Interview: The SOS Band; Playing w/ ConFunkShun @ Riverdale Amphitheater June 15th!

The SOS Band is an American Musical Ensemble, founded in Atlanta, GA. The SOS initialism in the bands name stands for Sounds of Success.

Members Mary Davis, Abdul Ra’oof, and Jason Bryan have a show at the Amphitheater at Riverdale Towncenter along side the hit group ConFunkShun and Christopher Williams.

We got the chance to speak with lead vocalist, Mary Davis about the upcoming performance and this is what she had to say!

Over the years, what has been your most memorable gig?

Madison Square garden, I lived in New York for a while and I’ve always attended shows there for other artists and I told myself one of these days I’m going to play at this theater. My God had come through and that was the most memorable moment when “Take your time” was on the charts for seven weeks.

The next one was London. We came out on stage and everyone stood up and stayed on their feet for the whole hour show and sung all the words verbatim I mean, they knew all the words to the songs. And the third one was Japan, the audience couldn’t speak a word of English when we had a meet and greet after the show but they still knew all the words to the songs, it was really amazing.

What do you like the most about performing live?

I like an intimate audience where I can reach out and touch people because I really enjoy the reaction of people when a song that I have sung puts a smile on their face and I think that’s the most wonderful thing there is.

Another time we did a military tour in ’83 and believe it or not we had young men come up to us at different shows at different times and said to us that they really enjoyed us coming over there and doing a show. And that is also a memorable moment ’cause at that time no entertainers were going over during the Vietnam war and it’s amazing now that they’re older and have kids of their own but they still remember that particular show.

When you first started singing and performing was there a particular artist or group that inspired you to be a musician?

I’m from Savannah, GA and at that time we didn’t have a black radio station so I really grew up listening to country western music and when they finally got a black station which was a gospel station in Savannah, I started listening to people like Shirley Caesar, The Caravans, James Cleveland and people like that I grew up listening too. Then I graduated to Gladys Knight, The Pips, and Aretha Franklin.

Do you remember the first concert you ever went to?

The first concert I went to was really at church and the Five Blind Boys and the Caravans was my first show and that was the epitome of my younger days. I used to sit on my mother’s porch and dream about seeing my name up in lights.

What kind of music do you listen to in your free time?

My car is tuned to a gospel station. I enjoy spiritual music but I listen to all different kinds of music but my most favorable is gospel music because I can always get a message. I plan to release my gospel songs at some time this year.

Are you excited about playing a show in your city?

Oh yes! This is a very exciting moment. It’s very seldom we play a hometown show more than we play elsewhere. It’s a blessing to be able to perform and put a smile on somebody’s face because we’ve got a lot of fans here in Atlanta.

How do you feel about the music scene today?

Each of us has our own ear of music. There were the hippie days, the rock era, R & B, and hip-hop. R & B is on the rise again. Music is a universal language and if you like music you can appreciate different types of music.

The SOS band has a new single coming out soon! Catch up with them on Facebook (The Real SOS Band) and stay tuned for new music!

To see the notorious SOS Band, ConFunkShun, and Christopher Williams on Saturday, June 15 follow the link below!