You’re covered: 17th Floor
By Erin Nye
Columbus is chock full of night clubs. The ones that boast live entertainment have more than likely hosted none other than 17th Floor. The band hails from the greater Chicago area and has performed with super group TLC and R&B star Usher. 17th Floor is considered to this day as one of the top touring acts in the country. They perform over 200 shows per year featuring both current and past Hip Hop and R&B tracks. On their latest trip, Drummer and founder Greg Thompson called in to talk about the band, their fond memories of Columbus, and their future!
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With so many performances in the Columbus area, does it feel like a second home to you?
We’re constantly coming and going from Columbus. We’ve met so many people and some of us have even become family to some. It most definitely has a second home kind of feel.
Fondest memory of Columbus?
The memory that sticks out most in my mind is when we did the first Buckeye Bash for WNCI over by The Cooker. It was our first taste of the Ohio State vs. Michigan experience. Even though we didn’t go to the game we were only involved in the tailgating; we’ve never seen anything like it. We were around so much that Ohio State Football has really become a part of us.
Your web site shows an astounding amount of songs. How is your set list decided upon?
The bass player AT is actually the one who picks the set list. We change it every night; we never do the same exact show. We’re always moving songs around. Sometimes we’ll play a certain song, sometimes we won’t. Almost 100% of the time, we don’t even see the set list until we’re actually on stage.
Does not knowing what you’re doing before-hand have pressure associated with it?
Nah, the songs themselves have been performed for so long and so much; a set list is nothing more than what order it’s in.
Do you have a track that is most requested, or is there a track that you perform at every show?
Typically, whatever the hottest song at the moment is, that is the one we are most likely to play. The track that will more than likely be played at each show for the next month is “Go Getta’ by Young Jeezy. Next month it’ll be something else. The song we probably like to do the most is, “Loose Yourself” by Eminem. The band likes to do anything where they get to play and show themselves off musically, while the guys in front like to show off their dance skills!
I understand you have an album of original material. Do you ever get to do a show specifically of your own stuff or is it mostly always the covers?
We don’t do that often because we’re so well-known for the covers. The whole original side of what we do is an interesting thing. We all write and produce music, and we have other artists we are working with. We’re just trying to put out good music and expose people to Hip Hop. Our first album did really well and it was very unexpected because we were just throwing it out there. When we can we throw a track or two into the show and it’s responded to well.
How long have you been together, and where did the name come from?
In respect to how long we’ve been together, that’s a secret! The name came from a dream I had that was like a high school horror type of movie. While I can remember the movie, I can’t remember the name for the life of me, but everyone ended up on the 17th Floor.
17th Floor will be performing at the Skye Bar on Friday, June 1 & The Frog Bear & Wild Boar Bar June 2. For more information please call 421-SKYE, visit www.skyebar.com or www.frogbearbar.com online.
Originally Published: Issue 505 - May 30, 2007
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