Ed Mays Groove Kitchen is a high quality dance/show band made up of some of the pacific North West’s finest entertainers. We specialize in classic R&B in the tradition of Aretha Franklin, Sade, Earth Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, The Supremes, & The Pointer Sisters. But because of our extensive backgrounds our repertoire is actually quite broad and can include vocal jazz, classic rock, blues & Reggae, Latin, etc. This comes in handy since most of our business is geared toward the private party and wedding market so it helps to have something for everybody. However which way you like it, we’ve got the groove that is going to make you dance. The band is built around our charming singer, Stacey Israel and our side men, veterans of hundreds of working bands have played on thousands of stages.

	The Groove Kitchen band was created by me, Ed Mays. I began playing piano and singing at the age of nine and took up drums in 1967 and have toured the US and Canada many times, playing with such notables as NW rock-n-roll legend Tiny Tony and backing many great female vocalists such as Diana Ruiz, LJ Porter, and So. Texas Blues great Trudy Lynn. I have literally played in hundreds of bands. I been teaching drums professionally over 15 years ago and have taught at several local music stores as well as many schools. I currently teach at Eckstein Middle School, and the A Sharp Music Co.
	Seattle native, Stacey Israel has been singing since the age of five. She honed her powerful voice singing Gospel. She is a former model as well as a prolific songwriter and she got her start in the early 90s singing R&B and Hip Hop releasing her first album and video entitled “Do Ya” using the full version of her name Anastasia. She has been working in the studio ever since and is currently working on several album projects. In addition to her astonishing, world class vocals, she has stunning looks and amazing stage presence.
	Jude Contreras, our fabulous guitar man is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, studio musician and highly sought after freelance player. He plays in several local bands including the classic rock band Snakebite as well as his own band. The Jude Cube is his solo act. Jude also sings a lot of the classic rock and R&B tunes in our band.
	The most recent member to join the band is the “President” of funk, bassman Marvin Shields Jr. A multi-instrumentalist who can play bass, guitars, drums, and sing, Marvin is also highly sought after and his mastery of style gives the band the “old skool” funk sound we need but he can play just about anything, thus maintaining the versitility that is the Groove Kitchen tradition.
	Rounding out our ensemble is master keyboardist Yogi McCaw. I’ve been working with Yogi for almost a decade, playing everything from Latin Jazz, Be-bop, Afro Beat, Blues, and Reggae to some forms of music that hadn’t yet been invented. Yogi is a composer and recording artist in his own right with several albums and film soundtrack credits to his name. Yogi gives us the full band sound needed to bring the band to life.

If you like the vintage 60s R&B big band sound a la James Brown/Tower of Power, we work with several of the finest horn players in town. Whether you like to dance or just sit back and be entertained, we know how to make your event a smash hit that you and your friends won't soon forget!