the masses at church where he would later play both piano and bass. Caleb was exposed to the Canadian trio Rush in his formative years, and his fingers were soon mastering these tunes and building licks of their own. By the time he graduated from high school, he was playing professionally and he has never looked back since. Caleb was 15 when he started taking lessons from the legendary Stan Campbel, and that’s when he really began to craft his own sound and style. This collaboration lasted for many years and has enabled him to surge light years ahead of other guitar players. He has played in countless clubs and bands in the Baton Rouge / New Orleans scene including Anisette and Parrish Sonnier’s High Karate, a highly renowned 15-piece funk ensemble. Two bands that are now national touring acts, Ethylene and Planning Fallacy were both started in Caleb’s teenage bedroom during the summer of 2001. Caleb taught a guitar class at LSU that had up to 50 students in it, as well as private lessons to 25-40 students per week at Zeigler Music Store in Baton Rouge. There, he founded and organized the Junior Weekend Warriors, a Rock Band School for under 18’s. He grouped the personnel together according to style and ability, and then attended each band’s weekly rehearsal with the goal of having them ready to play a gig within six weeks. Hundreds of kids were given professional tutelage there on how to make it in the rock music world. Moving back to Western North Carolina in late 2006 Caleb has continued to teach. He has devised his own simple guitar notation system, and has expanded Stan’s knowledge into a concise method, which he calls “Learn To Play Like a Pro.” Caleb and Chris have been jamming together constantly since meeting in Waynesville just a couple of weeks after Caleb arrived. Though Lee and Chris had met when Lee had first come to check out Waynesville, it was Caleb and Lee’s meeting on New Years Eve 2006 that made Slate history. Led by Caleb’s melodic phrasing and precise intonation, the Slate always takes you on a musical journey. His virtuosity allows him to flow between Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Latin, Swing and Country. He may walk out the front door of a club while screaming on a solo. He plays with his guitar behind his head. He plays with his teeth. He plays two guitars at once. Don’t ever miss a chance to see Empty Slate, you’ll always get a special performance from Caleb Hensley.
CHRIS WILLIAMS – LEAD VOCAL & RHYTHM GUITAR
Chris has also played music throughout his entire life. He started taking piano lessons when he was four years old, and was performing in recitals at the age of five. His parents met in England where they were both stationed in the US Air Force, and Chris spent his early years following his father’s career all over the country. His first teacher was so excellent that Chris never found her equal, and he stopped lessons (like so many) when has was about 11. Trombone became the next instrument of choice, and he eventually reached first chair in a Middle School band that played in a regional competition at the Grand Ole Opry.
Chris’ other lifetime love is soccer. He was coached by Tim Hankinson, and his players around this time, and was there exposed to the African culture. Chris’ family went to every game, and experienced a Pan-African and Caribbean party in the stands at every one of them. The drums and the exuberant singing and dancing that surrounded him had a profound effect on Chris. Indeed, in many ways those days have shaped the rest of his life. Soccer also ended Chris’ trombone career in that he was not allowed to be in the jazz band unless he was in the marching band. The choice between playing soccer and marching at football games was not a difficult one.
Now this is the eighties we’re talking about here, and although Chris saw every heavy metal and hair band that ever played an arena, he also was catching the likes of B. B. King and Dizzy Gillespie. Before he was even old enough to drive, his parents would take him to jazz clubs to hear his favorite band The Jungle. He befriended their bassist David Anderson at exactly the same time he got his first guitar (age 15.) He immersed himself in Stanley Jordan’s first album, and began strumming chords out of the Beatles compilation book that he’d grown up on. Chris had a thirst for music, and though he kept up with popular music, he was mostly immersed in the past. In Chris’ own words, “I was studying Miles Davis and Robert Johnson as the time, and totally absorbed in catching up on what I had just missed – the real rock and roll from 65 - 75. I raided every one’s record collection I came across, and always had a bunch of albums checked out from the library.”
Chris started college at CU Boulder where he found a wealth of new influences. Though he would browse the music library more than he studied, it was the locals and students who further expanded Chris’ musical vocabulary. He soon transferred to UAH (Alabama-Huntsville) and began playing Second Division NCAA Soccer. The idea of a career in radio was toyed with, and Chris also interned with Sound Cell Recording Studios for a few years. He also played his first open mics at this time, and sang his first harmonies with Kent Faller in a guitar duo. Philosophy and English became Chris’ major and when he graduated, he moved to Atlanta, and within weeks he was playing rhythm guitar in a reggae band.
