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LEAD SINGER MEGAN BOBO WRITTEN BY BRIAN LUSH (LOS ANGELES, CA) It's always an iffy situation when a band replaces a lead singer. If you were a DAVID LEE ROTH guy, than any VAN HALEN recording with SAMMY HAGAR ain't gonna be your cup of tea. I'm sure there are a lot of fans of QUEEN who are reluctant to embrace PAUL RODGERS as a stand in for the incomparable FREDDIE MERCURY. ROCKWIRED favorite NEVERWONDER has had a shake up in what seemed to be a reliable foursome. Lead singer JOY PEARSON has left the band in pursuit of a solo career (ROCKWIRED intends to follow up on this) leaving founding members VINCENT adn ANDRES RAMOS, and guitarist FLINT MAVIS to face an unknown future. For the past few months, NEVERWONDER has been writing and rehearsing material with their new lead singer MEGAN BOBO, a young sprite with wild blonde locks and a big soulful voice; a talent that one wouldn't think was honed in Des Moines, Iowa."It's not Idaho and it's not Ohio!" says a BOBO in regards to people not knowing their geography. Des Moines is a million miles away from the streets of Hollywood, but even more flooring than the comparison between these two cities is how MEGAN was introduced to Tinseltown; in front of millions of people by way of AMERICAN IDOL. As a contestant on AMERICAN IDOL's fifth season (the TAYLOR HICKS season) MEGAN got a healthy dose of Hollywood grit and all of the smoke and mirrors that go into making a "reality" show. "I was your typical karaoke queen in Des Moines and had been singing my whole life. The chance to be on something like AMERICAN IDOL was just amazing to me. I went and tried and I'm glad I did it.I learned alot from watching all of the previous seasons. It was a great experience." And what was it like being in front of SIMON COWELL?: "It's definitely intimidating. From the first audition, there is an arena of hundreds of thousands of people and you're wondering 'how the hell am I going to stand out?' and then you think 'who cares?'. I was definitely nervous but it wasn't so much about SIMON. PAULA ABDUL was always an idol to me. I was more amazed and nervous to see her. The thing with SIMON is, you know that you're going to have to face him. Everyone knows that going in." After the AMERICAN IDOL experience, MEGAN wasn't going home. She was staying right where she belonged. "After I was released, I actually had a good family friend who lived here (in Los Angeles). When I was on the show I never got any negative feedback from SIMON, PAULA, or RANDY. They said things like 'You're young and you've got a lot of talent. Keep singing!' So I stayed here. I would just like to see how much further I can go with something like AMERICAN IDOL behind me. There were a few singing gigs here and there and a 9 to 5 job to anchor everything, but one day she read an ad in the paper and met up with the boys from NEVERWONDER. "Before NEVERWONDER, I was approached by a lot of people for singing for commercials and getting recruitted for things like national tours. I did put a band together and we did about ten gigs in town but that was to build experience. Then, I read the ad from NEVERWONDER in MUSIC CONNECTION and here I am. JOY PEARSON was the raspy voiced rock chick in the vein of JANIS JOPLIN or even PAT BENATAR (more BENATAR, though) with lyrics that could knock the shit out of an asshole boyfriend. It will certainly be interesting to see what MEGAN will bring to the table, musically and creatively. Her soulful voice is a definite shift from PEARSON's delivery. Is this going to be the same NEVERWONDER? "My background is not predominantly alternative rock." says MEGAN. "My voice is definitely more of a soulful funk kind of thing. I'm tapping into a new element for the band in terms of writing and melodies and fitting my voice around the music. It's going to have a different vibe. I'm a different person and it's going to be a different style." NEVERWONDER is a band on the up and up. Recently, they were awarded another SOUTHBAY MUSIC AWARD for BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND, which was a strange state of affairs seeing as how JOY was not in attendance, and no recordings with MEGAN are available yet. However in meeting MEGAN at the ceremony, it seemed like the perfect fit. In speaking with her, one would think that she was with this band for years. Without the benefit of having heard any new tracks from NEVERWONDER, the future seems a little hazy. It's a risk starting over again with a new lead singer after generating a couple of blips on the radar screen, but MEGAN is not worried. "I definitely foresee a potential signing and a tour and all of the things that a musician dreams of. There is definitely the potential and the talent. Me being new, we've gotta get out there and perform and record. There are so many things I would like to tap into. NEVERWONDER has always been so 'alternative rock' and I think the elements that I bring will make the music more universal; something that can be played on any radio station. I would like to see us getting into multiple markets. I'm confidant that we're going to take it to a new level." |
