Edgar Winter

CALUMET- Since the 1970s Edgar Winter has been a fixture on the classic rock music scene. His "devil music" once was every parent's nightmare. He is one musician who knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it. With the release of his popular singles, "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride," and his invention of the synthesizer, Winter is considered responsible for collaborating blues and pop with rock music.
Now 38 years into his career, Edgar Winter has learned his craft well. In July, Winter released his fresh, foot tappin' material, "Rebel Road." The album is a combination of gritty, in your face hard rock riffs, bluesy saxophone and piano ballads, and catchy rebellious lyrics. "Rebel Road's" attitude makes you want to let your hair down and break all the rules.
"To me, the idea of the open road is a symbol of freedom, and freedom is what music is all about," Winter said. "It's saying I'm not going to be told who I am, and what I'm supposed to believe. It's about living life on your own terms, and that's what rebel roads means to me."
Winter's summer of road rebellion has a scheduled pit-stop at the Calumet Theater Wednesday evening at 7:30. His crew consists of guitarist Doug Rappocort also known as DougiE Rapps, bassist Koko Powell, and drummer Jason Carpenter.
"At the show we'll be doing everything you'd expect," Winter said. "We're going all the way back to the first record that was with Johnny. We'll play songs from "White Trash"... and we will of course play favorites such as "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride," and we will play three or four songs from "Rebel Road.""
During Winter's career, he has been fortunate to have performed alongside Beatles legend, Ringo Starr, and actor and musician Bruce Willis. Also, some of Winter's songs have been used in no fewer than 15 film and television projects such as "Wayne's World 2," "The Simpsons," and "Radio." Edgar's "Frankenstein" is also featured in the Playstation video game, Guitar Hero. When he found out that the song was going to be apart of the video game, Winter said he loved it and thought it was perfect. He believes that Frankenstein was a precursor to heavy metal and it is one of those instantaneously songs that has a vibe perfect for games.
"It means a lot to me to have that song in that kind of format because it has the opportunity to get to a whole new generation who possibly never heard it before and that's a great thing," Winter said. "The music (Frankenstein) transcended beyond music boundaries and that's very cool."
Edgar Winter has proved that his music is capable of standing the test of time. He has been able to continuously create new material and entertain his fans.
"Music is ever revolving, and I just love all styles of music. I play rock but I like jazz, classic, and country. It has always been natural to me to blend styles and I think that's part of what has kept my music fresh over the years," Winter said.
Rock music from 40 years ago is titled classic rock because it is fresh and continues to have the original effect on listeners. Winter believes that during the beginning of rock music there was a creative outpouring in songs and now people are looking back and recognizing just how great music was.
"I think it's really cool. I think that in rock there is the reality and sincerity that is present in that music and it has a lot to do with its having stood that test of time and look back on the way it was," Winter said.
Winter said that he believes in writing from the heart and not to give into what the public wants you to sing about. He believes that the 60s and 70s were the golden era of rock and no one since has been able to change that.
"There's great music going on all the time but I think that in the 60s and 70s there was a lot freedom. There was less intervention from record companies and artists were writing and singing songs that they truly believe in and meant something," Winter said.
Edgar Winter wants all to know that he is not going anywhere. He said he loves touring for his fans. He said that he wants to thank all of his fans for their continuing support for both him and his brother Johnny's careers, and that they couldn't be where they are today if it was not for their fans.
"I'm here for life," he said. "The beauty of the road is that it always leads on home."