How to go
What: The Shawn Stanley Trio
When: Friday and Saturday nights, 9 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Where: Crowne Plaza Stars Lounge, 33 E. Fifth St. No cover charge. 224-0800 for more information.
Shawn Stanley must be doing something right. The bassist-singer has maintained the same gig at the Stars Lounge in the Crowne Plaza Hotel for six years. Stanley’s recession-beating strategy is simple: have fun, and make sure everyone else does, too.
“One of the reasons for our longevity is the chemistry that we have together,” Stanley says, referring to pianist John Slate and drummer Randy Fankel. “We really enjoy playing with each other, and I think people see that and appreciate it.”
Slate and Fankel have been on the gig with Stanley since he began in 2003. Prior to that, the trio played regularly for a year at another local venue. Stanley says that was going so well that the management at the Crowne Plaza approached him about playing Friday and Saturday nights at the downtown hotel’s top-floor entertainment space. Over the past seven years, the three have become so comfortable with each other that they don’t need to stick to a prescribed set list.
“If someone requests something new, it’s not uncommon for us to play it off the cuff,” says Stanley. He confides that “John and Randy make me sound better than I really am,” which gives him a feeling of security.
Stanley cites the flexibility the trio brings to the gig as another reason for their ability to continue to please the patrons at the Crowne. The musicians are ready for everything from jazz standards to covers of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Steely Dan.
“We usually start the evening playing classic jazz and standards, but over the course of the night we play what I call ‘adult contemporary’,” Stanley explains.
“When we started, we were more jazz-centered. We found in working here that there’s a period in which the crowd turns over and they like more of an upbeat, danceable style.”
Stanley says the response the trio has received from listeners and the numbers they see every week has caught the attention of the management at Crowne Plaza. That helped Stanley, a musician in the Air Force Band of Flight, keep his gig even after some deployments. He recently returned from a 2-month stint overseas, in which he performed for troops and locals throughout the Middle East.
“The hotel staff at the Crowne Plaza has always been so incredibly supportive of what I do with the military, which is my first responsibility,” says Stanley.
A Xenia native, Stanley joined the Air Force right out of high school after learning about the musical opportunities. He was stationed at the Air Force Academy in Colorado for 16 years in the Falconaires band. Stanley returned to the Miami Valley in 2002 as a member of the band stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he plays in the rock group Systems Go.
Stanley also keeps busy as a father of seven, including a son serving with the Army in Afghanistan.
He admits having one other secret for his success: “the most supportive and fantastic wife that a musician could ask for.”
Matt Warner is a contributing writer on music for the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at warner.matt@me.com. Jazzbeat appears every Sunday.
About the Author