The real story of Chris as a musician begins in Ireland though. In the summer of 1990 he had the opportunity to attend the Parnell School of Music in Dublin. Though he had sung along to the Beatles for his entire life, the Bel Canto method of singing as taught by Frank Merriman was a major revelation. “I was sitting in on these master classes, hearing what Frank was saying, and realizing that his own students didn’t really get it,” says Chris. “I couldn’t do it myself yet, but it totally made sense.” Frank’s first student was Christy Dignam of Aslan, and he and Chris soon began a friendship that lasts to this day. “Aslan is the biggest band in Ireland (other than U2) and Christy is the greatest singer known to me. He translated Frank’s operatic teaching’s into a rock language and thought me everything else I needed to know with his own melodic phrasing and songwriting style.” Chris has gotten to open up for Christy at the Olympia Theater in Dublin, and has indeed toured the entire country with Aslan on his many trips back and forth to Ireland since then.
So, like most of us here in the 21st century, Chris has had a vast exposure to all types of music : African rhythms, Caribbean vibes, Classical Piano, (“Jimi Hendrix is second only to Bach in my book”) Italian Opera, Southern Rock, (“I listened to Duane Allman almost exclusively for two years”) Classic Rock, (Floyd, Zeppelin) Soul, Funk (Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder) Roots Reggae, (Marley, Tosh, Jacob Miller) Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chuck Berry, Prince, and the Police. These influences combine with Caleb, Lee, and Brian’s and form the unique sound that is Empty Slate. We hope that you will continue to be a part of what is to come, and that you grow with us as we make our markion the universe. As one fan in the Slate Nation put it “you guys have got something for everyone.” And we plan on being something for everyone for a long time to come.
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Reincarnated in late 2006, Empty Slate has gathered an incredibly devoted following in an extremely short amount of time. By mixing our uncategorizable (can you describe it?) original music with covers of rock, reggae, funk, Latin, jazz, alternative, country and dance music, the Slate has something to offer for everyone. This has resulted in our devoted ‘Slate Nation’ fan base, and helped us to pack college town bars, keep every tourist amazed as to what they’ve found, and rock every festival stage hard enough to excite seasoned sound-men into a virtual frenzy. Chris Williams, Caleb Hensley, Brian Keith and Lee Kram are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Combining their four distinct voices and backgrounds with a totally unique sound and professionalism, ES is paving their own way to the top - one fan at a time. ______________________________________________________________________________________
The Stigma of Cover Tunes – As we constantly integrate the diverse backgrounds of our three principal songwriters into our signature Empty Slate sound, we abandon neither today’s current pulse nor our roots as musicians. In the jazz world, you are judged by your take on the standards, indeed in the blues and early rock traditions, lyrics, melodies and rhythms were directly lifted and reinterpreted. We do not apologize for merging these traditions with the spirit of the jam band scene, and we will continue to push the limits of music and create our own genre. Who among us doesn’t answer the often-asked question with, “Oh, I like lots of different kinds of music”? You are not one dimensional, and your favorite band shouldn’t be either. _______________________________________________________________________________________
We beliveve in our original sound, but it comes about as a result of all of these different elements coming together, and we will not abandon what is being created in order to fit in with the unwavering hipsters of the ‘original-only’ scene. That said, we can, will, and do play hours of exclusively our own creations depending upon the setting. However, we also respect our writing enough to put it up against the greatest songs we know. We respect our unique sound enough to fully illustrate every aspect of the boundless variety contained within it. And we respect our fans enough to have something for everyone, and a bit of everything for all of our diverse tastes. ______________________________________________________________________________________
An ES show will somehow seamlessly integrate our originals with, a song from the current country charts, our take on a Marvin Gaye classic, a funk-disco era tune, the summer’s biggest R&B dance hit, a new progressive/alternative rock anthem, or a version of the Wailers’ “Roots, Rock, Reggae” that Bob himself would be skanking to backstage. And even if you’re a music scholar, we guarantee that there will always be songs that keep you guessing as to whether or not they were written by us.
It’s an empty slate every time, my friends, a new beginning. We feed off of you, and every show has an energy all it’s own. Join the Slate Nation, feel the power that you help to create. Dance away your heartache, and become a part of the greater whole that happens at every show we play. We do it for you. We do it for us. And we do it for all conscious freedom lovers everywhere.
