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PHOTO BY JOHN LARSON

HEART AND SOUL. Legend Heart performs during a recent show at Mandolin Café in Tacoma.

Classic rock sound with a modern mindset

By John Larson

Port Orchard band Legend Heart combines some of the sound and much of the spirit of classic rock with a modern attitude that eschews major record labels and embraces technology.

The core of the band is Reno West on guitar and vocals, Suzette Monique on bass and vocals and Bob Roberts, who is the manager and plays bass for acoustic sets and sometimes in rock sets.

West has played guitar for years, performing around the country from small clubs to stadiums. He has written more than 2,000 songs.

Monique’s background includes musical theater in Berlin and concert bands. She began studying music as a child and is an accomplished flutist. Music runs in her family. Her aunt, Dorothy Berry, toured with Ray Charles as a Raylette in the 1970s. Her uncle Richard Berry wrote “Louie, Louie.” She just began playing bass last year.

West and Monique had worked on musical projects together when they lived in California. They lived in Las Vegas for a while before moving to Washington, where they formed Legend Heart in 2003.

West is impressed by the natural beauty of the Puget Sound region. “Living here is wonderful,” he commented.

The band’s name refers to the legendary rock music of the 1960s and 1970s and “the heart and soul of legendary music,” West explained.

The three operate their own label, Legend Heart Records, LLC. The band released its self-titled debut on the label in 2004. The follow-up, “River Cry For The Sky,” came out in 2005.

“Staying true and independent in music is very important,” West remarked.

Monique said that in the past, musicians left too much up to fate and chance, waiting for the day a big record label would come calling. Now a band with talent and initiative has the opportunity to take control of their destiny, she feels.

“This is a business. You have to approach it as an entrepreneur,” she said.

“I think all musicians should be knowledgeable about business,” West added.

The Internet has played a key role in this. Legend Heart produces a music show podcast.

“Technology has allowed entrepreneurs to take hold in the industry,” Monique observed.

She sees a perfect storm brewing for independent bands. “People know something is coming. We live in exciting times due to technology.”

The three also are a real estate management team. The income from that helps support their musical endeavors.

The band performs in three different musical configurations, changing among them depending on the venue. Their rock set ranges from progressive rock to heavy metal. At venues like Mandolin Café, where they played earlier this month, they do their acoustic set. They also have what they call their middle of the road set for audiences that fall somewhere between the coffee shop crowd and the hard rock clubs.

“Each of them have their good qualities,” Monique said of the three formats.

They focus on original material, but occasionally break out a cover tune, such as “Baba O’Reilly” by The Who and several Led Zeppelin songs, which they note go over well with younger fans at all-ages shows.

They do many of their shows around Tacoma and Seattle. Gigs in Port Orchard and Bremerton are hard to come by, according to West. “Music is not happening in Kitsap County,” he said. “That is something we want to change.”

Several years ago they performed at a rally in Olympia on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event was organized by Poverty Action Network and had a strong emphasis on social justice.

There they met Ms. Jesse, owner of Tacoma-based rap label Felony Entertainment, and Da Ghetto Baby, a local rapper with two albums out on the label. They hit it off well and talked about collaborating.

“They are the nicest people,” West said. “Mixing rock and rap was something that really appealed to us.”

Da Ghetto Baby’s younger brother is rapper Skirt Digla, who just released an album on Felony Entertainment. It contains a song on which both perform called “Fire Like Dylan.” There is a rap version with the two rappers, and a rock version on which they are joined by Legend Heart.

Legend Heart has another album in the works. They have been submitting their applications to play at some of the bigger festivals this summer.

Legend Heart plays C&P Coffee Company in Seattle at 6 p.m. May 10.

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