Motown Drummer Moves Back to Detroit From NYC, Continues Benefit Project w/ Blues Icons

DETROIT - March 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Detroit area drummer, songwriter, and producer Drew Schultz entered the music industry at the age of 19, performing with the legendary Motown group the Four Tops and appearing on stage with countless iconic soul artists including The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Martha Reeves, The Dramatics, The Miracles, The Contours, Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, and more.

In 2012 he released his debut album, "Back To Class." The record consists of 16 songs written by Schultz, featuring performances by the Four Tops, Dennis Coffey, James Jamerson Jr, Melvin Davis, Spyder Turner, Pat Lewis, Lenny Pickett, and many more. 50% of the profits go towards the music programs of the Detroit Public School System. As a continuation of the project last year, a series of Back To Class singles was launched with “Take It Slow” featuring Eddie Willis of Motown’s legendary studio recording band, The Funk Brothers. Now Schultz is keeping the project rolling with the next single, “So Long” featuring Motor City blues heavyweights Buddy Smith and Thornetta Davis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwi1ciTiuw



Buddy Smith is one of the many legends of the United Kingdom’s Northern Soul scene. In the 1960s he was a prolific performer around Detroit, releasing a single called “When You Lose The One You Love.” The song was written by Tony Clarke, who contributed songs to artists including Etta James and David Ruffin, and arranged by McKinley Jackson, a Detroit staple whose work with Holland/Dozier/Holland, Chairmen of the Board, Freda Payne, and the Invictus/Hot Wax labels would continue to cultivate the "Detroit Sound” even after Motown Records had relocated to California. Buddy could not have guessed that, decades after the single’s release, the song would gain him notoriety among the Northern Soul crowd in England, where a rare original copy sells for 1,600 British Pounds. Today Buddy still performs all over Detroit, recently releasing a new album called “Life Ain’t Nothin’ But A Song," and his voice is just as strong as ever.

Thornetta Davis has earned her label as the “Princess of Detroit Blues,” working with artists including Alberta Adams, Bob Seger, and Kid Rock while performing her original material on bills with Etta James, Gladys Knight, and Bonnie Raitt. She has won many Detroit Music Awards, and her voice has been heard in the HBO drama The Sopranos, the 2001 film Osmosis Jones, Xena Warrior Princess, and the VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards at Madison Square Garden.

“So Long” featuring Buddy and Thornetta continues Drew's Back To Class project, with 50% of profits donated to the music programs of the Detroit Public Schools. Schultz and his band, The Funk Machine, performed in Detroit last July to showcase the project at Don Was' All Star Review for the Concert of Colors, and last December saw the first donation to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation of $1,000. The project was featured in international press including Modern Drummer Magazine, SoulTracks.com, and Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine, and prompted Susan Whitall of the Detroit News to dub Schultz "Kid Motown.” The Funk Machine will be performing on a short tour with Buddy Smith to promote the single’s release, playing at Nighttown Restaurant in Drew’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, April 24th, then moving on to The Dovetail Cafe in Warren, MI on Friday, April 25th. While in Cleveland, Drew and Buddy will present a masterclass to the students of Schultz’s alma mater, Shaker Heights High School.

Schultz is the proud product of a public school music program in Shaker Heights, which groomed him for all of his following success in the industry. "Shaker's music program was incredible," he says. "The public schools there had it all - four concert wind ensembles, three jazz bands, small combos, orchestra, musical theater, and a several-hundred member strong marching band. That band program became a way of life, and studying music growing up taught me how to be diligent in practicing. It taught me how to succeed at something I cared about, and it taught me how to handle the failures that come with it. It taught me how to work in a team, and how to be comfortable out on my own in front of others.”

After recently completing his music degree in Manhattan at New York University, Schultz moved back to the Detroit area in order to continue developing the Back To Class project. “I think that Detroit is poised to become a hotbed of artists and creativity,” Drew predicts, "and I believe that this project has the potential to do some real good for the schools while spreading the word about this town’s incredible history. I’m proud to be even a small part of that history, and hopefully Back To Class can do some good for Detroit students and artists alike, and spark others to take notice of the good that music can provide for both a child and a city.”

Drew Schultz can be found at www.DSdrums.com and “So Long" will be available digitally through iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and more on April 24th, 2014. 50% of profits will be donated to the music programs of the Detroit Public Schools.