Shake, Shake, Shake
All hail the disco king: K.C. of Sunshine Band fame talks music, prepares forNew Year's Eve Live
Harry Wayne Casey — better known as the "K.C." of K.C. and the Sunshine Band —will perform at Monday night's New Year's Eve Live event.Photo by © A. Streiber
Casey with the original Sunshine Band in 1973Discos Para el Recuerdo
After four decades in the biz, K.C. and the Sunshine Band are putting the finaltouches on a new album.KC and The Sunshine Band/Facebook
From "Shake Your Booty" and "Get Down Tonight" to "That's the Way I Like It" and "Boogie Shoes," Harry "K.C." Casey and his ever-groovin' Sunshine Band have given us some of the most beloved moments in disco history.
On Monday night, Houstonians will get a chance to dust off those medallions and rhinestone bell-bottoms for a special K.C. and the Sunshine Band performance during the city's annual New Year's Eve Live event on Discovery Green.
"People have been trying to kill disco for 40 years now," Casey laughed during a recent phone interview from his home in Miami.
"People have been trying to kill disco for 40 years now," Casey laughed. "My god, though, I think it's bigger than it's ever been since we started back in 1973."
"My god, though, I think it's bigger than it's ever been since we started back in 1973. Every artist in the world seems to be doing or has done a dance record at some point. I can hear bits of disco all over the radio today."
Riding the current popularity of electronic dance music, Casey recently joined forces with Bimbo Jones, a UK-based DJ team known for its club remixes of tracks by Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, P!nk and Rihanna. In recent interviews, the disco king said he feels the new partnership has awakened him from a sort of musical coma.
"Last year, Bimbo Jones sent me this track they'd been working on and I wrote the melody and the words for it. Since then, we've done seven more songs together and it's been absolutely amazing."
At the moment, Casey is putting the finishing touches on a new album that will fuse his recent electronic tracks with renditions of songs from the 1960s that influenced his decades-long career.
"I may feel like I've been around since 1910, but I grew up in the 1960s, which is when I really started to learn what music is. A lot of people have re-recorded songs from the era. But while I may be a little late getting on the bus, I'm hoping to offer music other artists haven't covered yet. I think the album's going to be very fresh."
With a whopping 24 new tracks set to go, the record is expected to be released in the spring. In the meantime, Casey said he'll happily keep himself busy onstage with a string of concerts.
"I came out of retirement in the early '90s with an appearance for Arsenio Hall, who asked us to perform on his show. I'd been retired for a while, but it was during that performance when I realized how much I missed playing music.
"Now here I am, getting ready to come to Houston for New Year's Eve. It'll be a fun night for everyone. That I can guarantee."
On Monday at 10:15 p.m., K.C. and the Sunshine Band will perform at Discovery Green as part of the New Year's Eve celebrations. Click here for the night's full line-up of events and activities.
