Jams from the ‘70s music era were heard inside the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts as funk group Average White Band (AWB) opened their Saturday night show with their 1974 hit “Pick Up the Pieces.” This concert was the first time the group had performed for the southeast region of the U.S.

“It’s our first time in this part of the world,” said lead vocalist and bass musician Alan Gorrie.

Gorrie, along with Onnie McIntyre, Freddy Vigdor, Klyde Jones and Rocky Bryant make up the current lineup of AWB, and had been signed with Atlantic Records since 1974. The band’s name applies to the original group lineup.  

“We kicked around a name for a long time, about nine months and it was really difficult to come up with something,” said McIntyre.

According to McIntyre, a friend of the band who worked in London was always reciting creative phrases and one of his favorite puns was the connotation “Awe it’s too much for the average white man,” which eventually evolved into the band’s name.

“It was quirky and it got people’s attention,” said McIntyre. “The thing is, we were all white Scottish guys at the time, never mixed. Allen and I are the only original members left.”

The group’s drummer Rocky Bryant, who grew up in New Jersey, and Klyde Jones, who grew up in Michigan, are African-American, so the band’s name can confuse some listeners.

McIntyre said American rhythm and blues created a new era of music in the ‘60s. The mainstream recording at the time involved endless guitar solos because of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, according to McIntyre.

AWB stayed conservative in their approach to music, continuing to play soul and funk style performances, which has held true today. Even when the band lost three members during its near 40-year existence, they have stayed true to their roots. AWB’s individual musicians each bring their own interpretations and influences in order to create authentic sound.  

“You know we’re all fans of different people,” said McIntyre, who explained Marvin Gaye particularly influences AWB, but he personally has not been the same since he heard James Brown’s, “Live at the Apollo” in 1963.

During the opener, AWB briefly played “Pick Up the Pieces,” while giving the audience a teaser of Vigdor playing both the keyboard and the saxophone interchangeably. Jones was featured on the keyboard and the tambourine.

“Whatcha’ Gonna Do For Me,” “Work to Do” and “Cut the Cake” were among the songs performed. By the time “Cut the Cake” was played, Gorrie had switched from a five string to a six string guitar, several audience members were dancing in the right aisle and Jones soloed onstage with his white and lime green decaled bass guitar.

AWB ended the night with a second segment of “Pick Up the Pieces” while receiving a standing and dancing ovation from the Columbia audience members.

Interim Director of the Columbia Theatre Roy Blackwood said he enjoyed the drum solo played by Bryant late in the show and considered the concert a huge success, despite a small Southeastern student audience.

“I felt like it was a fabulous success,” said Blackwood. “There are four different fundraiser events in Hammond tonight so I’m disappointed with the crowd, but considering everything that’s going on, I think we did very well. The people who were here loved it, so it was a great success.”